CNN Money writes: "When Electronic Arts Inc. decided to "go hostile" in its efforts to acquire Take-Two Interactive Software, the video game giant took a gamble that it will be able to pursue such a deal without losing Take- Two's most valuable asset -- its game developers.
Hostile acquisitions are a rarity in the high-tech world because such deals run the risk of alienating the employee talent that is often the most valuable asset of the business being acquired. That is particularly true in the video game business, where a relatively small pool of game designers, artists and programmers play crucial roles in the development of hit game titles such as " Grand Theft Auto" and last year's surprise hit "Bioshock."
To make the Take-Two acquisition pay off, EA will need to secure the talent behind the publishers' top games. The risk in a hostile deal, analysts say, is that EA will be unable to communicate directly with these individuals to gauge their response."
New report from Skillsearch found that 22% of those surveyed had been laid off within the past 12 months.
It's a step forward for Stop Killing Games.
The Callisto Protocol director thinks the solution involves the right people, the right timing, and perhaps a little bit of AI
I don't agree with that. I WISH I could agree with that. But buying habits and customer opinions prove otherwise
We've seen developers in the AAA space try new things and ideas. More often than not, the customers aren't willing to give things a chance, or not enough people buy into the project for it to grow.
Creativity works better in the indie space because the budgets, pressures, and expectations aren't the same.
it's a nice idea and it worked during the PS2/PS3-era when AAA didn't cost hundreds of millions of dollars. smaller budgets and shorter development time left room for more creativity and more risk. a game didn't need to sell 4 million+ copies to break even. things are different now.
This is the guy who bragged about crunching his staff and having them work through the night. Crunch culture has lost more talent and done more damage to the industry than any other factor. Screw him.
It's like buying Hooters but losing all the babes. EA may in the end buy a empty game studio and a name.
You can't buy dignity. Can't buy self-respect. Money won't replace pride.
The longer this drags on, the less likely it'll happen since this has been boosting the price of Take Two's shares.
Seriously however, do sports games make a big splash in the industry?
If EA is ever able of taking over TT then they might most likely pack up and leave to start another company and take their talent with them creating new games with the same style. Their previous games will loose the uniqueness to them because it will be someone else copying what they did before. I would like to know about the new development studio so I can support them. I support talent and passion not greedy take overs.
What really ticks me off even though I dislike GTA is that they waited until the game was finished so they didn't have to fund it but they are going to get all the profits and the rights to the games.