Take-Two buys Firaxis

[Nobody]

Will it be the biggest computer game company then? I mean sure it wont have as many games as EA but i reckon Civ3 and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas are two best games i have ever played. I have not played civ4 yet. But the GTA seris must be worth a Billion dollars, 5 flawless games and just released Liberty City Storys. I mean there huge.

 

[haleigh1000]

Does Sid have the rights to the CIV franchise..If he does it should not be an issue because if any problems arise he could just leave. If he doesn't be concerned because Sierra software took the Leisure Suit Larry franchise, and made a piss poor game. They did not hire, or consult the games original creator Al Lowe. Al Lowe should have bought the rights that franchise well.

Played Leisure Suit Larry I, II, III, IV, and VI, and waiting for Al Lowes return one of the greats of the RPG era

Also had Freddy Pharkas Frontier Pharmacist, but never got around to finishing that one

 

[Ravinhood]

Hey maybe this means will get a SMAC 2 and an upgrade to SM Gettysburg series. So they can suk more $$ out of us for the same games over and over again.

 

[player1 fanatic]

I just don't like it.
It could be good, but in cases such as this I always remember what happend to Black Isle (disintegrated not because of bad games, but becasue owner/publisher was short in cash and needed to make "a cut").

Or what happend to Call to Power franchise (no independed developer team, disintegrated right after rushing unsuccessful CTP2).


Still, it seems it's a trend in Industry.
Short while ago SEGA bought Creative Assemblly, developers of Total War series.

 

[Flak]

besides, who buys a company that sold 6 million pre-release copies and then starts making changes?

Where have you gotten information about the pre-release sales statistics? I haven't heard a peep on this. If they did indeed sell 6 million pre-release copies, this would mean that Civ IV has already sold more copies than all of the previous version of Civilization combined!

Anyway, this corporate takeover might mean that the next version in the series will be released to a console, perhaps even in conjunction with a PC release. Let's face it. PC's are on their way out. The future is laptops, perhaps with the upgradability of PCs for the hardcore types.

 

[Stuie]

Let's face PC's are on their way out.

Again!?!?!

Sorry - I've been hearing that every year for about six or seven years. Not gonna happen.

As for Take2/Firaxis, I'll reserve judgement until they take any sort of action that can be judged.

 

[Ivan the Kulak]

Sid sells out - again?

Well, he is not getting any younger, and is probably thinking about building up a nest egg for his retirement. I expect we will see less input from Sid Meier on civ5.

As far as how this will affect the series, it's way too early to tell. I just hope they don't think of going RTS with it.

 

[Dikaioma]

I dunno man. Usually things like this result in the destruction of future games/franchises and developers get pissed and leave to form new companies... which will later be bought out and well, you get the vicious cycle. Hopefully firaxis won't be messed with.

 

[Space Doubt]

Anyway, this corporate takeover might mean that the next version in the series will be released to a console, perhaps even in conjunction with a PC release.

Let's hope not. Look what happened when Deus Ex was dumbed-down for the console market.

GTA is similarly uninspiring on the PC. It might be the dog's when it comes to the Playstation, but compared to current PC games, the engine looks horribly dated. Vice City felt like nothing more than a fresh layer of paint, and I've not seen anything about San Andreas that justifies paying full price for it.

I only hope that Firaxis have regained full control of their franchise, because if Take 2 have their way, they will have no qualms about screwing it up and milking it to death in order to make another miserable buck. That I promise you.

 

[AsnoT]

here is why they rushed it out, safely fitting into this financial year.

the now sister-company to firaxis, rockstar games, is trying hard to behave as badly as they can (even if they didn't release "bully" in the end) to stir up media hype - that is extremely stupid behaviour in a climate as restrictive as the US.

it damages the whole gaming industry, as evidenced by politicians ranging from the usual suspects to more unusual ones going after rockstar and ANY OTHER GAME COMPANY that may fall foul of their dubious standards.

 

[Flak]

Again!?!?!
Sorry - I've been hearing that every year for about six or seven years. Not gonna happen.

Not again. It's already happened in the U.S.... News.com - Laptops outsale Desktops

More notebooks than desktops were sold in the United States in May, according to a report released Friday--a milestone in PC sales history.

Analysts with research firm Current Analysis said laptop sales jumped to 53.3 percent of the total PC retail market in May 2005. Last year, notebooks made up 45.9 percent of the total PC retail market.

That market is growing, in the U.S. and internationally. It's a big mistake for Firaxis not to develop towards the future (to some extent, the present).

 

[Hardin]

Maybe you didn't notice but laptops are PCs.

 

[oldskool138]

I think this is a bad move for Firaxis. They might as well wear a t-shirt that says "I'm With Stupid --->". I understand that is all about the bottom-line, profit margins and all that but look at Firaxis' latest release, Civ IV. It's full of bugs and graphics problems. 2K did a horrible job distributing the game. French Tech Trees, mislabeled disks, and rushing the game out there just to have it on the shelf for the holliday season. What evidence do we have that 2K's business practices are going to change in the future? 2K's gotten their last $50 from me unless they can prove they care about the real bottom-line...the consumer.

 

[EMan]

Here's a theory:
Remember how Firaxis/Take2 took months before they announced who the buyer of the franchise was?!

We never figured out why......did we?

Perhaps they were negotiating an option for Take2 to buy Firaxis......and that's what took the time..........if they had an option to buy the company, that could be one price for the Civ Franchise, if not, a lower price.

Hey, what do I know?
I bought Take2 stock at $25 a share.......and yesterday it closed at around $18! (The only stock I've lost money on all year)......and of course they don't pay a dividend! (Which I think is actually a smart move....from Take2's point of view!)

Maybe, the Firaxis purchase will have a favorable effect on the stock......not just Jeff & Sid's bank balances!

The Stock Market reaction today (viz. Take2 stock going up or down) will be a good barometer as to the wisdom of the transaction, from Take2's perspective.

Stock Tip: ALL CivFanatics run out and buy Take2 stock (TTWO).......Today, you can now own a piece of "Sid's Company"!

...besides, who buys a company that sold 6 million pre-release copies and then starts making changes?

I think the "6 million" number refers to the TOTAL number of Civ games sold since 1991.

 

[Naveed]

So, Sid forms Microprose, then it goes coroporate, Sid lefts Microprose to get the creative freedom he needs and forms Firaxis. Sid sells Firaxis to Take Two, giving it under the corporate structure, hmmm... things going in circles?

 

[oljb007]

Where have you gotten information about the pre-release sales statistics? I haven't heard a peep on this. If they did indeed sell 6 million pre-release copies, this would mean that Civ IV has already sold more copies than all of the previous version of Civilization combined!

Anyway, this corporate takeover might mean that the next version in the series will be released to a console, perhaps even in conjunction with a PC release. Let's face it. PC's are on their way out. The future is laptops, perhaps with the upgradability of PCs for the hardcore types.

I was looking for that last night after I posted it and couldn't find where I got that number. The more I think about it, "realistically" it must be franchise total games. I remember 6 million just not exactly what it is for...
of to edit my previous post..

 

[Astax]

My opinoin is this will ruin the franchise, plus we will never see SMAC2 probably. GG. Take2 showed their true colores with the butchered premature launch of civ4, which could have mared the game if it wasnt for the fact that this game is just frikin awsome. SO GG CIV5, thou shall sucketh.

 

[Cironir]

Eh, I have mixed feelings about this. The US Civ4 release was a little botched, and it was not the first Take2 release that had been rushed and was chaotic (RRT3, Kohan2, ...). Customer support is rather poor, but that's not unusual these days... I worry more about the trend of releasing "green banana" games that ripe on the computers of the buyers. Prior to being overtaken by Take2, Firaxis at least had the option to learn from possible inefficiencies and publish expansion packs or the next version elsewhere. (Then again, I guess they had sold the Civilization rights before already, so it doesn't make such a difference). Anyway, it may be good, it may be bad -- we'll see. The German release of Civ4 was pretty good at least.

At least Take2 doesn't use Starforce for their games. That's a big plus in my book.

The whole "PC games are dying!" stuff surfaces every year. Many game types make no sense on a console. Can you imagine playing Civ4 on a console? I can't, and I wouldn't.

 

[maartena]

My only issue with Take Two is their customer support is abysmal (bastards kept me on hold for 20 minutes, then hung up on me before I could talk to anyone).

On the other hand, I got a reply to my e-mail within the hour last Friday, and a followup e-mail at 6AM - yes 6AM - on Monday morning from an e-mail I sent on Friday after normal working hours.

I would say thats not bad.

 

[AWeeMoose]

Yes, the game was rushed, but haven't we come to expect patches and great expansion packs? The 1st patch may be released this week, and I'd expect an expansion (with lots of yummy new civs) next year.

I've always had a good personal experience with 2K games and I think this move strengthens them against EA.