EA makes quantity, not quality. Apple is very much the opposite. I don't see this every happening. The only reason that they would think about it, in my mind, is to release EA Games on iTunes to compete with Steam, but that seems pretty far fetched, and I doubt they'd have to buy EA in order for that to happen.
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Apple Looking to Takeover Electronic Arts?
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Buying EA would make a lot of sense to me, as it would give Apple ownership of one of the largest game publishers and with it a number of the top selling game franchises. They could force the development of more games for Apple platforms but most importantly they could stop the development of games for Microsoft platforms.
Sure they would lose a lot of income but most if not all of it would be made up by increased sales on other platforms. It would cause massive damage to the Xbox platform though I'm not sure whether Apple would want to go there.
It would provide a base for expanding in to games more, maybe for Apple TV which they could develop in to a complete home entertainment system.
Sure they would lose a lot of income but most if not all of it would be made up by increased sales on other platforms. It would cause massive damage to the Xbox platform though I'm not sure whether Apple would want to go there.
It would provide a base for expanding in to games more, maybe for Apple TV which they could develop in to a complete home entertainment system.
Apple are not stupid, they enter markets they know they can control and which yield high profit margins... The games industry is a big pie Apple want a sizeable slice of since it is much bigger than the Movie industry and is rapidly expanding year over year. Like it or not, Apple is a very different company as compared with 5 years ago, and they focus a lot more attention on consumer oriented products which are in fact the very reason Apple are as successful as they are today. How else do you think they accumulated $25billion, it certainly wasn't from selling Mac Pros.
Whilst it seems on face value to be unlikely Apple would buy EA, it is in my view however not completely without merit.
EA owns BioWare now, who are making the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO ... man I hope Apple do this!
If I were the one making the decision - I would do it lol. EA is so cheap ... I have like 28 billion dollars - what's 10 less matter? And it puts Macs forward in the gaming market, and gets some good income. Too easy!
Why not?
If I were the one making the decision - I would do it lol. EA is so cheap ... I have like 28 billion dollars - what's 10 less matter? And it puts Macs forward in the gaming market, and gets some good income. Too easy!
Why not?
I don't think they would hurt the development of Windows or Xbox games lol ... they make iTunes and Safari and iPods compatible with Windows ...
Taking on EA would require a lot of collaboration with nvidia, ati, Sony, and their buddies at MS.
thinking about this Apple probably would not have the upper hand that they enjoy.
Imagine Apple pissing off sony and MS and those two consoles elect not to issue licensing rights to their platforms.
thinking about this Apple probably would not have the upper hand that they enjoy.
Imagine Apple pissing off sony and MS and those two consoles elect not to issue licensing rights to their platforms.
If you look at most of EA's good games these days there not really doing any of development.
EA is mostly just publishing the games, they invest x amount of money into a game so the developer has the resources to make it and then they take most of the profits.
If apple buys them it will most likely kill EA completely. No one wants to invest with a company who have a notoriously bad image in the gaming world.
I love apple but if you look at what every game developer says about them they have very little knowledge of the game industry. I think it was one of the lead designers from valve said that apple was constantly trying to get them to develop for mac but once they told apple what they needed from them nothing came from it.
EA is mostly just publishing the games, they invest x amount of money into a game so the developer has the resources to make it and then they take most of the profits.
If apple buys them it will most likely kill EA completely. No one wants to invest with a company who have a notoriously bad image in the gaming world.
I love apple but if you look at what every game developer says about them they have very little knowledge of the game industry. I think it was one of the lead designers from valve said that apple was constantly trying to get them to develop for mac but once they told apple what they needed from them nothing came from it.
As ridiculous as it might seem with the acquisition of a game software company in the midst of Apple hiring major HW-knowledge, I'm with you on this one. (no I don't think there will be a Applestation or Abox or Aii)
Contents is king after all and love it or hate it (personally I'm more on the latter side) EA provides A LOT of contents when it comes to games.
This would definitely be a good move for Apple.
The only thing that bothers me though is that Apples computers in general are equipped with medium-to-weak graphic cards and before Nvidia 9400 several of Apples computers (namely those with Intel 950 and x3100) were not suitable for gaming at all. Even with Nvidia 9400 the verdict is roughly something like this: don't play full-screen games on your mac unless it says "pro" somewhere or you go the most expensive graphic option for your iMac.
What a dream
I agree that this will most likely not happen, but if anything would dramatically improve apples long-term profits, this is it.
The key would be following through on the patents for a motion contolled device for the apple tv. With that in place and unfettered access to the worlds largest game creation studios across the planet, let's just say suddenly apple would be a major player in the largest and fastest growing consumer market, gaming.
Without a takeover like this, game creators will never view os x as a gaming environent. While the iPhone/iPod touch are setup for a future of games, there is too much potential gaming power being lost on the very powerful macs and possibly appletv.
With the app store in place and the coming premium app store, this makes sense. I think the iPod touch/iPhone opened apple's eyes as to how much they were missing the boat with games. I think they thought it was a nitche market, but clearly, at least now, it is a driving force for the market. Anyone who disagrees needs to look at the budget reports for gaming companies. If anything will make mac truly mainstream, releasing games across there platforms will do it.
Finally, imagine the awesome physics based games you could run with grand central, so much power.
I agree that this will most likely not happen, but if anything would dramatically improve apples long-term profits, this is it.
The key would be following through on the patents for a motion contolled device for the apple tv. With that in place and unfettered access to the worlds largest game creation studios across the planet, let's just say suddenly apple would be a major player in the largest and fastest growing consumer market, gaming.
Without a takeover like this, game creators will never view os x as a gaming environent. While the iPhone/iPod touch are setup for a future of games, there is too much potential gaming power being lost on the very powerful macs and possibly appletv.
With the app store in place and the coming premium app store, this makes sense. I think the iPod touch/iPhone opened apple's eyes as to how much they were missing the boat with games. I think they thought it was a nitche market, but clearly, at least now, it is a driving force for the market. Anyone who disagrees needs to look at the budget reports for gaming companies. If anything will make mac truly mainstream, releasing games across there platforms will do it.
Finally, imagine the awesome physics based games you could run with grand central, so much power.
Losing the EA game franchises from their console platforms would be very damaging to Microsoft or Sony as it would result in a loss of console sales, especially with the Madden (and other sports games) and The Sims. If EA dropped the Xbox, Sony would fall over themselves to keep them onside.
It would be so damaging that if Microsoft got wind of Apple going for a major games publisher I'd be very surprised if they didn't get involved in a bidding war. Unless they got their fingers burned too badly with previous purchases - they must of gone done for a small fortune with Rare.
Other than to declare war on Microsoft, I'm not sure there is many other benefits. There are far better ways to get more games on Apple platforms, better platforms, better selling platforms, better development kits and so on. If they get all of that right the developers will come to them.
Because there are these people called stockholders, and the reason why you'll never own a billion dollar company.EA owns BioWare now, who are making the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO ... man I hope Apple do this!
If I were the one making the decision - I would do it lol. EA is so cheap ... I have like 28 billion dollars - what's 10 less matter? And it puts Macs forward in the gaming market, and gets some good income. Too easy!
Considering how PC gaming is in decline, I'm surprised the gaming publishers still cling to DirectX. It would seem to me that the publishers would make some sort of effort to boost up OpenGL's capabilities because that API is far more universal for porting purposes than DirectX. DirectX only helps in terms of the [Windows] PC market and the Xbox 360. OpenGL would be useful in terms of not just [Windows] PCs but Macs, Linux PCs, mobile phones [including the iPhone], the Playstation 3, the Wii, and other systems.
Of course, I'm also surprised that the gaming industry hasn't created its own gaming Linux distribution either... then again, it would take the efforts of OpenGL being boosted first before that could happen....
Apple's stubbornness at times makes me wish some eccentric billionaire* would buy up the remnants of Amiga [plus Hyperion] and Atari and (re)create a viable third platform for the end user.
*I'm actually surprised Google hasn't thought about it. Why use Linux as the basis for Android when they could've bought Amiga OS on the cheap and actually owned the entire IP outright?
I was just thinking about that. A bidding war could be good or bad for Apple. I would laugh if Microsoft panicked and starting buying up all the game publishers. That would trigger another anti-trust case against them plus it would probably cause a revolt amongst the institutional shareholders [finally] considering the Xbox division continues to be a money losing division.
It really cheeses me off that CalPERS hasn't launched such a revolt considering how many shares they own in Microsoft and the fact that they were the ones that really pushed for the removal of Michael Eisner at Disney and Paul Grasso from the NYSE... Hell, I'm just pissed that they own Microsoft stock considering the California Attorney General's Office was so active in the former Microsoft anti-trust legal proceedings...
EA rarely ever produce a decent game, Apple would be better investing in one of the more higher rated devs like Valve.
Both companies share a similar approach in their design by subtration method. EA would be better suited to Microsoft - so much shine and so many products but gut wrenchingly boring and stale underneath.
Both companies share a similar approach in their design by subtration method. EA would be better suited to Microsoft - so much shine and so many products but gut wrenchingly boring and stale underneath.
I'm sorry you started off with this line because it throws apart everything else in your post. PC gaming is most certainly not in decline.
*sigh* the Xbox 360 division has been making a profit since January 2008. Don't make stuff up. http://www.ripten.com/2008/01/26/xbox-360-finally-making-a-profit/
Go to the local Best Buy and see how much shelf space has disappeared in the past six months in terms of both application and video game software for PC and then you tell me that PC gaming isn't in decline. And when you tell me that, I'll tell you I also was able to buy brand new software for my Atari 1040ST at that same Best Buy recently.
Right. Balance that with the additional costs of extending the Xbox360 warranty for 3 plus years with the RROD issue. Now there's the other disc error costs that are piling up. Plus even with their paper profits, it still does not make up for the $4 billion plus that the division has lost.
But hey, Microsoft did fix one thing... At least the Xbox 360 no longer burns down houses like the original model did. Progress!
Lynxpro - PC Gaming is thriving!
Though console gaming is growing waaay faster ... but PC Gaming will never die.
Though console gaming is growing waaay faster ... but PC Gaming will never die.
That $4 Billion plus hole will never be filled by XBox's trickle down profits during MS's lifetime. As long as MS continues to subsidize the unit, even taking the defects out of consideration, XBox will inevitably be a losing venture for MS, and the shareholders are well aware of this.
Wishful thinking? Because people love messing with drivers, patches, updates and DRM on friday evening, while their beer is getting hot, trying to play their latest game on their PC with a small 22-24" screen, when they could just load the disc in their console and play it after a few minutes (in HD) on their 42" lcd/plasma with full surround. An entertainment system they also, already use for their movies. That's the simple reason why console gaming is growing while the inherent problems of PC gaming gets it pushed into oblivion. Think outside your box.
Honestly, imho Apple would be best to stay out of the gaming business. While I would like to see some good games on my Mac as much as anyone else I just think their so far behind in this area that it's rather embarrassing. They will most likely, eventually face the same problems PC gaming are having today. Unless they develop a console with a fixed specification. If anything they should just develop better support/gaming tools for the OpenGL platform and leave it at that.
If they acquire the passing fad a.k.a twitter though, with money made out of their 'premium' prices... Let's just say, I won't be buying anything Apple next time around.
Since the best EA can do for OS X is kludgy Cider ports, I wouldn't think that it's a good match for apple - EA is like a huge cafeteria - every food under the sun, serving more customers than anyone else, but it's all mediocre.
I just don't see how buying out EA would be a sound investment or provide a great strategic advantage for Apple.
Even as a PC gamer, it's hard not to recognize the PC gaming market is both shrinking compared to the console market and in the midst of a period of evolution to find a way to co-exist alongside the growing popularity of consoles as the de facto gaming platform. IMHO, that evolution will be towards content-delivery technology like Steam.
EA is a struggling dinosaur, which I suppose gives Apple an advantage at the negotiating table but not necessarily a strong return on investment. Even Twitter, which has no clear way to profit from its popularity, seems like a more reasonable investment.
Even as a PC gamer, it's hard not to recognize the PC gaming market is both shrinking compared to the console market and in the midst of a period of evolution to find a way to co-exist alongside the growing popularity of consoles as the de facto gaming platform. IMHO, that evolution will be towards content-delivery technology like Steam.
EA is a struggling dinosaur, which I suppose gives Apple an advantage at the negotiating table but not necessarily a strong return on investment. Even Twitter, which has no clear way to profit from its popularity, seems like a more reasonable investment.