EA pays $48 million for Criterion
Posted by malebolgia on 04 August 2004 - 22:12 · 8 comments & 428 views
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malebolgiaContact: via forum PM
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(1 reply)
#1 Posted by Narlzac85 on 04 Aug 2004 - 23:09
- EA seems like its right on track to becoming the microsoft of gaming
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#2 Posted by Scorpio on 04 Aug 2004 - 23:59
- Like they aren't?
hehe
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#3 Posted by Starcom826 on 05 Aug 2004 - 00:19
- And thats a bad thing.
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#4 Posted by Ecander™ on 05 Aug 2004 - 01:46
- EA is teh devil!
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#5 Posted by SeMz... on 05 Aug 2004 - 07:04
- go EA
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#6 Posted by SlammedGST on 05 Aug 2004 - 09:25
- EA = teh devil of innovation except for sports games, they got those right heh
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#7 Posted by XanDaMan on 05 Aug 2004 - 09:29
- OLD OLD OLD OLD OOOOOOOLD news...
There was no point in reporting this, its like a week old already...
According to a 10-Q form filed with the SEC, Electronic Arts spent somewhere in the range of $48 million to buy Criterion Studios, creator of sought-after middleware technology Renderware. According to Criterion, the technology has been used in about 500 games, including the Grand Theft Auto franchise, NBA Ballers, kill.switch, and upcoming titles The Movies and Burnout 3.
While that level of spending qualifies for much more than chump change, when put in perspective, the cash outlay seems a bargain. EA's most recent quarterly report says that during the three months ending June 30, 2004, it spent over 30 percent of its net revenue, or $130.64 million, on research and development expenses. That is a whopping 43 percent more than it spent on R&D the previous year--and it makes the purchase price of Criterion Software and the Renderware toolset remarkably easy to justify.
Cont...
Hailed as two of the best known strategy game brands in the world, Diplomacy® and Squad Leader® have attracted millions of players in their previous editions. Internal teams at Paradox, known for specializing in the creation of strategy games, will develop the new PC games. Past Paradox projects include the award-winning Europa Universalis®, Hearts of Iron™ and Crusader Kings™.
“We will be working closely with Atari and Wizards of the Coast to make sure we maximize the potential these brands have. We feel that Paradox is the right partner to develop the PC Games these brands and their fans deserve”, says Theodore Bergquist, CEO of Paradox Entertainment.
Paradox Entertainment was created to build fantasy, science fiction and alternative history brands in cross-media platforms. The interactive division has a long experience in developing and publishing strategy games for the PC platform. Past titles include the award-winning bestselling titles Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Victoria and Crusader Kings.
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, MAGIC: THE GATHERING(r), among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS(r), and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com. "Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the USA and other countries. Diplomacy and Squad leader are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved.".