Friday, December 12, 2008

Disney might buy over Electronic Arts in future

One word, "Tragic". Bloody tragic.

"Asked if Disney's focus would be on developing in-house games over buying more developers, [CFO Tom] Staggs responded, "I don't want you to conclude that those are in the long term mutually exclusive." He went on to say that a "strategic and attractive" purchase would be "a possibility" for the family entertainment giant.

Did he say Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS)? No. However, a combination of EA's battered share price and Disney's desire to ramp up its gaming presence dovetail nicely in the rumor mill.

The Motley Fool offers five reasons why a Disney takeover of EA makes sense:

  • Disney has acquired game companies before (Avalanche Studios, Club Penguin)
  • EA Sports and Disney's ESPN would have synergy
  • Disney's MMOs haven't worked out so far, but EA has Warhammer
  • Racing is a major theme is Disney's films and parks; EA has Need For Speed
  • Convergence of Disney's theme parks with EA's strong IP" - gamepolitics.com
Nooooo!!!

What titles can we expect in the future?
-Mickey and Friends Online
-Need for Disney
-Adventures in Disneyland (Alright, they're all made up)

Right now, EA is one of the leading developers in Video games. Although its games are declining in quality in the recent years, a world without EA is pretty hard to fathom. Furthermore, EA and Disney just do not mix. EA caters to the more down-to-earth gamers with titles such as the Battlefield and Command & Conquer series; adding "family entertainment" to it would be pure facepalm.

As far as I can see, the equation is:
(EA assimilated into Disney) =/= (very family-oriented games and unhappy gamers)

Nuff' said.

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