Digital Illusions Sells to EA 34
A story we have reported on frequently in the last few months comes to an end as Digital Illusions accepts EA's bid for buyout. From the article at GameGossip: "Corresponding to 32.0% of outstanding capital and votes, in addition to a further acquisition of 898,264 shares and the 18.9% already held by the company, Electronic Arts now holds a total of 6,044,720 shares, a controlling interest representing 59.8% of the outstanding capital and votes in DICE."
Tired of EA (Score:5, Insightful)
Ah... let the cancer grow (Score:3, Insightful)
Bad news for the industry... (Score:2, Insightful)
Small companies have to struggle to survive. So, these smaller game houses have to be creative and they have to find new/efficient ways of accomplishing their goals. The ones that survive are going to be able to produce quality games.
When the smaller companies get swallowed up by EA, it seems that they are basically told what to make. A sequel to a popular title that was, itself, a sequel. They are given better resources, but that only snuffs out innovation, but their creativity can still shine through. EA puts out many good games. And every so often they put out a great game. But overall, I feel it stagnates the market to have such a monopolistic market share.
There's only so far it should legally be allowed to go.
Indie Markets (Score:3, Insightful)
If your business is being ran out, or bought out by a larger corporation, maybe its time to form some association so you can stay independent and maintain your business presence.
It will be interesting to see how mergers and buyouts change the world in the next 10 years, and how smaller companies react.