EA has just announced it has bought PopCap, developer of fantastic titles such as Plants vs. Zombies. The fee paid was $650 million in cash and $100 million in shares of EA common stock. That’s more than I earn in a week.
This purchase puts EA in an incredibly strong position in terms of the mobile/download market. EA CEO, John Riccitiello, had the following to say:
“EA and PopCap are a compelling combination. PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels.”
Source: Press Release
nemesisND1derboy
Good business for EA, Popcap is a total cash cow. We’ll see how this pans out for their games in the future.
Crocadillian
It currently feels like everything is against me for console gaming. Poor 3DS software and service design, generic PS3 and Xbox 360 games, the high price of online passes, and businesses like EA that treat game developers as assets and consumers as demographics. Apart from nice controllers and the few fantastic games that make an effort to do more than meet a game stereotype, console gaming is dead to me.
EA, you’re welcome to keep their elevator music and generic art, if you really feel it’s worth that much…
Sympozium
Don’t close them afterwards.