Bioware purchased by Microsoft?
Surely not...
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The latest issue of Polygon magazine is reporting an unnamed source from within Microsoft's Game Studios publishing division as stating that Redmond will imminently announce the finalisation of a Bioware purchase agreed. The continued rise of Microsoft within the industry will, rumour has it, be confirmed at E3 next month.
Being one of the most influential and successful RPG developers in the industry Bioware won't come cheap, though securing future Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights games as Xbox exclusives could of course pay dividends for Gates and Co. too. Needless to say, such a bombshell as this would be Microsoft's 'big surprise' for E3, and would certainly steal some much needed limelight away from the new hardware due to be shown by rivals Nintendo and Sony.
We'll find out whether this be fact or fiction soon, then.
Comments
Whoa! I hope it's fiction
This, I feel, is a Bad Thing. I really, REALLY hope this is a steaming load.
please god no!
though securing future Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights games as Xbox exclusives could of course pay dividends for Gates and Co.
I HATE YOU MICROSOFT
Please please please give us KotOR2 on the PC. PLEASE
Please god, don't make this true.
Oh come on, it won't be that bad. Xbox is a good console, the version of KOTOR for it was arguably better technically than the PC version, and guess who owns the largest development platform on PC anyway? Yes, that's right, it is Microsoft. It wouldn't be the end of the world, nor is it incredibly bad news. I've had enough of the "OMZ M$ SUXX0RZ" stuff, Bioware will always make good games, if this is true or not.
What the hell.....
I don't want to buy a console because Microsoft wants to buy every company in existance
oh well ,one less company to look forward to their new releases ...
Bioware is a private company , the owners aren't selling. They like what they are doing and are doing it well. Why would they trade there freedom for cash.
This is a Rumors that has been around for ever, it ain't going to happen... the most that will happen is that they will be using Microsoft as a publisher for future games. Witch would mean some would be X-Box only like Jade Empire and others wouldn't.
One last note, even if (And they aren't) Microsoft bought Bioware it would be Lucas Arts who would decided if Knights of the Old republic 2 would be X-Box only
YES! Can't wait until M$ pwnz everyone of us!
Continue to make great games for the PC, huh? Yeah right. Just like Bungie. Halo was terrible on PC, and if Bioware goes to the MS dogs, it'll be all over. I foretell doom and gloom if this goes through.
>Oh come on, it won't be that bad. Xbox is a good console, >the version of KOTOR for it was arguably better technically >than the PC version, and guess who owns the largest >development platform on PC anyway? Yes, that's right, it is >Microsoft. It wouldn't be the end of the world, nor is it >incredibly bad news. I've had enough of the "OMZ M$ >SUXX0RZ" stuff, Bioware will always make good games, if >this is true or not.
:'(
give them a bit of a chance guys they have the infracture to make a really good MMORPG out of NWN better then it is now....
It's not that bad, it's M$!! of course there will be a pc port.
"though securing future Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights games as Xbox exclusives could of course pay dividends for Gates and Co. too"
WTF?
There is no way Lucasarts would allow them to be Xbox exclusive. Bioware does not own the game, they just developed it.
It's a shame. What really makes this bad is that if this is true, we won't see any linux ports ever again from bioware. They were one of the few major companies (besides epic and id off the top of my head) that even care about linux gaming.
I'm a Canadian, and I proud of that. Bioware is Canadian, but as soon as Microsoft "acquires" it, I guess I can say bye bye to another Canadian game developer. All I'll have left over here in ATI... :(
ATI is not a Canadian game developer. Relic (homeworld fame) and Digital Extremes (Unreal et al.) are two great Canadian game developers
Okay, that second sentence doesn't make sense, I probably changed what I was going to say mid-typing, but I can't edit so, um, yeah...
Ubisoft is Canadian... don't forget them.
If anyone ever needed proof that the satanic, demonic forces of hell were at work at Microsoft, this should be all they ever need to read:
"securing future Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights games as Xbox exclusives"
I hope your important parts turn black and fall off.
Doesn't seem likely to me. BioWare is a remarkably successful, privately-owned Canadian company. I just don't see that as a good fit with a massive US public company like Microsoft. On the other hand, I'm sure they'll keep up the publishing agreement with MS, and I'm sure there will be more X-Box exclusive games like Jade Empire in the future.
One thing to think about - If Microsoft bought them we'd never see another Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter game from BioWare, since Atari owns the rights to those names.
Guess we'll see.
And slowly, very slowly Bioware turns to the darkside... this must be Satan's work!!! (or Bill Gates) :(
Y'know, KotOR #1 was also X-Box only (or might as well have been, console sales dwarf PC sales). In the end, I'm not really concerned about who's getting the games. MS got them already (be it KOTOR for PC and Xbox or PC-only titles like NWN). The thing to be concerned about is a quality drop.
However, from what we've seen of Halo 2, it looks like being bought by MS doesn't make you create crappy games, so I'm not too worried.
I find it really hard to understand how anybody could like Halo.
The gameplay was mind-numbingly repetitive. I was in shock that a lot of the levels seemd to have a "pac-man" level of complexity and variety. The weapons were, for the most part, lame and ordinary. The voice acting was some of the worst I've heard... almost as bad as "Resident Evil".
Even if none of the above was enough to condemn Halo as crap, the fact that it totally left its roots behind should. Anyone who is a part of the Marathon progeny (w00t VidMasters) would notice a severe lack of plot and character development, as well as a distressing simplicity of level design. And where were the combat shotguns??
Looking back to Halo's roots both in the Marathon trillogy, and the early Halo betas, the final product is so far inferior in comparison, I would prefer to pretend it never existed. I'm a hard-core Bungie fan, but Halo sucked the big one...
The same will be true for anything Bioware touches after it is (if it is) absorbed into the M$ machine...
I still miss Bungi.....
I've always said the only way M$ will win the console wars is by buying up the competition. Looks to still be true.
So true...everyone is like f0x0r M$. Who cares? And now you won't buy awesome games by an awesome company? Good job.
If it is good, who cares who makes the game or who makes the money? If you enjoy it, screw everyone else.
did someone here just connect the words Microsoft and Great MMORPG????
must have missed Asheron's Call2...
If this happened, it would be as bad as a portal to hell opened on Earth and demons came through and the spent their time ripping people in half and drinking their guts. Actually, it would be worse.