The Unstoppable EA Juggernaught

[Biohazzard56]

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/574/574467p1.html

For the lazy:

Electronic Arts Buys Part Of Ubisoft
EA's pockets are still deep as it buys a chunk of Ubisoft.
By Rainier Van Autrijve | Dec. 20, 2004

Electronic Arts announced today that it is investmenting French developer/publisher UbiSoft. The investment represents approximately 19.9 percent interest in the company, shares bought as a block from Dutch invesment company Talpa Beheer B.V. (known for dealing with Dutch TV mogul John de Mol) to be completed upon obtaining antitrust clearance from the U.S. government.

If the purchase is approved, it would make EA the biggest shareholder in Ubisoft, ahead of the Guillemot brothers, the original Ubisoft founders.

"Pending further information, we consider this operation as hostle," an Ubi Soft spokesman told Reuters.

"We think this operation is aimed at securing the studios of Ubi Soft that are ready to face the next generation of gaming consoles," he added.

This really sucks, I think its a big WTF at Ubisoft Mission Controll.

[MrPaul]

All I saw was.. EA.... investmenting... wait a sec.. THATS NOT A WORD.... Ubisoft... Money.

[Mag-Mower]

im a bit sick now... i used to like EA, but they are buying everything... its not fair

[Smaug]

What happened to the good old days of capitalism when it was ok to buy out and destroy your competition. I salute you EA, for being douchebags.

[AztecWarrior]

FUCK! I don't want EA Games fucking with IL-2 Sturmovik/Pacific Fighters.

[I Hate Pants]

Oooooooh good! Aren't they gonna be buying out Dice aswell? Remember when EA was just about sports games?

[Hamma]

Now they are about destroying as many good franchises as they can.

[MattxMosh]

If its not Madden, they shouldn't be developing anything.

[Setari]

microsoft much?


yea this sucks. they shouldnt buy any part of another developer, especially one as big as Ubi. One can only hope they dont completely fuck over Ubi or any other developers for that matter.



and the first thing i looked at was investmenting too :doh:

[Fragmatic]

I fucking hate EA.

I want to get a job for EA so I can infiltrate their HQ and assasinate their boss.

[Setari]

In the meantime, EA also signed a contract with the NFL giving EA exclusive rights to the NFL players and stadiums.

Electronic Arts announced today that it has signed a five-year exclusive licensing deal with the National Football League and the NFL players association, giving EA the exclusive rights to the NFL teams, stadiums and players for use in its football videogames.

"We are pleased to expand our agreement with Electronic Arts, the leading video game manufacturer and a valued NFL partner," said NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "We look forward to working with EA to continue to enhance the quality of NFL video games that our fans have enjoyed for many years."

"We are excited about the opportunity to further enhance our relationship with the NFL and PLAYERS INC," said Larry Probst, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts. "The five-year agreements will usher NFL fans through the console technology transition with new ideas and innovative game play experiences."

No financial figures of the agreement were disclosed, but it must have cost a pretty penny. It is not known at this point how the agreement will impact other companies with NFL franchises currently in development, such as Midway & ESPN.

[Mag-Mower]

EA must be stopped. They have made good games, sure, but they cant just walk in and buy all the GOOD developers/publishers. It isnt fair, there is so much thats going to be fucked with now.. Prince of Persia, All Tom Clancy games, those are the top of my head right now, but there are other good games by Ubi

[QuakCow]

fuck the war on iraq...war on EA....lets bomb the shit outa em...