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EA buys Bioware


Draikin

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This means very little, and the I N T E R N E T D R A M A is nonsensical as usual. It's real simple. if BIO makes games I enjoy, I buy. If they don't, I don't. Easy as 1-2-03. That goes for EA, that goes for Obsidian, and that goes for any other company. Duh.

DWARVES IN PROJECT ETERNITY = VOLOURN HAS PLEDGED $250.

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Just to re-fresh people's memories, EA has killed the following companies:

 

- Westwood

- Bullfrog

- Maxis

- Origin

- Microprose

 

It is sad that the employee's of Bioware will be added to this list. This is truly horrible news.

 

Maxis seems alive and well to me. The last 2 Sim City games were very good, and Sims 2 is hella fun. Looking forward to Spore.

 

And Microprose has nothing to do with EA. They were absorbed into Spectrum Holobyte before passing to Hasbro Interactive and eventually Infogrames, now Atari.

 

The other 3 are true though.

 

EDIT: Ooh, I'm out of the loop, seems Maxis is dead.

Edited by Oerwinde
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Heh. And. they had games out of order. the whole thing is dumb. Get over it. BIO is just a game company. Even if the Doomsday folks are correct, big deal. Move on. And, if they're wrong, big deal. Move on.

DWARVES IN PROJECT ETERNITY = VOLOURN HAS PLEDGED $250.

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Give me a friggin' break: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4...16491&hl=en

 

I hate fans, and customers! They are horrible human beings!

 

 

Schmuck. That's about as dumb a video as they come.

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Q&A about the buyout with Ray & Greg

 

Nothing new really, just the typical Bioware interview.

 

"We're really excited to work with EA now. They're a great partner!"

 

"We have some super secret stuff in development"

 

"We never give you a straight answer to your questions, because John is pointing a gun at my head right now"

Edited by Morgoth
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Am I the only one that finds it weird that Riccitiello left EA, went to Elevation to buy Bioware and Pandemic, then went back to EA which then buys Bioware and Pandemic from Elevation? If I was a little paranoiac I'd say Bioware & Pandemic didn't want EA in the picture, so Riccitiello made a deal with Elevation so they'd buy them, then sell them to EA for a huge profit.

 

No, you're not. It really could have happened this way. Or it could have been meant to be. And by that I don't mean in a fated kind of way, but it could be that Elevation Partner who merged Bioware/Pandemic two years ago, made a strategic business decision at that time to work closer with EA Games. And that John R. was meant to leave Elevation Partners to become CEO of EA - just to buy Bioware. Ray & Greg could have made a deal with John R. and Elevation Partners those two years ago, meaning that they, too, will get a lot of money. Not that this is a bad thing, but actually selling their own company for mere mammon e.g. money to the dev, eh, I mean EA, is pushing it (over the edge), I think.

 

To me, however, this move is fishy at best. And it also means that John R. probably stands to gain of lot of money from this merger as EA stock? will go up a lot, I think. It could maybe be seen as insidertrading? or something else. I'm not sure this move would be legal in Europe at all. I know (or think?) that it probably won't be legal in Denmark since when you hold a trusted position in company as say a CEO e.g. you're not supposed to line your own pockets with said company's money.

And as far I can tell, this is exactly what John R. and Ray&Greg are doing. I could be wrong, though.

 

According to a thread over at the rpgwatch.com forums, Patrick Weekes has been saying that's nothing going to change.

I have tried explaining to him, and others, that there will be changes, maybe not at first, but slowly during the years. And I don't think EA would like the Bioware devs. to post as much as they do on the Bioware forums. A former EA employee quickly killed the Bioware Wednesday...

 

Now I fear EA's takeover of Bioware means that they, EA, will kill the Bioware devs. interaction with the fans, and lastly, axe Bioware, if and when their products fail to meet the expected sales. As much as good chemistry between Ray&Greg and John R. accounts for something, John R. has only one resonsibility. And that's to make much more for EA's stockholders.

 

But we'll see what happens...

 

/aries101

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If I could care about the ultimate fate of a business -- a business who's product has been unappealing enough to me that I haven't even bought the last three or even four iterations -- I'm sure I'd be gnashing my teeth and pulling out my beard like everyone else, but... I can't.

 

About the only thing I can work up any sort of emotion over (and that's only if I work really, really hard at it) is a vague, fleeting sense of anxiety for the future of the BioWorkers; EA doesn't have a very good reputation in that department. Might be better if they jumped ship now.

 

*shrugs* Maybe Bioware will end up being disbanded. Maybe they'll end up making games I actually want to play again. Maybe, if they're forced to pump out title after title year after year, we'll get a more serialized sort of story line from them instead of the 1 game, 1 world saved shtick, which I can see as presenting certain advantages over their current model. Maybe not.

 

Is all pretty much meaningless to me. Either the games are there or they aren't. Doesn't bode well for Bioware, given EA's history with such things, but... *shrugs*

 

About the only real regret I have in this whole affair is clicking that blasted link up there. Dear lord...

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hmm this is worrying news - Bioware had moved more towards EA's particular method of producing games in the recent years (more profit oriented), but this is the fate of any big company I think. I hope this turns out for the better - and EA recongnizes that Bioware is one of the few companies in the RPG buisness that know their craft well, particularly in using settings to their advantage (even if they do seem to be a bit lacking in creating innovative stories). Maybe the bigger captial will actually increase the value of their games - both creatively and financially. We can only hope.

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I think we're already seeing an example of what Bioware's employee's think about the buy-out: none of them have dared discuss the deal publicly.

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Man I f**king hate EA.. They have closed down or ruined so many good developers its untrue. RIP Bioware..

 

 

As for the Sonic RPG, it'll be canned.. Even if EA let them continue, (which is unlikely) Sega hates EA.. They wouldnt let them make a penny off of Sonic.

 

Oh well..

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Eh, EA as an evil entity is soooooooo 2 years ago.

 

Huh? Have they started to cure cancer lately? Companies aren't 'evil' or 'good' in the world of business, unless they have something illegal as their main agenda. Anyhoo, maybe they have changed their business model on how to deal with developers and given them more space for their creativity, but sure DICE hasn't been up to much 'diverse' since 2004.

 

Wow, you take me so seriously. It was just a lame joke.

 

I really don't see this affecting Pandemic and Bioware in a negative way at all because they are both vibrant profitable companies. The companies EA killed were already running downhill at full speed, EA just milked what they could before they died. Westwood and Origin were in deep doodoo before EA bought them out. This is a very different business deal.

 

It's also quite funny that I hear people clamoring for a KotOR 3 all the time. Bioware seems to refuse to get stuck churning out sequels. If EA really does get heavyhanded, you can look forward to a constant stream of sequels. But again, I don't see that happening, Bioware has enough weight to choose its own projects.

 

In fact, EA needs Bioware and Pandemic much more than they need EA. So in essence, they hold the upper hand. And what's with all the complaining about Bioware's recent titles? Jeez, a few folks dislike Jade Empire and suddenly Bioware is no longer a good development studio. Bunch of fickle folks in this room.

 

Anyways, I was reading the San Jose Mercury today, and they had this story with a picture of a Big Daddy and a claim that "Bioware produces RPG's like Bioshock". Awesome :aiee:

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Eh, EA as an evil entity is soooooooo 2 years ago.

 

Huh? Have they started to cure cancer lately? Companies aren't 'evil' or 'good' in the world of business, unless they have something illegal as their main agenda. Anyhoo, maybe they have changed their business model on how to deal with developers and given them more space for their creativity, but sure DICE hasn't been up to much 'diverse' since 2004.

 

Wow, you take me so seriously. It was just a lame joke.

 

 

My appologies.

 

I really don't see this affecting Pandemic and Bioware in a negative way at all because they are both vibrant profitable companies. The companies EA killed were already running downhill at full speed, EA just milked what they could before they died. Westwood and Origin were in deep doodoo before EA bought them out. This is a very different business deal.

 

It's also quite funny that I hear people clamoring for a KotOR 3 all the time. Bioware seems to refuse to get stuck churning out sequels. If EA really does get heavyhanded, you can look forward to a constant stream of sequels. But again, I don't see that happening, Bioware has enough weight to choose its own projects.

 

In fact, EA needs Bioware and Pandemic much more than they need EA. So in essence, they hold the upper hand. And what's with all the complaining about Bioware's recent titles? Jeez, a few folks dislike Jade Empire and suddenly Bioware is no longer a good development studio. Bunch of fickle folks in this room.

 

Anyways, I was reading the San Jose Mercury today, and they had this story with a picture of a Big Daddy and a claim that "Bioware produces RPG's like Bioshock". Awesome :lol:

 

Maybe, maybe not. But i am already hearing alarm-bells toll when they want this investment turn profitable within 2010 + they want Bioware to produce 4-6 games per year at that time. Sounds like a compromise of quality for me :thumbsup:

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Hey, maybe now Dragon Age will lose that ugly "PC Exclusive" tag. Since EA likes its games on all platforms, this seems to be in the realm of possibility, no?

 

Oh, and how did EA kill Maxis? Last I heard, The Sims (along with its infinite expansions) was getting rave reviews while basically printing money.

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Oh, and how did EA kill Maxis? Last I heard, The Sims (along with its infinite expansions) was getting rave reviews while basically printing money.

Maxis was folded into EA's Redwood studios in 2004.

"Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
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The "new" EA CEO states he wants to go into a fresh new direction and change the company's image.

 

And how does he do that?

By buying popular game studios.

 

I don't think the guy gets it.

"Alright, I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade - make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons, what am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager. Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons. Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's gonna burn your house down! With the lemons. I'm going to to get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!"

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April 1, 2008 - EA buys Obsidian

 

 

Many months later, LA gives EA K3 deal

DAWUSS

 

 

Dawes ain't too bright. Hitting rock bottom is when you leave 2 tickets on the dash of your car, leave it unlocked hoping someone will steal them & when you come back, there are 4 tickets on your dashboard.
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The "new" EA CEO states he wants to go into a fresh new direction and change the company's image.

 

And how does he do that?

By buying popular game studios.

 

I don't think the guy gets it.

 

Really? It seems pretty smart to me. Most consumers don't care who publishes a title, so EA buys developers who are already going in a "new" direction and, viola, EA is publishing different titles in a new direction.

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