Romier S Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 Yay more industry consolidation *groan* https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-14-ea-agrees-USD1-2-billion-acquisition-of-codemasters Quote Electronic Arts has agreed a deal to acquire Codemasters for approximately $1.2 billion. The acquisition, which is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2021, is based on a price of $7.98 per share for the UK publisher. In explanation for the deal, Codemasters chairman Gerhard Florin said that both companies "have a shared ambition to lead the video game racing category." "We feel this union would provide an exciting and prosperous future for Codemasters, allowing our teams to create, launch and service bigger and better games to an extremely passionate audience," Florin said in a statement. EA CEO Andrew Wilson added: "Our industry is growing, the racing category is growing, and together we will be positioned to lead in a new era of racing entertainment. "With the full leverage of EA's technology, platform expertise, and global reach, this combination will allow us to grow our existing franchises and deliver more industry-defining racing experiences to a global fan base." When complete, the deal will add a host of racing IPs to EA's stable, including Formula One, Dirt, Grid and Project Cars. EA already owns established franchises like Need for Speed, Burnout and Real Racing. Dan B. and Angry the Clown 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry the Clown Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 This sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 That they’re being bought sucks. But mainly because I think they’re being sold out of necessity rather than anything. And I don’t particularly know it sucks that they’re now being bought by EA rather than Take Two. If they force Codies to slather the next Dirt or Grid in tedious NFS macho bravado street racing Americanism I will break something, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 Honestly, their games + IP fit EA's portfolio more than Take Two. I didn't understand why Take Two were interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 True, but maybe Take Two was looking for a way to expand their portfolio. Much easier to buy an established studio then create one from the ground up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyjaw Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 Holy moly. Shit. And I was so excited that CM had gotten the license for the official WRC games. Now who knows what they will end up like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foogledricks Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 I don't like this consolidation, particularly when it is EA. But I care so little about Code Masters. Racing games aren't my thing really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starhawk Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 I saw this thread the other day and thought, "didn't we already know this?", and just realized that was Take Two at that time, not EA. 🤦♂️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted July 6 Author Report Share Posted July 6 https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ea-confirms-codemasters-leadership-departures-4-months-after-buyout/ CEO Frank Sagnier and CFO Rashid Varachia will leave the F1 and Dirt publisher at the end of the month, EA confirmed in a statement issued to GI.biz. A company spokesperson reportedly claimed that the departures had “always been part of the plan”, but have now been brought forward due to the speed of Codemasters’ integration into EA’s studios. Both Codemasters and its Slightly Mad studio (Project Cars) will join the EA Sports umbrella, it said. Slightly Mad will continue to be led by studio CEO Ian Bell, while Codemasters’ SVP of product development Clive Moody and SVP of publishing Jonathan Bunney will take over the running of the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Posted July 6 Report Share Posted July 6 I don’t entirely get this. Codemasters are GREAT racing-game developers, but EA already has arguably the GREATEST racing developer in Criterion, and it’s gone criminally underused for — what — the better part of a decade? What is the plan here? For Codemasters to do the sim stuff and Criterion to handle arcade racers? Or, is there no real plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted July 6 Report Share Posted July 6 Last I looked, nearly all the people who made Criterion the people who made Burnout Paradise had left years ago. “Criterion” were doing the vehicle stuff for Battlefield. EA hadn’t put out a good arcade racer since what, the second game called Most Wanted? Angry the Clown and dogbert 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry the Clown Posted July 6 Report Share Posted July 6 59 minutes ago, iainl said: Last I looked, nearly all the people who made Criterion the people who made Burnout Paradise had left years ago. “Criterion” were doing the vehicle stuff for Battlefield. EA hadn’t put out a good arcade racer since what, the second game called Most Wanted? Reminds me that I really need to check out the Hot Pursuit remaster on Game Pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 6 Report Share Posted July 6 1 hour ago, Angry the Clown said: Reminds me that I really need to check out the Hot Pursuit remaster on Game Pass. Been playing around with it. It holds up well in my opinion. The game itself looks a little shinier and a little prettier, but that is it as far as the remastered part goes. It’s a shame nobody is touching this as it is still arguably the best arcade racer released in the last ten years. Angry the Clown 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted July 7 Report Share Posted July 7 Is it any better than the last few EA racers at letting you race, rather than constantly interrupting you with tutorials, requirements to log in to their online services, kicking you out to a title screen if it can’t find its server, video cutscenes rendered in lower quality than the in-game graphics, and so on? Rivals was a complete nightmare when I tried it again recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry the Clown Posted July 7 Report Share Posted July 7 7 minutes ago, iainl said: Is it any better than the last few EA racers at letting you race, rather than constantly interrupting you with tutorials, requirements to log in to their online services, kicking you out to a title screen if it can’t find its server, video cutscenes rendered in lower quality than the in-game graphics, and so on? Rivals was a complete nightmare when I tried it again recently. Hot Pursuit was Criterion's acclaimed Need for Speed game from 2010. I was surprised how the remaster kind of flew under the radar given how beloved the original is (even Edge gave it a 9 way back when). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 7 Report Share Posted July 7 1 hour ago, iainl said: Is it any better than the last few EA racers at letting you race, rather than constantly interrupting you with tutorials, requirements to log in to their online services, kicking you out to a title screen if it can’t find its server, video cutscenes rendered in lower quality than the in-game graphics, and so on? Rivals was a complete nightmare when I tried it again recently. It is just racers and cops. Pick a track and go. I don’t think you need to be logged in but one of the hooks back in the day was autolog, where it kept the best times among your friends that played the game, mainly just for bragging rights, but you would also get a small bonus for beating your friends time. iainl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry the Clown Posted July 7 Report Share Posted July 7 I took a moment to play it for a little bit this evening. It's a blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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