Einige hatten darauf gehofft, doch dieses Wunschdenken sollte sich nicht erfüllen. Das us-amerikanische Kartellamt erhebt keinerlei Einsprüche gegen die BioWarePandemic-Übernahme durch Publisher Electronic Arts. Damit ist der Deal perfekt. BioWarePandemic wechselt für 620 Mio. US-$ den Besitzer, weitere 155 Mio. gehen zu gleichen Teilen an einzelne Personen der VG-Holding, der bisherigen Mutter der beiden Spielestudios. Es wird erwartet, daß das Übernahme-Verfahren im Januar abgeschlossen ist.
Eins ist sicher, diese News wird nicht unbedingt Freude bei den Spielern hervorrufen. Nachdem John Riccitello bereits von Elevation Partners, dem Eigentümer von BioWare.Pandemic, an die Spitze zu EA gewechselt ist, holt er jetzt die beiden Studios nach, an deren Fusion er maßgeblich beteiligt war. Hier die Pressemitteilung:
EA To Acquire BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios
Thursday October 11, 4:07 pm ET
Leaders in RPG, Action and Adventure Genres; Ten Franchises in Development - Six Wholly Owned
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS - News) today announced an agreement with Elevation Partners to acquire VG Holding Corp. -- the owner of both BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios. This acquisition gives EA a strong competitive position in key genres in interactive entertainment: action, adventure and role-playing games. The two studios have been recognized for creating some of the highest-quality games in the industry.
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BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios have ten franchises under development, including six wholly owned games. BioWare Corp. is currently developing the highly anticipated Mass Effect, which will be published by Microsoft in November, and is in the early development stages of a massively multiplayer online game. Pandemic Studios is redefiningworld games with its upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames(TM) and Saboteur(TM), in addition to several unannounced projects.
Pandemic Studios and BioWare Corp. employ roughly 800 people across four studios located in Edmonton, Canada; Los Angeles; Austin; and Brisbane, Australia.
"These are two of the most respected studios in the industry and I'm glad to be working with them again. They'll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties," said John Riccitiello, EA's Chief Executive Officer. "We also expect this will drive long-term value for our shareholders."
Pandemic Studios is led by Andrew Goldman, Josh Resnick and Greg Borrud. BioWare Corp. is jointly led by Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka. These teams will join the EA(TM) Games Label run by Frank Gibeau, President of EA Games.
"Pandemic Studios remains focused on attracting the best talent and creating blockbuster action games," said Josh Resnick, President and Co-founder of Pandemic Studios. "As a worldwide publishing leader, EA represents the ideal partner to bring our titles to market as global entertainment events."
"We are truly excited by John Riccitiello's new vision for EA," said Ray Muzyka, Co-founder and CEO of BioWare Corp. "This vision is consistent with BioWare's focus on crafting the highest quality story-driven games in the world. It will enable us to further the careers of the passionate, creative and hard working teams at BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Austin."
EA will pay up to $620 million in cash to the stockholders of VG Holding Corp. and will issue up to an additional $155 million in equity to certain employees of VG Holding Corp., which will be subject to time-based or performance-based vesting criteria. EA will also assume outstanding VG Holding Corp. stock options. In addition, EA has agreed to lend VG Holding Corp. up to $35 million through the closing of the acquisition.
Transaction and Financial Information
* The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
* The transaction is expected to close in January 2008.
* On a GAAP basis, the acquisition is expected to be dilutive to EA's fiscal 2008 results by approximately $0.30 to $0.40 due to non-recurring acquisition-related charges, stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets. This amount is a preliminary estimate based on currently-available information and is subject to change.
* On a non-GAAP basis, the acquisition is expected to be dilutive to EA's fiscal 2008 fourth quarter results by approximately $0.05. This amount is a preliminary estimate based on currently-available information and is subject to change.
Inzwischen kam die Meldung, daß Jade Empire (PC) im Presswerk ist.
2K and BioWare Announce Jade Empire™: Special Edition for the PC Goes Gold
-- Jade Empire: Special Edition for the PC Provides Enhanced Game Play with New Content Including New Monsters and Fighting Styles --
New York, NY - February 7, 2007 - 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today that Jade Empire: Special Edition has gone to gold master and will be in stores in North America on February 27 and in Europe on March 2 Jade Empire: Special Edition is an award-winning action-RPG that delivers an incredible story-driven game play experience with stunning high-resolution graphics and controls optimized for the PC.
In the ancient, mysterious world of the Jade Empire, players choose to act as a noble hero or treacherous villain by following the path of the "Palm" or the "Closed Fist." Players will face powerful human and supernatural foes, learn magical martial arts and weapons styles, and discover the darkest secrets of the world. Jade Empire: Special Edition engages users with its rich story line and optimizes the gaming experience for PC gamers with an additional difficulty level, graphical upgrades, enhanced resolution and ultra-crisp visuals. In addition, the PC version features an exclusive art book and poster.
"We are delighted that our partnership with 2K has allowed us to bring Jade Empire: Special Edition to the PC, where fans can explore the beautiful, lush world in higher resolution than ever before," said Ray Muzyka, Chief Executive Officer, BioWare Corp. "Throughout the epic storyline, players can interact with more amazing creatures and characters, and enjoy the challenge of combat through the all-new Jade Master difficulty level and improved enemy AI!"
Jade Empire: Special Edition was named the #1 PC game on the debut of IGN's "Lust List" in October 2006. The Xbox version rated 9.9 out of 10 on IGN, winning IGN's Xbox Game of the Year and Xbox RPG of the Year. It also received ratings of 5 out of 5 from GameSpy, 9.5 out of 10 from Game Informer, and 9.33 out of 10 from EGM.
"Our collaboration with BioWare has been a great success in bringing PC gamers a full throttle Jade Empire experience," said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. "The game takes full advantage of the latest PC hardware to provide incredible graphics and streamlined controls to further improve this already stellar product."
BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company which develops computer and console video games focused on rich stories and memorable characters. BioWare's developers are hard at work on Mass Effect, a brand new BioWare-created intellectual property, and an Xbox™ 360 exclusive, to be published by Microsoft. Mass Effect is an epic science-fiction role-playing game set in a spectacular new vision of the future. BioWare's new studio in Austin, Texas, has begun work on a new massively multiplayer online game, marking BioWare's entry into the MMO space. Jade Empire, BioWare's first game based on a BioWare-created intellectual property, was released in April 2005 and has enjoyed critical and commercial success. BioWare is also hard at work on Dragon Age, a high fantasy RPG set in another brand-new world created and owned by BioWare. BioWare's Technology Architecture Group is also developing the cutting-edge next-generation BioWare Eclipse Engine technology for multiple platforms. BioWare has an online fan community at www.bioware.com consisting of over 3 million registered users who regularly connect to discuss the company's current and future games. In November 2004, the company launched the BioWare Online Store at store.bioware.com, where fans can purchase new content for their favorite BioWare titles and merchandise. Previously published projects include: the action-RPG of 2005 for Xbox, Jade Empire; the 2003 Game of the Year, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ for PC and Xbox; the award-winning Neverwinter Nights™ series; the genre-defining Baldur's Gate™ role-playing game series for the PC; MDK𔭖 for Dreamcast and PC, MDK𔭖: Armageddon for PlayStation®2, and Shattered Steel™. Employment information at BioWare can be found online at jobs.bioware.com.
About Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games for the PC, PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Xbox® and Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, Wii™, Nintendo GameCube™, Nintendo DS™ and Game Boy® Advance. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games, 2K and 2K Sports, and Global Star Software; and distributes software, hardware and accessories in North America through its Jack of All Games subsidiary. Take-Two's common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at www.take2games.com.
*BioWare, BioWare Corp., BioWare Eclipse Engine, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by BioWare Corp. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The statements contained herein which are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them. The Company has no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary significantly from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors. These risks and uncertainties include the final conclusions of the Special Committee and the Board of Directors concerning matters related to the Company's stock option grants, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of the stated dates of option grants and whether all proper procedures were followed, the impact of any restatement of financial statements of the Company or other actions that may be taken or required as a result of such reviews; the timing of the completion of the Special Committee's investigation; and the possibility that the Special Committee's investigation or any governmental investigation may reveal issues that the Company does not currently realize exist. In addition, the investigation and possible conclusions of the Special Committee may require additional expenses to be recorded; may adversely affect the Company's ability to file required reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on a timely basis, the Company's conclusions on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, and the Company's ability to meet the requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market for continued listing of the Company's shares; and may result in claims and proceedings relating to such matters, including shareholder litigation and actions by the SEC and/or other governmental agencies and negative tax or other ...
Forenmitglied Ilkar hat beim Surfen diese News auf Gamestar.de entdeckt, die besagt, dass die PC-Version von Jade Empire am 2. März dieses Jahres in die Läden gehen soll. Dieses Datum gilt laut der Newsmeldung für die europäische Version, die in der alten Welt als Special Edition erscheint. Die Amerikaner können das Spiel schon am 26. Februar spielen. Für die PC-Version verspricht BioWare bessere Grafik, neue Waffen, Monster und Kampftechniken.
Neben diesen Daten kann man bei Gamestar.de auch neue Bilder des Spiels bestaunen.
3DGamers hat einen Trailer zur kommenden PC-Version veröffentlicht. 8 Minuten ist das gute Stück lang und zeigt die im Vergleich zur XBox verbesserte Fassung. Es gibt ihn in zwei Qualitätsstufen, einmal mit 89 MB und einmal mit 202 MB.
Gamespot hat ein Video für die asog. Special Edition von Jade Empire veröffentlicht, welche Januar 2007 veröffentlicht werden soll. das Video ist 29 bzw. 64 MB groß.
FiringSquad hat dazu ein Interview mit dem Projektleiter Diarmid Clarke.
FiringSquad: First, how did the idea come about to develop a PC version of Jade Empire?
Diarmid Clarke: A big motivation was our fan community. BioWare has a terrific community of over 3 million members, many of whom are PC fans who let us know how eager they were for a new PC game.
FiringSquad: How was Gray Matter recruited to help develop the game?
Diarmid Clarke: I keep in contact with a lot of development studios so that when a project comes up I already have a short list of good people to go to. LTI did an evaluation demo for us of Jade working on the PC, which they presented to the original Jade team at our Edmonton offices. They did a great job of that.
Es war ja langezeit verdächtig ruhig um die PC-Fassung von Jade Empire, aber jetzt kommt die erlösende Meldung. Take 2 wird das Spiel veröffentlichen. Demnach dürfte gesichert sein, daß das Spiel Januar 2007 auch endgültig auf dem Markt ankommt. Die Fans wird es sicher freuen.
Gegenüber er XBox-Fassung gibt es nur leichte Anpassungen. Die Grafik wurde etwas verbessert, neue Kampfstile kommen hinzu und ein Artbook wird beigelegt. Der Schwierigkeitsgrad wurde ebenfalls etwas gesenkt.
Im Rahmen unserer RPGuides Feature-Erweiterungen gibt es heute eine weitere Wallpaper Galerie. 13 Desktop-Hintergrundbilder haben sich in der Jade Empire Sektion eingefunden.
Im Artikel von FiringSquad zu BioWares E3-Lineup werden u.a. auch die vorraussichtlichen Systemanforderungen der PC-Umsetzung bekannt gegeben. Erwartet wird wohl mindestens eine CPU mit 1800 MHz, 256 MB RAM und eine DX9-Karte mit Shader 1.1-Unterstützung. Außerdem wird noch erwähnt, daß ein First-Person-Betrachtermodus eingefügt werden soll.
