Yep, its true, the juggernaut that is EA has added a few more heads to it's trophy wall with the acquisiton of Bioware and Pandemic for a cool $775 million.

Lets observes a minutes silence for the fallen. This is worse than the day the music died, this is the day creativity died.

Lets observes a minutes silence for the fallen.

I would rather a minute of gaming.

great EA can ruin even more games. just great.

Oh s***, this is bad news. :(

Noooooooooooooooooooo not good at all :(

Bad EA baaaaad!

I'm just waiting till EA creates a console.

I'm just waiting till EA creates a console.

EA helped make the 3DO.

that was a f***ing good console too, for '93

soon they will buy microsoft

I hope, o so hope, that somewhere in the deep dark recesses of the Tome of the Contract Bioware and Pandemic made it so they couldn't be forced to release games before they are finished. That they made it so they had total control over the release schedule. If they did that, there is still hope.

Somehow though I don't think so, it is EA after all..

as if EA would ever agree to that

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15834

Interesting article with the Co-founder and CEO's of pandemic

Lets observes a minutes silence for the fallen. This is worse than the day the music died, this is the day creativity died.

And the award for overacting goes to...

So John Riccitello as the head of Elevation buying Pandemic/Bioware was awesome and brought us Mass Effect, but the same person as the head of EA rebuying them means it's the end of innovation because we've got this hangup from years ago when EA had a different management team and was focused on shovelware.

EA being evil is so 2005, and saying it's the 'death of creativity' weeks after titles like skate have shipped is just delusional. There are two or three other publishers which are grossly more evil than EA these days.

It's paying a big disservice to those people at Bioware and Pandemic who negotiated this deal if you think they're just cash grabbing - especially since they were already cashed up from the $300mil just two years ago that Elevation gave them.

As someone who's worked with and knows the people who both made this deal and have to work at the new EA-owned Pandemic and Bioware, I know they aren't about to sell out their core beliefs and game love just because a different company gives them a cheque. I mean, I haven't started listening to Soljah Boy and making My Sweet 16 online just because MTV writes my cheques.

^ sif listen to someone whose location is "USA"

Dear god EA have brainwashed sprayNwipe with propaganda already :(

It's the phat lewts. They always get them with the phat lewts.

Valve is our last hope :/

Valve is our last hope :/

Who are you kidding!

Who are you kidding!

saying it like it is.

Valve is our last hope :/

and blizzard

oh wait

EA games are usually f***ed and full of bugs, very sad day indeed. How many more s*** games does the world need to see before they realise.

I believe EA will improve if they aren't already... Screaming/complaining consumers will start getting to them perhaps??

the companies that are being bought out by are EA are laughing all the way to the bank so they don't care what happens.

last edited by Martz at 17:13:06 12/Oct/07

if this can happen, ubisoft could be next.

Seriously, if Sony is going to drop out of the hardware race next gen, and EA comes to market with one, all their games being exclusive, it could kill the industry. Just pray that doesn't happen.

aren't the majority of EAs games on PC?

or maybe just the genre of game i play...

EA comes to market with one, all their games being exclusive, it could kill the industry. Just pray that doesn't happen.

It would only work out that way for EA if you people actually buy their console. If they try to pull that s*** I would not give them the satisfaction of buying into their EA console, and hopefully EA's competitors outnumber them to the point where they could just refuse to put out their games for the EA console - another discouragement for people to buy this thing.

I don't think it's going to happen.

Nah, EA is huge on consoles. All the EA sports titles, Battlefield games, Skate like spray mentioned, even the latest C&C came to console.

And the award for overacting goes to...

That was kinda the point :P

In all seriousness though, I am kinda disappointed, I thought Bioware stood taller when they were themselves and not an EA subsidiary, same way I think Irrational stood taller when they were Irrational and not "2k Australia". On the other hand though, I don't imagine EA are gonna be messing too much with Bioware, I mean I'd assume they were bought because they make a lot of money and make s***-hot games, so I can't see EA wanting to mess with that formula much. Though being bought by EA definitely does come with a stigma attached. Heres hoping it all doesn't go to s***.

no good will come of this

That's no moon.

I concur.

no good will come of this

it's a trap!

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/excessive_quotation.png

ea makes games other than sports sims now?

http://www.htloz.net/forums/grill/ea-swastika.gif

I think Telstra, MS, Sony and EA should be shot out of a donkeys arse to another planet then nuked from orbit.

and Idol...Madden is the biggest selling game EVERY year. The EA console would sell.

a mate at pandemic said they weren't working today, just meetings, and cocktails all afternoon. I can see what you mean khel about them trying to be higher on moral ground about selling out, but 350mil in cash (plus more) is ridiculously stupid to turn down.

Valve is our last hope :/

*cough*Orange Box was distributed by EA Partners...*cough*

dont people here work at pandemic ?

yeah, but they're too busy polishing their Ferrari's to be posting on QGL...

It's a sad day for games spray, because while EA does have a few good titles (actually untill you pointed out skate and nba 2k8 i can't think of any), the majority is just rush released s***.

It's a rep they earned on years on years of bad releases and cash grabbing. They then got hit with developers/coders in their USA offices going for lawsuits claming underpayment and other such issues of being forced into stupidly long hours.

EA will have to work very hard to rid themselves of that image, but they brought it on themselves.

That said, i shed a tear that bioware sold. Long Live Baldurs Gate.

well at least ID are still free......but for how long /cry

FUCCCKKKKKKKKKK


I hope they've learnt from there mistakes...RIP ORIGIN, BULLFROG and the other great titans...

*cough*Orange Box was distributed by EA Partners...*cough*

That's why The orange box is $99 in shops compared to ~$55 on steam. f***ing EA rips you off on games that aren't even theirs.


RIP Westwood!

you guys are all so melodramatic. Let's just wait and see before we start saying that Pandemic/Bioware are f***ed. The games will speak for themselves!

Can you imagine what the shareholders would do to John Riccatello if he f***ed an $800M deal? It'd be a bloodbath.

Being on the inside of this deal, I'm really excited about it but obviously I have apprehension as well. Unfortunately I can't comment or share much information beyond what is in the press, but what I do know gives me great hope for our future.

It's amazing and super cool to think that the brand that I helped build is worth $800M. Everybody at both Pandemic and Bioware should be proud as punch right now at what they've accomplished.