EA Games Grabs Hold Of Bioware And Pandemic
EA has been talking to Elevation Partners and finding ways to get their hands on VG Holding Corp, the guys who own both Bioware and Pandemic. This week they closed the deal, which was valued at $860 million. EA is happy to bring in the newbies to their lineup.
BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios have 10 franchises under development, including six wholly owned games. BioWare Corp. is currently developing Mass Effect, which will be published by Microsoft Corp. in November, and is in the early development stages of a massively multiplayer online game.
EA CEO John Riccitiello was happy over the deal and stated that, “They’ll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties.” Pandemic Co-Founder and President Josh Resnick also feels optimistic about the future.
EA does have a habit of creating what many people call ‘cookie-cutter sequels’ when they purchase into other companies. If they do things right they will keep the original quality of the games that were created by Bioware and Pandemic and make them even better. Staying true to the games is what gamers want and will prove best for them in the end.
