Ms Bought Lionhead

yip god buy indeed. SEGA went on a little shopping spree too i heard not sure what companies they bought though

Too bad that they’re no longer independent, but better Microsoft than you-know-who getting to them. I wouldn’t mind working for Microsoft Game Studios one day.

I’m very interested to see the direction that Lionhead will be going in. MS will probably want to let them continue to be known for their creativity, but I’d imagine they’ll reel them in a little.

Lionhead thing was coming for a while. I never saw Ubisoft seriously talking them over because of MS’s close ties with Fable etc. I would imagine MS will let them go about business as normal like with RARE but I suspect they will want Lionhead to stick to more stricter release windows, and not let BW3 etc slip 1-2 years from when its originally slated for.

IMHO thats why B&W2 failed, sure everyone knew about it etc but they were waiting so long, when it finally showed up they were like down Game and seeing it on the shelf going “wow its finally out, but i came in to buy pro Evo 5 maybe next time”.

On the Sega thing:

Sega bought Secret Level in San Franciso and its to become an internal studio for SOA. We also purchased Sports Interactive in London (makers of Football Manager 2005, and also old developers of Championship Manager). 2nd fastest selling game in the UK for PC. Which was a very good purchase indeed.

on the sega thing:

i thought when Sports Interactive left eidos, causal gamers being the think heads that there are, would keep buying championship manager and not football manager, because of the name. But i was proven wrong, causal gamers are getting smarter… :shock:

great buy, just like fifa and championship, football manager is a licence to print money.

it was hard to get info about Secret Level, because of the name (try googling it) but i got some info from mobygames

i’m happy to see Lionhead be bought, instead of going down, but still sad to see another Independ go.

The only thing i worry is will they go the way of Rare or Bungie? i was talking to a guy whos bother worked for rare right up to conkers: reloaded for the xbox, and he said that the place was falling apart once MS took over, MS put in a load of managers the knew F all about games… he left Rare another high profile developer (not say who…. MS spies might be watching )

Gives stability to a large UK developer = Good thing.

that was also a good buy.

there should be a game publishers monopoly board game….but who would be Old Kent Road and who would be Mayfair?

Wasn’t aware The Creative Assembly was bought up by Sega. They do exceptional work, really looking forward to Medieval 2: Total War

ya the creative assembly was purchased last year. good group they are.

I’d say keep watching the news sega probably isnt stopping there. there commited to be retaking their place at the top.

As for secret level, they did a port of unreal to dreamcast, and americas army to ps2.

As for what Darksaviour said about football manager fans being smart enough to move, i too was very surprised that fans noticed the developer and not the publisher.. its cool :)

i remember reading in a game mag that about year after the stop making the dreamcast, sega released a press statement, all it said was ” Sega will be the worlds biggest 3rd party publisher”. it looks like they are on track…

i didn’t know they did the port of unreal, that was a good port, ( supported 8 player online compared to DC quake 3, 4 player)

there should be a game publishers monopoly board game….but who would be Old Kent Road and who would be Mayfair?[/quote:094e6a99de]

Be a short game –
“I’m buying EA”
“Ok, we’ll get our coats”

on the sega thing:
causal gamers are getting smarter… :shock: [/quote:0a02b3c2e4]

LOL if that was the case FIFA street wouldnt be anywhere near the top of the charts!!! they still got a bit to learn

on the sega thing:
causal gamers are getting smarter… :shock: [/quote:5932918729]

LOL if that was the case FIFA street wouldnt be anywhere near the top of the charts!!! they still got a bit to learn[/quote:5932918729]

Baby steps. You cant expect miracles over night.

overnight!!! they have released TWO of these games!! and “casual gamers” still dont see the error of there ways. same go’s for need for speed and FIFA. like granded i know many EA buyers may be kids but still EA release sequeal after sequeal and make slight changes to the game play, and people go out and lap it up!! not only that but innovation and talent go over looked these days!! i cant name on person who owns a copy of katamari. plus not only that but the one GOOD game EA get there hands on (strangers wrath) they make a mess the the publishing!! i know im having a good ol blast at EA but i dont know of any other company which have such a strong hold on the games industry yet have very few good games. :?

actually i did read some where (edge?) that fifa sales are going down every year and pro evo is going up! Fifa is still selling better, but the gap is closing every year…

i remember reading in a game mag that about year after the stop making the dreamcast, sega released a press statement, all it said was ” Sega will be the worlds biggest 3rd party publisher”. it looks like they are on track…

[/quote:f21ec0e3c7]

Its true, thats their aim and profit is continously being reported to be higher than previously forecasted.. Woohoo.

steve_skittles wrote:
overnight!!! they have released TWO of these games!! and “casual gamers” still dont see the error of there ways. same go’s for need for speed and FIFA. like granded i know many EA buyers may be kids but still EA release sequeal after sequeal and make slight changes to the game play, and people go out and lap it up!! not only that but innovation and talent go over looked these days!! i cant name on person who owns a copy of katamari. plus not only that but the one GOOD game EA get there hands on (strangers wrath) they make a mess the the publishing!! i know im having a good ol blast at EA but i dont know of any other company which have such a strong hold on the games industry yet have very few good games. [/quote:853c4a45fb]

EA aren’t that bad. Some of the games they publish are really good. Look at Tiger Woods golf. I got the 2004 game last summer for EUR 30 and i got more playtime out of it than any other ps2 game i ever bought.

Im playing Fight Night round 3 at the moment as well and it’s excellent especially in 2 player. Of course i can’t argue the fact that they do release games year after year with only small enhancements but i suppose can you blame them if its making them money?

CLICK!!!

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic

Yeah i cant argue the fact that its the same game released every year but it is actually a quality game in my opinion anyway. I think if youre into golf (or like me have just a passing interest in it) then you would enjoy a Tiger Woods game.

Of course if youre into football then that doesnt go to say that you would appreciate Fifa. Fifa is a god awful game and has been for years. Most football fans knows that Pro Evo or Football Manager are the games to get.

Thats not to say that you should buy the new version of Tiger Woods every October. I bought the 2004 game because i wanted a golf game, it was cheap and it was the best reviewed golf game id heard of on the PS2. I spent 2 months playing it and really enjoyed it so it was well worth it.

Most games i buy only last me 2 or 3 weeks. King Kong for example – a great game but i finished it in a weekend and i havnt touched it since. Tiger Woods still gets played every few weeks after nearly a year though.

So there…

true P.J i agree. sure ninty are guilty of throwing the cash cow into the fray too. like Mario is popping up everywhere now!! i also agree with your Tiger woods comment i really enjoyed playing that series….every installment actually.

i cant name on person who owns a copy of katamari.
…
i know im having a good ol blast at EA but i dont know of any other company which have such a strong hold on the games industry yet have very few good games. :?[/quote:4f903c88e4]

Probably because Katamari was never released in Europe. I played it on a modded PS2, deadly buzz. Dunno where the owner got it from though, their international jet-setting lifestyle maybe (or maybe e-bay).
We ♥ Katamari is released here (about four months after the US!), so maybe you’ll end up knowing somebody who owns that.

I heard recently that EA are shifting their policy on funding development of original IP and trying to move toward a more innovation-based roster. Where was that? Oh yeah, our friend Scott Miller
http://dukenukem.typepad.com/game_matters/2006/03/electronic_arts.html
And you may say pigs might fly, but lookit the MS and Lionhead situation, it might actaully be true to say that the wind of change that told everyone else “innovation is king” has finally reached the people on top of the publishing mountain.

As long as they keep making SSX games…as with the golf game for P.J, I can always come back for some more stoned snowboarding. Uber!

sorry mate i was talking bout we love katamari!!! oops!! still its a great game!! there is a flash version i think ill look for the link…

steve_skittles wrote:
sure ninty are guilty of throwing the cash cow into the fray too. like Mario is popping up everywhere now!![/quote:a8905db3cb]

Nintendo can cash in as much as they like as far as im concerned. All is forgiven. They make some great games. Nintendogs anyone??

omen wrote:
The only sport game I really rate them for is Madden. NHL seems to have gone down a bit[/quote:a8905db3cb]

Yeah Madden is pretty good as well. I just picked up Segas NFL 2K5 today for a tenner though. I think i heard that EA bought up the American NFL rights because it was so much better than Madden. Looking forward to playing that later…

iv got nintendogs!!! its ok i only got it for the missus really. LOL see the spin off versions on the GBA? what a rip off. they are called “catz” and “dogz” poopoo

Catz and Dogz was out well before nintendogs, it’s originally from the PC

CLICK!!!
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic%5B/quote:ddce050df6%5D

LOL :D I read the first page of the thread thinking nobody had seen it until I saw your post… correct clicky, though.

I cant exactly understand why they picture Lionhead as an ugly bird, although I did like the article Gabe wrote, particularly the point about “Why buy them anyway?! it’s like paying somebody to give you money!” (paraphrased). I was under the impression that Lionhead do some pretty good stuff… :?