Advertisement
EA welcomes ActiBlizz News
PC
PlayStation 2
PSP
DS
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
Wii
News
by
Robert Purchese
EA has told Eurogamer it is looking forward to competing with mega-publisher Activision Blizzard when it is formed next year.
The fighting talk was issued by UK boss Keith Ramsdale, who told us he still believes EA has the best catalogue of games around.
"We wish them good luck and look forward to the competition," Ramsdale told Eurogamer. "We believe that EA still has the industry's strongest portfolio of game franchises and we're always at our best when we have a clearly defined competitor."
Vivendi announced it had bought 52 per cent of shares in Activision on Sunday, revealing that the two were to merge under new name Activision Blizzard when handshakes are completed in mid 2008.
The deal is said to be worth a whopping USD 18.9 billion, and will see the emerging publisher become the most powerful in the world - knocking EA off its previously familiar throne.
So far little seems to have changed in the day to day running of associated development studios, although we expect some crossovers and streamlining to be done in the coming months.
Advertisement
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
Comments: 1-28 of 28 in total
Poster
|
ElasticTangent
04/12/07 @ 13:44
0
EA are really looking forward to the copetition in the same way that I look forward to having a small hole bored in my head and having my brain sucked out through a straw.
|
|
seasidebaz
04/12/07 @ 13:47
0
great news, im looking forward to buying my PlayBoxDS games from BlizzEAVision
at least thats if we really do end up with a unified games console... and publisher... and codehouse... and in fact real house... money... in fact, lets just make everything into one giant katamari!! |
|
Waffleaber
04/12/07 @ 13:52
0
Competition has improved FIFA. During the 16bit and Playstation era's it was pretty much unchallenged in the mainstream and an updated player roster was all that was needed each year.
Then Pro Evo became the game of choice and EA had to change to keep up. Now the 360 version of FIFA is arguably better than Pro Evo 08. I doubt EA are looking forward to a larger competitor threatening sales as much as they claim but it's not that bad for the rest of us. |
|
homerramone
04/12/07 @ 13:55
0
he still believes EA has the best catalogue of games around.
What catalogue is he looking at then !? Or has 'best catalogue of games' come to mean 'biggest list of remade versions of the same games we produced last year' |
|
BlankOBlank!
04/12/07 @ 14:14
0
Well he was hardly going to finger his shirt collar nervously, clear his throat and announce:
"Activision Blizzard have a far more diverse and respected catalog than we do, and not only that but we're now second place in terms of size and profit. Frankly we're really cacking ourselves." Was he now?
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 04/12/07 @ 14:14
|
|
Triggerhappytel
04/12/07 @ 14:24
0
Despite reading the news piece the other day, I was not aware Vivendi bought Activision out!! Not a bad turnaround for a company who was up for sale themselves about four years ago.
Anyway, yes this is bullshit - EA normally just buy out anyone/anything when there is a threat of decent competition. |
|
rhinoxious
04/12/07 @ 14:32
0
I can't see ActiBlizz having the same level of branding and corporate presence as EA present themsleves with.
|
|
the_sas_man
04/12/07 @ 14:33
0
EA enjoys the competition just like Sudan enjoys teddy bears named Mohammed
|
|
alimokrane
04/12/07 @ 14:33
0
Looking forward or May be Scared now ?
When it comes to my opinion, Screw both of them1 |
|
0
How long before one of these guys buys up one of the few remaining movie studio's and just hoovers up the film tie-in market?
Gaming will have really "made it" when these guys become more powerful then the movie studios. Whoops - forgot that Vivendi do own Universal, I think.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 04/12/07 @ 14:34
|
|
BillyBrush
04/12/07 @ 14:45
0
But why will ActiBlizzard be the biggest?
because they cream £8.99 per month out of people for sweet FA...and that's a great business model, there are a whole lotta people who have now paid about £260 to play WOW - it's pricier than upgrading for Crysis.. |
|
BillyBrush
04/12/07 @ 14:52
0
bdc
04-Dec-07 14:39:33 Erm EA, you don't have SHIT on Blizzard and Activision's games. Seriously. Generally no, but i think if you popped Tony Hawks Proving Ground next to err Skate or the EA published Orange box, the shit would be flying the opposite direction to what you think, you doth assume too much Criterion, DICE, Bioware, Pandemic, Publishing for Valve...that's a decent roster even if their internal studios are a bit guff. Big publisher = same old, they have some good, they have some moneyspinning crap, it's not like Activision are some kinda Capcom/Nintendo that we should all rejoice, they're just 8 steps up the ladder from Midway. And Blizzard, Whilst they make great games, they milk their fans for all their spare change, which is nice Add them to the big moneyspinners list comprising EA and Ubi i say, nowt that special bowd em
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 04/12/07 @ 14:53
|
|
drunkymonkey
04/12/07 @ 15:11
0
Yeah, let's not forget that EA publish acclaimed retail games such as Half Life 2, Crysis, and Battlefield.
|
|
kangarootoo
04/12/07 @ 15:33
0
Ahahahaha... ooo, let me wipe my eyes.
Any board member who tells you he likes competition in business is lying through his teeth. The core purpose of a business to get and keep customers, and one of the challenges of that (if the not the main one) is competition. If any business could press a magic button to eliminate all competition in their market sector, they would press it. A company like EA would press it five times and then stack heavy books on it. Keith Ramsdale's pants are fully ablaze. |
|
0
"Ahahahaha... ooo, let me wipe my eyes.
Any board member who tells you he likes competition in business is lying through his teeth. The core purpose of a business to get and keep customers, and one of the challenges of that (if the not the main one) is competition. If any business could press a magic button to eliminate all competition in their market sector, they would press it. A company like EA would press it five times and then stack heavy books on it. Keith Ramsdale's pants are fully ablaze." That made me laugh so hard, cheers! :D |
|
0
"But why will ActiBlizzard be the biggest?
because they cream £8.99 per month out of people for sweet FA...and that's a great business model, there are a whole lotta people who have now paid about £260 to play WOW - it's pricier than upgrading for Crysis.. " WoW is hardly bad value for money. Anyone thats been playing since release and has paid around the full £260 you mention has almost certainly played enough hours on WoW to complete 10 £40 games, and that's being conservative. |
|
0
Playing an mmo like WoW is the best value for money you can spend on gaming. You end up buying hardly any other games, if at all, as all your gaming time gets invested into WoW.
So it's not right to compare the total subs over 2 years for WoW to the cost of Crysis, as Crysis is a game you'll play for a couple of weeks at most and then you'll be buying yet another fullprice game. |
|
Kirly_Wombat
05/12/07 @ 10:23
0
I think EA is safe in the area it excells at i.e yearly rehashes and overhyped tosh.
|
Comments: 1-28 of 28 in total
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
