Pavlos Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Source REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS - News) today announced an agreement with Elevation Partners to acquire VG Holding Corp. -- the owner of both BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios. This acquisition gives EA a strong competitive position in key genres in interactive entertainment: action, adventure and role-playing games. The two studios have been recognized for creating some of the highest-quality games in the industry. ADVERTISEMENT BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios have ten franchises under development, including six wholly owned games. BioWare Corp. is currently developing the highly anticipated Mass Effect, which will be published by Microsoft in November, and is in the early development stages of a massively multiplayer online game. Pandemic Studios is redefining open-world games with its upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and Saboteur, in addition to several unannounced projects. Pandemic Studios and BioWare Corp. employ roughly 800 people across four studios located in Edmonton, Canada; Los Angeles; Austin; and Brisbane, Australia. "These are two of the most respected studios in the industry and I'm glad to be working with them again. They'll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties," said John Riccitiello, EA's Chief Executive Officer. "We also expect this will drive long-term value for our shareholders." Pandemic Studios is led by Andrew Goldman, Josh Resnick and Greg Borrud. BioWare Corp. is jointly led by Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka. These teams will join the EA Games Label run by Frank Gibeau, President of EA Games. "Pandemic Studios remains focused on attracting the best talent and creating blockbuster action games," said Josh Resnick, President and Co-founder of Pandemic Studios. "As a worldwide publishing leader, EA represents the ideal partner to bring our titles to market as global entertainment events." "We are truly excited by John Riccitiello's new vision for EA," said Ray Muzyka, Co-founder and CEO of BioWare Corp. "This vision is consistent with BioWare's focus on crafting the highest quality story-driven games in the world. It will enable us to further the careers of the passionate, creative and hard working teams at BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Austin." EA will pay up to $620 million in cash to the stockholders of VG Holding Corp. and will issue up to an additional $155 million in equity to certain employees of VG Holding Corp., which will be subject to time-based or performance-based vesting criteria. EA will also assume outstanding VG Holding Corp. stock options. In addition, EA has agreed to lend VG Holding Corp. up to $35 million through the closing of the acquisition. Transaction and Financial Information The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in January 2008. On a GAAP basis, the acquisition is expected to be dilutive to EA's fiscal 2008 results by approximately $0.30 to $0.40 due to non-recurring acquisition-related charges, stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets. This amount is a preliminary estimate based on currently-available information and is subject to change. On a non-GAAP basis, the acquisition is expected to be dilutive to EA's fiscal 2008 fourth quarter results by approximately $0.05. This amount is a preliminary estimate based on currently-available information and is subject to change. The death knell for BioWare, or a sign that EA might actually have someone smart at the top? I'm not sure how the actual BioWare employees themselves will feel about this... Ever the optimist: It shouldn't make too much difference: BioWare will have a... huge budget for their games now, they just have to put up with a slave driver. Hopefully there won't be a change in the quality and we'll see her become Black Isle to EA's Interplay... hopefully... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boba Rhett Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Oh My God, NO! The world grows darker with this news as we have now all officially lived to see the death of all things good. This is... this is just horrible news for gamers everywhere..... gah. You better damn well believe that EA is going to make them churn games out fast and furious now. It would seem Mass Effect may be their crowning and final achievement. Really the only way I see this working out is if Bioware employees give the two finger salute to EA and jump ship for Obsidian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoffe Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 The death knell for BioWare, or a sign that EA might actually have someone smart at the top? I'm not sure how the actual BioWare employees themselves will feel about this... Well, that's the end of that I suppose. At least we got a handful of kickass games over a decade's time, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. I guess I can remove Dragon Age from the list of games to look forward to. Ever the optimist: It shouldn't make too much difference: BioWare will have a... huge budget for their games now, they just have to put up with a slave driver. EA has a reputation of being one of the most "suit-controlled" game developers who treat their employees quite unfavorably. Not exactly the most optimal environment for innovative, mold-breaking game development or the making of games with remarkable polish and depth. I'd love to be wrong, but I have a really bad feeling about this. Bioware's status as an independent, privately owned game developer with good finances gave them a unique position to create great games, more free from the limitations and constraints imposed by beancounters than most others had the fortune of being. To see them stuck under the heels of one of the reputedly worst beancounter overlords in the gaming industry does not bode well at all. (I'd guess that also means we can definitely rule out any more KOTOR games ever being made by Bioware.) http://www.gamespot.com/news/6180866.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavlos Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 EA has a reputation of being one of the most "suit-controlled" game developers who treat their employees quite unfavorably. Not exactly the most optimal environment for innovative, mold-breaking game development. I'd love to be wrong, but I have a really bad feeling about that. Oh yeah... I remember what happened to the Command and Conquer games after they fully absorbed Westwood studios but let's be optimistic about this: at least we still have Obsidian, who seem, at last, in MotB, to have found the sacred ground that they lost after the collapse of Black Isle. And hopefully BioWare will maintain the ability to make its own creative decisions and won't be driven to the brink of destruction. Make no mistake... my initial reaction was something like this but I think we have to have that pigheaded reluctance to look facts in the face to see us through. Who knows: if it damages the creativity of BioWare, I'd imagine a lot of the employees would want to leave... people don't get into that industry for the money, from what I can tell, they do it for the love of creating something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Lion54 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Please tell me this is a joke. This has to be a joke. It's April 1st, right? Well... there goes that. This is a dark day for gamers everywhere. I wonder if EA knows how big of a joke they are. I wonder if they realize that the only reason they make money is by getting rid of the competition through business means rather than by creating a quality product . I wonder if EA actually thinks their games are good or if they don't care... Who knows: if it damages the creativity of BioWare, I'd imagine a lot of the employees would want to leave... people don't get into that industry for the money, from what I can tell, they do it for the love of creating something. Yea, the employees that do the grind work care about games, but the decision makers... not so much. At least, it varies from company to company. Actually, you bring up a good point about Obsidian. Giving the relationship Bioware and Obsidian have, wouldn't it be great if all the Bioware employees deserted for Obsidian? Wouldn't that be ironic? EA tries to get a great company only to loose what makes it great. EA would just be paying for the name. Sadly, too many people would still buy the games because they wouldn't know better. EA -1 Gamers- 0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamqd Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I have a really bad feeling about this. QFT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkonium Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Well, I guess I should respond to this the same way I responded to E3 being reduced to nothing: plan a Crusade to stop EA, then do nothing. Where is my crusading hat, anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Ya know, when Disney announced the purchase of Pixar, I thought it was the worst day ever. Then they turned around and announced that Pixar management was actually taking over even though it was their company being absorbed and then I was hesitantly exuberant. Maybe we'll see something similar here (pretty please)? *pictures KotOR 3 ala Madden 2009. Runs screaming from building* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boba Rhett Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I can picture KotOR 3 too. The problem is that I can also picture KotOR 4-11 coming out within the next four years as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentScope001 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Finally, this will put a stop to the "K3 is made by Bioware" rumor. I am happy about the new merger. This showcases that EA is serious about innovation...by buying out innoviate companies and letting them do their own thing, and then taking the credit for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 This all depends on if BioWare retains enough creative control to do their job or not. EA's job is to make money, not necessarily make great games. If a good game with adequate production time sells as many units as a great game with a longer production time, they're going to go with the one that makes the same money but is made in less time. If BioWare can convince them that an excellent quality product meets a niche in the market, then it might fly. Otherwise, hopefully other studios will step up into the gap that BioWare will leave behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk102 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Pavlos, your optimism is sorely needed in the light of this news. If I were to name the worst possible merger that I could imagine in the video game industry, I would have named this one. But I agree with you that designers and programmers will probably jump ship if the new management is too corporate for their creativities. It's possible some of them are already considering side projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corinthian Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 This is a great tragedy. Let's all hang our heads in silence for a minute and think about Dragon Age and the Mass Effect sequels. These are dark days. Shockingly, this is actually not the worst merger I could think of. The worst I could think of is if Vivendi Universal let go of Blizzard and E.A. snatched it up. But this is almost as bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Devon Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 *Moans* At least it wasn't Obsidian? Oh dear, it looks like they're now our only hope for good RPGs. Perhaps the BioWare employees will pull an Obsidian like Feargus and co did at Interplay? One can only hope... *Weeps* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallucination Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Sweet, there might be something good to find if I break into the EA building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arátoeldar Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I can picture KotOR 3 too. The problem is that I can also picture KotOR 4-11 coming out within the next four years as well. So can I. Look at how the Battlefield games are being pumped out and the horrible patching/bug support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev7 Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 This is some pretty bad news. I really cannot picture EA's logo on KotOR III. Who knows maybe Obsidian will make it? Anyways this a dark day indeed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentScope001 Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I really cannot picture EA's logo on KotOR III. Who knows maybe Obsidian will make it? It's expected that Obsidan WILL make K3 regardless, but again, this merger has good news in that now people want it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimartin Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Say it ain't so. I’ll expect the worst and hope for the best. EA Sports Jedi Football 2009? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 EA -1 Gamers- 0 I'd say it's more like... EA - ∞ Gamers - 0 Yea, this is some pretty bad news, EA has pretty much the opposite effect of King Midas... everything EA touches turns into... junk. I guess there is a sliver of hope though, if I recall correctly wasn't Steam/Valve absorbed by EA? And The Orange Box turned out to be a pretty good product. At least it wasn't Obsidian? Oh dear, it looks like they're now our only hope for good RPGs. Maybe for western RPGs, but SquareEnix and other Japanese developers continue to churn out some pretty impressive RPGs. In any event hopefully this wont turn into a tragedy, but as others have already expressed I have a bad feeling about this. Edit: Also, with the acquisition of BioWare, Pandemic Studios went with it, Pandemic being known probably most for the Star Wars Battlefront series as well as the Mercenaries series, so it's not good for those two franchises either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourdad Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I can picture KotOR 3 too. The problem is that I can also picture KotOR 4-11 coming out within the next four years as well. Dude, you forgot about the twelve expansions pack, including the one that adds 3 new lightsaber hilts for the bargain price of $35.99! Another Canadian company absorbed by an evil US corporation. So fun... I feel like I want to murder someone. I guess there is a sliver of hope though, if I recall correctly wasn't Steam/Valve absorbed by EA? EA distributes their games from 2005. I'm not sure, but I think Valve was not "absorbed" so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev7 Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 EA Sports Jedi Football 2009? That would be awesome!! I don't like football, but I would still play this game anyway! JEDI VS. SITH!!! A Classic..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Galt Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 this definitely bodes ill, unless the corporate suits at EA will loosen the leash and spare the whip on bioware. who am I kidding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 darn you. darn you EA to heck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 BioWare was one of my favorite devs, I wonder how this will affect that. Guess it depends how independent EA lets Bioware be from them. Sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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