Now you can expect Mass Effect '07, '08, '09 and '10!!!!

[WhatsHisFace]

http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSWEN162920071011

EA to buy two game studios
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it is buying two video game studios for more than $800 million in a deal that fills a weak spot on its games lineup by adding role-playing and action titles.

Under the deal, EA will acquire BioWare Corp and Pandemic Studios, privately held firms that have been partners since a 2005 deal brought them together under VG Holding Group with backing from private equity firm Elevation Partners.

EA said the deal would be dilutive to its fiscal 2008 earnings by 30 cents to 40 cents per share.

Prepare to never see a good Bioware game again.

 

[cookiva]

Talking about it in the Misc. video games section.

Im so pissed right now. No news could make me happy.

2nd worst day in video game history.

 

[Zenien]

Well to be fair there hasn't been a good Bioware game since KoToR.
But yeah this is sucky news.

 

[cookiva]

Kotor 2 and Jade Empire, while not the GOTY type games like Kotor 1, were great games on their own part.

Mass Effect WILL be GOTY.

 

[Zenien]

You will never get me to agree to Jade Empire as being anything other then crap, and KoToR 2 wasn't developed by Bioware.

 

[cookiva]

Oh yeah, I forgot about Kotor2. Snap

Neverwinter is good. Jade Empire, I really liked it....so, whateva

 

[Zenien]

Death to you!

Just kidding.

There is hope though, EA has been saying that they're going to eb going toward a much more creative and "Spore" like direction. I don't think that they necessarily are going to mess with Bioware when Bioware is already one of the best RPG devs in the industry, certainly the best for making western Oriented RPGs.

 

[cookiva]

This is EA. They killed maybe the biggest licensed shooter in Goldeneye. Dont trust them.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

You will never get me to agree to Jade Empire as being anything other then crap, and KoToR 2 wasn't developed by Bioware.

You hated Jade Empire too?

 

[XtromaniaK]

Well, the last "big" developer they bought out was Mythic. And they've already pretty much ruined that company so I can see them trying to do the same to Bioware. I hate EA.

 

[Zenien]

Isn't Mythic working on that very promising WarHammer MMO?

You hated Jade Empire too?

Dude it's Jade Empire. The game was generic, boring, buggy, and had a sub par messy combat system.

 

[XtromaniaK]

At this point, I don't really like much of the recent decisions to that game since EA bought out that company.

 

[クジラ]

Talking about it in the Misc. video games section.

Im so pissed right now. No news could make me happy.

2nd worst day in video game history.

What is the 1st Cookiva?

 

[블라스]

I love Jade Empire :heart:

Hey, I will send my resume to the EA office here in downtown...you never know

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Dude it's Jade Empire. The game was generic, boring, buggy, and had a sub par messy combat system.

For the first time in years, we will get along.

 

[deathshead2]

Isn't Mythic working on that very promising WarHammer MMO?



Dude it's Jade Empire. The game was generic, boring, buggy, and had a sub par messy combat system.

Your copy must have been broken cus none of that ever happened to me, and the story was awesome !

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I feel basically the exact same way as Zenien (for once) and I played the game twice.

 

[Wolfwood]

I'm sure EA will leave Bioware to their own devices and just reap the profits. On it's own the company can make money, there's no reason for EA to try and influence or change their work. I guess this means we'll start getting more multi-platform work from them though.

 

[Zenien]

I feel basically the exact same way as Zenien (for once) and I played the game twice.

I'm not sure if this has ever happened before. I... don't know what to say.

 

[GFreeman]

One of you is going to have to love Jade Empire. The longer you two agree, the more damage is done to the space-time continuum.

Anyways, this is awful, awful news. EA snuffs the life out of anything it touches, and Bioware will be no different. I just hope the talent largely sticks together when they jump ship to form a new studio.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

One of you is going to have to love Jade Empire. The longer you two agree, the more damage is done to the space-time continuum.

Anyways, this is awful, awful news. EA snuffs the life out of anything it touches, and Bioware will be no different. I just hope the talent largely sticks together when they jump ship to form a new studio.

I don't get why whenever talent leaves, they always form a new studio instead of just joining one of the many up and coming studios. Say, if Bioware left and joined "Junction Point Studios" with Warren Spector... or why Giant Bite didn't just join the other Bungie-jumper, Alex Seropian at Wideload.

Talent is getting spread so thinly nowadays, we'll never see a good game again.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I'm not sure if this has ever happened before. I... don't know what to say.

We both liked Shenmue, but I forget how we handled that situation.

 

[Zenien]

I think we averted disaster by turning it into an argument centered around who liked Shenmue more. Crisis averted.

 

[블라스]

You guys can lick my shoe, Jade Empire is fantastic

 

[Zenien]

Wait, Microsoft doesn't own the Mass Effect IP?

In good news, EA has said they have no interest in tampering with Bioware or Pandemic.