ELECTRONIC ARTS
ENTERS ACQUISITION PITS
Copyright 2004 www.tombraiderchronicles.com
[ July 28th 2004 ]
Electronic
Arts jumped into the acquisition game on Wednesday,
agreeing to purchase U.K.-based Criterion Software
Group, according to an article published by business
portal www.thestreet.com. Video game software
giant Electronic Arts acquired Criterion because
of its intellectual property and game studio,
EA spokeswoman Trudy Muller said. Criterion is
the developer behind EA's Burnout racing game
franchise and the creator of RenderWare, a widely
used piece of software used in game development.
"We see
it as a good investment," Muller said, adding
that EA expects to start seeing returns from the
acquisition when Burnout 3 debuts later this quarter.
EA's acquisition is only the latest sign of consolidation
in the video game arena.
Eidos,
another U.K. video game developer, announced last
month that it would consider being taken over.
Meanwhile, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone has
been buying up shares of Midway and is considering
taking the company private. And earlier this month,
Acclaim Entertainment warned that it may soon
wind up in bankruptcy.
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