Electronic Arts buys Playfish for as much as $400 million
Electronic Arts confirmed rumors this morning as it acquired Playfish for $300 million in cash and stock. The move gets EA into the social gaming market on Facebook in a big way.
The value of the deal — $275 million in cash, $25 million in stock, and up to $100 million in bonus cash if certain milestones are hit by 2012 — reflects the rapid growth of Playfish over the last couple of years. Playfish is… Continue Reading
Updated: Q&A: An interview with game developer Foundation 9 Entertainment
Jon Goldman is chairman and CEO of Foundation 9 Entertainment, the Irvine, Calif.-based video game development company that followed a different path by sticking with the cool stuff of making games and leaving the business of publishing games to others. (Update: Goldman announced March 16 that he will become chairman of Foundation 9 and James North-Hearn will be its new CEO.)
While most developers grow up to be game publishers – who market, distribute, and publish… Continue Reading
The EA Death Star getting close to Take-Two Tatooine?
Here’s an amusing satirical mash-up (note, the site works intermittently, I found) of Darth Vader and Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello. EA, of course, represents the evil Galactic Empire attempting to swallow Take-Two interactive with its “friendly” hostile $26 a share offer.
We didn’t create this, it’s the work of Rob Dunlop, a comic book writer in south London, who brings a little comic relief to a serious subject in the video game industry with his… Continue Reading