EA Buying Ubisoft Would "kill creativity"
Ubisoft Breaking Into New Genres
http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20290
from 
Stardock Forums
Stardock Forums
Ubisoft has once again stated that a takeover by rival Electronic Arts would be bad for gaming and "dangerous" for the business in general. Speculation of a takeover has been going on for some time and got hot and heavy after EA purchased 20% of Ubisoft's stock late last year.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has stated that if the price was right, he would have to sell because it would be in the best interest of the stockholders. He also warned that any takeover would not come cheap, stating that "I doubt that our shareholders could be won over by a cut price."
Ubisoft, the world's fourth largest publisher is worth a relatively low $688.6 million compared to the world's largest publisher, EA, which is worth $3 billion. Even with the gap in net worth, Ubisoft still feels they can challenge the industry giant.
"We have the capability, the management, the brands, the studios and the energy to go on alone," said Alain Corre, executive director for Ubisoft EMEA.
"I think it would be dangerous for a company like Ubisoft to get together too much with a company like EA, because it could kill creativity - and in our industry, I think that's key."
"The plan is for us to go on developing the business ourselves. What we have proven over the last 18, 20 months after EA got into our capital is that being independent, keeping our own strategy, was very lucrative and was the right thing to do," he added.
Although Ubisoft is still very strong, they continue looking to acquire new developers to help break into new genres, including sports and RPG titles.
"The idea for us is to tap into the genres we're not in. We did that last summer with the acquisition of Driver and the Reflections studio, so we're now into racing more. We want to go down that route and get the skills to develop sports and RPG games in the future," commented Corre.
The firm also believes that their head start in development for Nintendo's Wii will also help them beat EA.
"The Wii is unlikely not to succeed. The curiosity factor is going to help [Nintendo] and it's an impulse buy for most people."
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has stated that if the price was right, he would have to sell because it would be in the best interest of the stockholders. He also warned that any takeover would not come cheap, stating that "I doubt that our shareholders could be won over by a cut price."
Ubisoft, the world's fourth largest publisher is worth a relatively low $688.6 million compared to the world's largest publisher, EA, which is worth $3 billion. Even with the gap in net worth, Ubisoft still feels they can challenge the industry giant.
"We have the capability, the management, the brands, the studios and the energy to go on alone," said Alain Corre, executive director for Ubisoft EMEA.
"I think it would be dangerous for a company like Ubisoft to get together too much with a company like EA, because it could kill creativity - and in our industry, I think that's key."
"The plan is for us to go on developing the business ourselves. What we have proven over the last 18, 20 months after EA got into our capital is that being independent, keeping our own strategy, was very lucrative and was the right thing to do," he added.
Although Ubisoft is still very strong, they continue looking to acquire new developers to help break into new genres, including sports and RPG titles.
"The idea for us is to tap into the genres we're not in. We did that last summer with the acquisition of Driver and the Reflections studio, so we're now into racing more. We want to go down that route and get the skills to develop sports and RPG games in the future," commented Corre.
The firm also believes that their head start in development for Nintendo's Wii will also help them beat EA.
"The Wii is unlikely not to succeed. The curiosity factor is going to help [Nintendo] and it's an impulse buy for most people."