Microsoft to buy smaller companies, rather than large ones.

[WhatsHisFace]

Speaking to the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Ballmer would not comment directly on any potential acquisitions, but he said Microsoft's current focus is the "independent path."

"If at some point it makes sense, maybe then it makes sense. But that's not where we are going. We are driving in an independent direction," said Ballmer in a question-and-answer session...

..."We'll probably buy 20 companies a year consistently for the next five years," said Ballmer.

That rules out most good developers. Hopefully they get NakedSky!!!

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Larger companies are harder to get, most of them are already signed with someone else.
So, it´s a good policy, to find new good companies, that can very well be the next Bioware or Epic.
Still, i can´t imagine why they didn´t bought Bioware before EA....

Even so, don´t lose track of the big names too

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I wonder if they knew about the Bioware deal as it was happening, or if they were totally blindsided.

I figure Microsoft knew, and was expected to offer some crazy sum of money to keep Bioware independent until the Mass Effect trilogy ended or something. I don't know. I just doubt MS ignorantly let Bioware slip through their fingers.

Of course, EA paid dearly for them.

 

[LeChuck]

DOUBLE FINE PRODUCTIONS!!!!!
How awesome would a funded adventure game be? I can dream.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

DOUBLE FINE PRODUCTIONS!!!!!
How awesome would a funded adventure game be? I can dream.

Wuahahaha, it's funny but true. t:

Yet, I do not support Double Fine's latest game...

 

[Zenien]

For a point of reference, Bungie was sold to Microsoft for something like 32 million dollars, or, under 1/10th of what Microsoft paid for Rare. A lot of times buying big companies doesn't work, especially over-rated has beens who are past their prime.

 

[Fran]

I forgot that MS paid around $350 mil for Rare.

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

I forgot that MS paid around $350 mil for Rare.

the biggest pwnage of all time.t:

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Rare is amazing. Their work on the SNES and N64 must not be forgotten.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Rare is amazing even before going to the NES, or having the name Rare.

A piece of history: Before being called Rare, they were called Play the Game (sh**ty name, i know) and their were a company that was born on the Sinclair Spectrum.
They were, without any doubt, the best company the Spectrum had, their games were absolute classics (SabreWolf was one of them, KnightLore was another).

If you put the at longer in the business and quality in the same sentence, Rare is by far the best dev team ever.
Now, i´m not even the slightest biased when it come to this, i never had one Nintendo console (), so, i only played their games on the Spectrum.
I plan on changing that by playing several Rare roms

I believe Rare can pull itself together, and return to greatness....

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Hope MS buys Infinite Interactive, Puzzle Quest is amazing and highly original.

Ok, their are not really unknown, their are making Seven Kingdom: Conquest and they made Warlords (last game in the original series and battlecry), but even so, they are not big name also.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Microsoft owns the guys who made Hexic... which employs Alexi Petranov... FATHER OF TETRIS!!!