buggs 0 Posted August 6, 2004 Looks like Codemasters is about to be bought by Ubisoft. The info below is taken from a UK games industry mag called MCV. Quote[/b] ]06 August 2004 By Stuart DinseyWITH EIDOS for sale, Codemasters for sale, Criterion bought and Argonaut in financial crisis, it’s not just the media frenzy surrounding Manhunt that should be giving the market pause for thought this week. From a content creation and ownership perspective, the UK industry is faced with the harsh realities of global consolidation. Indeed, a collection of its biggest brand names could fall into foreign ownership in just a matter of weeks. Whilst most acquisition talk has surrounded EA’s $48m swoop for Criterion and coffee-spitter of a cash offer for Eidos, MCV understands that French giant Ubisoft has reached an advanced stage in negotiations with another of the UK’s prized games assets in Codemasters. The company, formed by the original teenage whizzkids David and Richard Darling in 1986, boasts around 400 staff. It is hugely respected all over the world for its ability to punch above its weight in terms of both sales performance and critical acclaim. But as a new era and new formats loom, it has been clear for some time that the Warwickshire outfit requires more funding in order to compete. Recent public and private fund-raising projects seeking Å20m-Å30m are believed to have stalled, with the directors now listening more intently to offers. Ubisoft is a well-known admirer and Codemasters would fit perfectly. It has genuine development strength, which would surely be retained, and is active in non-Ubi genres such as racing and sport. Plus there is a goldmine of catalogue and other IP to be exploited. Ubi looked at Eidos, but has left the battle to EA and THQ, with EA’s $300m first offer looking difficult to beat (see full report on page 10). And as Criterion gets used to life as an EA subsidiary (‘Criterion makes a pledge – MCV 30/7), London studio Argonaut this week told the City it expects losses of Å6m this year. Here's A link to the article: MCV Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bn880 5 Posted August 6, 2004 Hmm, this is indeed interesting, I wonder if it has any effect on BIS... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadow 6 Posted August 6, 2004 Oh man! This is terrible news The one company left which still supports their products is about to be bought It could have been a little bit worse; EA could have bought CM. Ubi is nowhere near as terrible as EA regarding product-support and lack of new-thinking (NHL 01,02,02,04,05.....ring any bells? ), but still I place Ubi as a solid 2nd after EA as the worlds most terrible distributor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedyDonkey 0 Posted August 6, 2004 I was thinking about codemsters being sold a couple of months ago. How interesting   Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hardrock 1 Posted August 6, 2004 I was thinking about codemsters being sold a couple of months ago. How interesting witch! witch! witch! what can I say, that many (shall I say good or bad ) news at once ..... uh I think I'm off Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
killswitch 19 Posted August 6, 2004 Oh dear god no....not UBI... Like Shadow said, the only thing worse than UBI is EA... Feck... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sputnik monroe 102 Posted August 6, 2004 Yuk! I always respected codemasters, now they'll be bought out by UBI soft! YARrrR! I can't stand UBI or EA. Well if BIS's publisher ends up being UBI I'm sure we can kiss OFP2 good bye. I'm sure they'll torpedo it like they did Harpoon. If they do continue making it then count on OFP2 being OFP lite, for kids. Plenty of lame crap to like jumping and circle strafing to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Argh! I miss Microprose, Spectrum Holobyte, and SSI. Now I shall miss codemasters.Damn you UBI damn you all to helllllll!! *pounds his fist into the sand in anger* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedyDonkey 0 Posted August 6, 2004 I may be way off but I think that ubisoft was intended to be the original publisher back in the days. Things changed and Codemsater became the publisher instead. So Ubi has shown interest in ofp before. Remember, Ubi hasn’t bought Codemasters yet. Still plenty of time for EA to make an offer on CM as well. ;O) Btw, what publisher would you guys want, in terms of good marketing and personal experiences? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevevcb 3 Posted August 6, 2004 At least EA doesn't stamp on community modders. Ubi's done their damndest to stop SDKs for Lock-On and Raven Shield. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedyDonkey 0 Posted August 6, 2004 At least EA doesn't stamp on community modders. Ubi's done their damndest to stop SDKs for Lock-On and Raven Shield. You've got to be kidding. Only a couple of days ago EA stopped a MOD for DOOM3. (I’m not going to comment whether that was a legitimate decision or not) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevevcb 3 Posted August 6, 2004 Okay, I'll rephrase that. At least EA doesn't stamp on community modders with nasty big boots on like Ubi does. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr burns 131 Posted August 6, 2004 why are the publishers putting all efforts into stopping the community from holding itself alive ? not saying ur a liar but i just cannot understand that the best possible example may be the opf community Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Frenchman 0 Posted August 6, 2004 When ze Frenchies attack! Â Well it could be worse. Having the evil corporation which is EA publish it and have jumping, strafing and a bunch of arcadey shit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralphwiggum 6 Posted August 7, 2004 this is a sad news. lesser of two evils...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Madus_Maximus 0 Posted August 7, 2004 I have nothing but BAD BAD BAD memories from "quality" Ubi products. If this happens OFP will be a 574395709275094325 patch wonder with fixes in version 1.99999999991 that they promised would be fixed in verison 1.01 *cough raven shield* and they'll add so many bugs per patch you'll need a server style connection to download the 15terabyte patch to "fix" them all, then find out it just "fixes" the 1st bugs 1.01 should have fixed, and that there's more patches to come to fix the later bugs. BIS made a VERY good choice going with Codemasters and I hope they somehow manage to stay independent and Ubi/EA free. Hell, I'd rather have Microsoft own them! They at least give their devlopers the space they want to do things they want and just give financial backing. They'll screw them over in some way by having the rights to some game names or something (like they own the rights to "Age of Emopires"). God help us the day Ubi take over! *prepares shrine for CM with little grave stone saying "Codemasters, 1986 -2004, died at the hands of the French"* <<< Not something you see every day... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hellfish6 7 Posted August 7, 2004 At least they weren't bought out by Strategy First. If they were, they'd have probably forced BIS to release OFP2 tomorrow, 2 years from completion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evishion 0 Posted August 7, 2004 I hope the game itself WONT turn into a Arcade game as the rest of the UBI games!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
korax 4 Posted August 7, 2004 The only way to stop this takeover.. is to stop the company. Wheres my gun?!  (Sorry, been playing too much doom 3 lately  ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m21man 0 Posted August 7, 2004 Quote[/b] ]I have nothing but BAD BAD BAD memories from "quality" Ubi products. If this happens OFP will be a 574395709275094325 patch wonder with fixes in version 1.99999999991 that they promised would be fixed in verison 1.01 *cough raven shield* and they'll add so many bugs per patch you'll need a server style connection to download the 15terabyte patch to "fix" them all, then find out it just "fixes" the 1st bugs 1.01 should have fixed, and that there's more patches to come to fix the later bugs. The patches will still be developed by BIS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Frenchman 0 Posted August 7, 2004 Hell, I'd rather have Microsoft own them! Knowing Microsoft, they would force BIS to make OFP2 a Xenon exclusive....then release a port 2 years later. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdog~ 0 Posted August 7, 2004 Codemasters sucks/sucked too. BIS should just stick to burning their software on CD-RW's and selling them online :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Balatouf 0 Posted August 7, 2004 When i think about some of the games i was really waiting for , with some kind of excitations , ubi soft properly destroyed them in all the possible ways, in the gameplay, in the stability, even in the support. All i can hope is that ubisoft will not put their dirty hands on OFP2 in any way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Longinius 1 Posted August 7, 2004 I think you guys are being a bit unfair here. Ubisoft has released many quality products that did work, were innovative and top notch (Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, Beyond Good and Evil, Ghost Recon, Rayman, Far Cry, IL2 Sturmovik). Yes, there have been bad ones, like Ravenshield, but noone is perfect. Further more, products like XIII, Beyond Good and Evil and even sims like Lock On and IL2 shows that Ubisoft isnt scared to put niche products on the market. If they can pump out good flight sims, be danged sure they can pump out a game like OFP2 too, thats bound to sell better regardless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kavoven 4 Posted August 7, 2004 Please, not UBISOFT! Just look a Far Cry and the SDK, and the patches and all that stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
