EA tightens the grip.

[Pitch]

That's right, EA have tightened it's grip on the gaming industry and now becomes a step closer to global domination.

EA have just purchased the company responsible for one of the most widly used pieces of software in the console gaming industry.

Renderware, created by Criterion Software INC is the foundation of many console format game, including titles such as Burnout 3 and GTA3. Renderware allows developers to concentrate on created appealing gameplay instead of spending long nights dealing with tech issues and problems.

Now all new games must purchase the lisence from EA meaning that EA will now profit from other developers work. It is also rumoured that only a less powerfull version of the Renderware will be availible for other developers, with EA keeping the more advanced version for themselves.

[Aedan]

Given that Renderware's been around for a good number of years now, there's an established user base. Developers had to pay licensing fees to Canon for their IP when their games were released. Now, they will be paying them to EA instead.

Renderware is basically a game engine, handing graphics, physics, AI and audio. It's rather like using the Unreal 3 engine, or the Doom 3 engine.

[GrahamGarside]

I heard they bought the company who makes the physics engine for pro evo soccer as well a while back

[Logan]

That's alright, for MOH they still have to borrow from good old ID!

[Pitch]

Things are only going to get worse.

With each yea, EA makes stupid amounts of money on it's whole FIFA, NHL, HFL, Madden, Tiger Woods PGA. With a release of these each year which is essentially the same game except with a different digit in the title, FIFA 2004, FIFA 2005 ect. There is very little change between the games (except to accomedate for football transfers ect) So very little time is spent on it. Therefore they have a game which will make them stupid money for the sake of reletivly few hours work.

I can go on all day about EA, but I won't. I'll just display my feelings in my nice new Avatar.

[Aedan]

Well, it sounds like EA are in the position where they don't need to do much to generate money. If there were not people who slavishly bought the same things over and over again, then EA would not be in the position they are now. So, all in all, the market is getting what it deserves.

I'm not sure how consumer stupidity is EA's fault though?

[Pitch]

Agreed. I don't see how people who've bought previous versions of a game made by EA expect it to be any different. Take the whole Lord of the Rings franchise that EA scooped up. All three were near enough the same game.

I guess that people religiously buy the next installment of a game hoping for something new.

Granted there have been a few games that EA have made a good job of.

[Aedan]

Surely after buying a copy of a game such as Tiger Woods for three years in a row, people would realise that there's little new?

[GrahamGarside]

people are starting to wise up to the fifa franchise now, especially people around my age, a year a go I argued till I was blue in the face that pro evo was 10x the game fifa was but most of my friends dismissed this because they wanted all the stats and fifa's graphics are a little more instantly pleasing to the eye, but over the last year they've come to notice just how much better pro evo is regardless of stats and now they've all reserved pro evo4, granted fifa has slightly better aesthetics but the frame rate is aweful, it's like playing a beta release or something
but the kids will always buy it, parents will always recognise the name and buy it for their kids, and a few football fans who don't really care about the gameplay and just want to see van nistleroy score 15 goals in one game will always buy it

[Pitch]

Well, sorry to break it to you, but Pro Evolution uses, or has used renderware, now owned by EA.

[Aedan]

Yeah, for those who haven't been following the gaming market, middleware is where the money is. As the market is becoming more fragmented, those who wish to continue making profits are moving more towards the middleware than the games themselves. That shows that EA has smart management that can see where the cash flow is going in future years.

For those who haven't been able to see things coming, Renderware isn't the only middleware layer going. It may be the most mature, but that does not stop another company from producing a middleware layer does it? Companies do not have to license Renderware either. Would it be any better if Microsoft had purchased Criterion from Cannon?

[Aedan]

Talking about Microsoft, perhaps EA are working themselves into a position to try and keep MS out of the console market as much as possible?

[Pitch]

Possibly, however, I feel MS's prioty isn't the console market. The Xbox is no where near as popular as the PS2, which currently has the biggest market. And I havn't seen much in the way of MS puplished games. Obviously too busy fixing Windows.

[GrahamGarside]

the xbox wasn't about being popular, it was about laying the foundations for ms's future dominion of the console world. It sold them at a loss, hasn't made inroads to publishing it's own games but it's still a relative success, the ps2 was always gonna win this consle battle simply because everyone knows the name, the playstation practically created mass market gaming, but a lot of playstation owners now are realising how poor the hardware is compared to the same priced xbox, most peoples reasons for getting a ps2 were 'more/better games' but ms's clout has allowed them to compete with this in a way no other equally successful console from another manufacturer would, so many current ps2 owners may be tempted to the next generation of hardware because by then they will be 5 years or so older and more mature and more impressed by the technical specs and quality of the games available than they were when the ps2 was launched

[brian770]

hi all!!
my version of the ps/2 is a little different, if the ps/2 was junk, it never would have sold! it dosent matter what games you had for it. i was going to but a X-box but now i wont, the reason is this, the x-box 2 will not be backwardly compatable!!
microsoft has very deep pockets but if they think they can basicy buy the crown from sony they are wrong! sony also has deep pockets, moreso than most people think and can weather the cash storm micro crap is sending its way. the success of the ps/2 can be summed up in this, backwards compatable!
i still play my old ps/1 games alot and will still be able to do so on the ps/3!
no one wants to buy a dead end platform, and that is what the x-box is!
look at how fast sony stold the crown from nintendo, and nintendo has never recovered! x-box will do well to hold the second place from nintendo.
the thing microsoft is'nt aware of is that this is'nt a software o/s.you cant release a product full of bugs and because your the only one doing it it still sells.
they stepped into a ring with a competitor second to none and got slapped up!
then they tried to buy all the developers that hasent totaly worked.
what next, dig up a "old" patent from the 1980's and say the tech for the ps/1 was thiers?
they might be good but you cant get rid of the sony playstation line.thats only because it is a great product that people buy.
brian770

[GrahamGarside]

backwardly compatable aye, the x-box can play most ps1 games if you mod it, it's not hard to make a new console backwardly cmopatable, after all there is usually 5 years of advancement meaning 8 times the power, you could even get bleem! for the dreamcast. MS won't be leaving this out of the x-box 2 because it can't do it, they are betting that most people bought a ps2 thinking 'great I can play all my old games' then 6 months later realising they don't, so come the next generation of consoles evryone has had a taste of this, realised it's not that good and won't care if the next gen has it apart from a minority.
The next console war is going to be much more even than the last one, ps3 will still win, but come the generation after that and it's anyones game, if ms plays their cards right with this home media center thing it will have a major advantage over sony, windows, the software everyone knows and hates but uses anyway, people won't just be buying games consoles by then, the pc will evolve to have finally become the home server it was always meant to be and appliances like xbox3 will interface with this and deal with the entertainment in your living room/bedroom giving you everything from games to time lapsed television to the internet via way of video conferenceing, and sony doesn't seem as on the ball with all this as ms is
it's a brave new digital world

[Aedan]

Sony is already in the home media center market. Their DESR-5000 and DESR-7000 were their first generation devices. They could handle everything from games to time lapsed television to the Internet.

The LF-X1 and LF-X5 wireless TV uses standard 802.11a/b/g wireless networking to handle TV, remote control, web browsing and email. As long as there's a wireless access point nearby, you can even use it remotely across the internet.

That rather sounds advantage Sony, as they're already been doing it for a while, unlike MS who are currently trying to force their way in.

[mattthegamer463]

the only good games that ea has made is 007: nightfire for console ( pc version sucked. just like a beta they sold to ppl) and NFSU. that is a good game.

[GrahamGarside]

ok fair point, but the fact that I've never heard of these sony products where as most people know about media centre shows ms have an advantage with the mass market
I'm not supporting or advocating ms in any way here by the way, I don't really care who wins the consle war, but I think in 10 years it'll be an ms box under your tele simply because of windows, why do you think ie and media player have always been free, certainly not out of the goodness of their hearts, its to build up a userbase, they already had a userbase on pc's they didn't need to give away these products but when things move away from the pc and to networked appliances they want people to be familiar with their browser and media app

[GrahamGarside]

I didn't like nfs:underground I fealt like one of those morons you see parked on mcdonalds car parks with their neons glowing, bass bins booming, alloys worth more than the car and underage girlfriends
It would have been ok if the racing had been above average but it's not