EA buying Bioware Corp & Pandemic Studios

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
http://www.firingsquad.com/features/ea_buys_bioware/

Insider article from FS. Some interesting information, see the snip.

The BioWare-Pandemic buyout may be a bid to start EA on a new course, one already plotted by Activision: acquire a good developer, finance them, and permit them room to do their own thing, offer leadership and a kick in the ass only if necessary. Presumably the new EA CEO sees the disastrous long-term consequences of creative bankruptcy, and is seeking to remedy them by allowing BioWare and Pandemic the freedom and finances to do something spectacular on a regular basis. Specifically, during the conference John had stated that EA was impressed with BioWare?s Metacritic score, a rating in which EA has slipped in over the past few years, and a statistic which caused on analyst to say the EA brand has been tarnished

Sounds lovely, but I'm not holding my breath.
EA hasn't produced anything that's been worthwhile in ages.

Once I used to say that PC's had better games than consoles, games with depth, good story lines, etc.
This is coming increasingly untrue, much because of EA and the likes(are there even any likes left, or are they all united in one big unholy marriage these days?).

 

[IEC]

Fvck no! :|

Yet another developer that will probably go the way of Origin and Bullfrog...

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
Electronic Arts ... gah.

I CAN remember a time, in the far past, when they were a GOOD company.

But since a couple of years (perhaps almost a decade) they've been producing fast-food gaming all across the PC platform. The game's concepts and ideas themselves went from original to very repetitive, all déjà-vue stuff, with often just more icing around the cake (I.E graphics). Why EA can last that long and can still buy companies left and right is BECAUSE most of the PC gamers of the recent years are CONTENT with their fast-food games and BUY them (they usually always end up complaining, but they forget about their issues a few months later and again blindly and mindlessly go buy another of their made/published game like pawns).

To me EA is only hurting PC gaming in terms of originality and quality, it's now all about quantity, and that's it. The rest it doesn't matter because quantity gives them money, and almost inexplicably gamers seem to be content with that, even though they always complain ... I don't get it.

I haven't purchased an EA game in well over 5 years now... and I intend to keep it that way.

 

[Beev]

God fucking DAMMIT!

There goes Bioware's great track record. Thanks a fucking lot EA.

 

[MarcVenice]

Erm, you guys got any clue who owns Crytek? I dunno man, EA can keep buying all the company's they want, there will always spawn new company's with creative ideas. EA is even thinking of taking over Ubisoft

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
EA is even thinking of taking over Ubisoft

Wasn't Ubisoft the main pusher of StarForce? Good riddance, may they be assimilated by our EA overlords.

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Erm, you guys got any clue who owns Crytek? I dunno man, EA can keep buying all the company's they want, there will always spawn new company's with creative ideas. EA is even thinking of taking over Ubisoft

I'm pretty sure EA does not own Crytek. They are just publishing Crysis, just like they do with Valve's games in B&M stores.

 

[Beev]

Which is why I buy all of Valve's stuff over Steam

 

[Mem]

EA own Warhammer Online too,be interesting to see how that pans out in January.

 

[Noema]

I'd be cool if Crytek were able to distribute Crysis via Steam directly, bypassing EA who'd handle B&M distribution.

Unfortunately that'll probably not happen anytime soon.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
http://www.firingsquad.com/features/ea_buys_bioware/

Insider article from FS. Some interesting information, see the snip.

The BioWare-Pandemic buyout may be a bid to start EA on a new course, one already plotted by Activision: acquire a good developer, finance them, and permit them room to do their own thing, offer leadership and a kick in the ass only if necessary. Presumably the new EA CEO sees the disastrous long-term consequences of creative bankruptcy, and is seeking to remedy them by allowing BioWare and Pandemic the freedom and finances to do something spectacular on a regular basis. Specifically, during the conference John had stated that EA was impressed with BioWare?s Metacritic score, a rating in which EA has slipped in over the past few years, and a statistic which caused on analyst to say the EA brand has been tarnished

I'm sure thats the same BS that was trotted out when they bought out all the other innovative developers. Then shelved the IP, or defiled it with one last hump and dump sequel before shelving it.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
EA is even thinking of taking over Ubisoft

Wasn't Ubisoft the main pusher of StarForce? Good riddance, may they be assimilated by our EA overlords.

Ubisoft bowed to consumer pressure and stopped using it. At least, I know thats what happened with dark messiah.

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

Is there a decent-sized developer out there that EA doesn't own yet? I think they've got pretty much everybody now.

For all intents and purposes EA is a monopoly, and ain't no one in the so-called government going to get in their way.

 

[Polish3d]

EA is consuming everything

 

[Beev]

And the only thing funding them is all of the fucking morons out there that buy all of their sports games.

 

[aCynic2]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
EA is even thinking of taking over Ubisoft

Wasn't Ubisoft the main pusher of StarForce? Good riddance, may they be assimilated by our EA overlords.

But Ubisoft also produces the Myst series and IL-2. I know IL-2 is easily copyable, they don't restrict that. I have no idea about Myst though.

EA bought up Air Warrior, an online WWII arial combat sim and shelved it, even though it was perhaps the most popular and had the best community.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: Stas
zOMG. fscking EA again! People need to stop buying retarted FIFA, NHL, NBA, Maden, Nascar, NFS and many other POS wannabe-called "games" produced by EA to slow down their growth. At this pace real gaming is going to be history soon. We will be fed a bunch of BS 1 button manipulator games that show a lot of "BOOM" and "LIGHTS" that require somewhere from no to nill interaction or brain cell application. Let's not forget price fixing either... Oh, and you can surely forget about development of 3D technology or any kind of code optimizations. Once EA rules the ball, we will be witnessing technology of 2005 for many years to come (and somehow it's gonna run slower and slower with newer releases).
Screw this, where is that Linux distribution I downloaded last night?

Yeah, thats what fuels EA. Its like drugs to some people, they just have to buy fifa every year.... I just google images fifa 2004 and fifa 2008, and they look the frickin same... Thing is i knew one of these people who would always buy fifa, he bought fifa 2005 and was amazed at the difference between 2004 and 2005, its batshit crazy, makes no sense.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
http://www.firingsquad.com/features/ea_buys_bioware/

Insider article from FS. Some interesting information, see the snip.

The BioWare-Pandemic buyout may be a bid to start EA on a new course, one already plotted by Activision: acquire a good developer, finance them, and permit them room to do their own thing, offer leadership and a kick in the ass only if necessary. Presumably the new EA CEO sees the disastrous long-term consequences of creative bankruptcy, and is seeking to remedy them by allowing BioWare and Pandemic the freedom and finances to do something spectacular on a regular basis. Specifically, during the conference John had stated that EA was impressed with BioWare?s Metacritic score, a rating in which EA has slipped in over the past few years, and a statistic which caused on analyst to say the EA brand has been tarnished

Note that "the new EA CEO" was the head of the group that owned Bioware-Pandemic for the last several years.

He's now rolling in money, but also working with the same guys he worked with before going to EA. So as long as he stays, EA should do fine with these studios.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Merger is now finalized and complete:
http://www.dailytech.com/Artic...sid=10258&red=y#233999

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Well, I guess I can kiss Dragon Age goodbye, at least the dragon age that was to be a "spiritual successor" to Baldurs Gate 2, it will probably either be canceled or at best "re envisioned" as an action RPG like Icewind Dale or worse....... another diablo clone.

So true.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Merger is now finalized and complete:
http://www.dailytech.com/Artic...sid=10258&red=y#233999

FFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Canai]

Fuck. So much for good games from Bioware

 

[Sylvanas]

Another good company turned to shit from the taint of EA- sigh.... so much for a worthy successor of KOTOR.

 

[Bateluer]

They haven't completed any games since EA acquired them. I'll give Bioware the benefit of the doubt for now, but I won't be rushing to buy their next PC title until I read some reviews.

 

[Oyeve]

I guess Bioware will now be Shovelware. Sad. Hopefully all the Bioware developers, programmers, designers et..al will quit and form an indie company.