Topic: Viviendi, Activision Merge to Form Activision Blizzard

[Stogi]

As long as the get Starcraft 2 out, I could care less what Blizzard does business wise. A couple of my friends STILL play starcraft every once and a while.

[Ian Sane]

All I really care about is that Blizzard's quality doesn't slip.  They've been almost perfect with Death and Return of Superman being their only dud I can think of.  But they have been able to keep the quality up even while being owned by Vivendi so I'd assume this won't change things.

Still I wonder if having "Activision Blizzard" on every game is going to hurt Blizzard's reputation since mediocre licenced Activision games are going to be made with the Blizzard name on it.  It will be less clear what games are "true" Blizzard titles.

[Enner]

Out of respect for all of the decent and good journalists here, please refrain from quoting GameSpot on anything.


-The Management  

Alright. Duely noted.
I guess I'm in the wrong for not caring about this issue as much as management does and thinking that this is just a bit touchy on this? My thinking is that it was an interview which was far enough away from any clutchs that stifle opinions and free thought. Anyway, roger that on the GameSpot bannage. Guess I'm just not taking things seriously enough.


ANYWAY!
MEGER! HUGE! WOW!
It'll be interesting to see how this changes the industry landscape. Hopefully this will mean more money for the developers to play around with.

[Ceric]

They should resurrect Sierra's adventure games on the Wii or whatever and put them in that niche.

[AzureNightmare]

Quote
Originally posted by: Enner
Alright. Duely noted.
I guess I'm in the wrong for not caring about this issue as much as management does and thinking that this is just a bit touchy on this? My thinking is that it was an interview which was far enough away from any clutchs that stifle opinions and free thought. Anyway, roger that on the GameSpot bannage. Guess I'm just not taking things seriously enough.


ANYWAY!
MEGER! HUGE! WOW!
It'll be interesting to see how this changes the industry landscape. Hopefully this will mean more money for the developers to play around with.

No problem, you just dont realize the repercussions it has for every hard working, honest member of the gaming press, which is no fault of yours.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Censorship based on rumor FTW.

[Djunknown]

Quote
Blactivision...Sounds like a BET with activist proposition.

If they EVER bring back Tavis Smiley, maybe, just maybe... [/off topic]

From Blizzards headline:

Quote
There will be no changes to our games, our websites, our personnel, or our day-to-day operations as a result of the deal. However, this combining of resources will benefit all of the companies involved and will further strengthen Blizzard's ability to continue delivering high-quality content for our players around the world for many years to come. To learn more about this exciting new development, please read our Activision Blizzard FAQ.

So for the time being, there will be no cross pollination on Blizzard's part (having them work on Activision's stuff) yet. Pretty much it sounds similar to EA's treatment of Bioware/Pandemic.

I'm sure EA is kicking itself for not taking Vivendi when they had the chance. But I'm sure it'll even itself out: Bioware has been consistent with releases in the past couple of years, whereas Blizzard has been banking with WoW for the past 3 years...

Just like the EA Bioware/Pandemic deal, this just gives Activision a cut of Blizzard's action and vice versa. Not that Blizzard needed more money, but maybe if Activision cracked the whip to get some of their titles out some before the decade is up. I'd like to play Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 before I hit my mid-life crisis...

[18 Days]

Heh, and just when EA were ruling out more mergers and takeovers.

[Kairon]

DARN. Hey, who owns Neversoft? Darn it. Does Activision own them? They were a neat dev house! Ripe for acquisition! I was eyeing them!

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
DARN. Hey, who owns Neversoft? Darn it. Does Activision own them? They were a neat dev house! Ripe for acquisition! I was eyeing them!

You probably do own them considering all the 3rd party games you buy.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
DARN. Hey, who owns Neversoft? Darn it. Does Activision own them? They were a neat dev house! Ripe for acquisition! I was eyeing them!

I posted this in the other thread too, but I'm not sure how complete/accurate it is.

Vivendi:
Blizzard Entertainment
High Moon Studios (Sierra Entertainment)
Massive Entertainment (Sierra Entertainment)
Radical Entertainment (Sierra Entertainment)
Swordfish Studios (Sierra Entertainment)

Activision:
Beenox
Bizarre Creations
Infinity Ward
Luxoflux Corp
Neversoft
Raven Software
Shaba Games
Toys for Bob
Treyarch
Vicarious Visions
Z-Axis


edited for clarity

[Kairon]

Are those actual owned houses or simply affiliated houses? I didn't know they actually owned Toys for Bob, for one.