The combined entity that is Pandemic/BioWare (currently going by the name VG Holdings) plans to take their games to the street. Wall Street, that is. The game developers were brought together by venture capital firm Elevation Partners (formed by an ex-Electronic Arts president John Riccitello and U2 singer Bono) and this clearly had to be part of the reason for doing so. Staffed with former EA execs, it seems the team would like to create another gaming giant ala EA.
Before you rush out and buy this entity (whatever it ends up being called) take care - media companies like this aren't easy for analysts and the street to digest. They want to see companies with quarterly growth, and that isn't always possible with game development schedules. If that game you produce is a big hit, like Knights of the Old Republic or Star Wars: Battlefront, the company looks great. But end up with a Dark Reign 2 and things don't look so good. They state they'd like to create a Pixar-like environment where the companies remain independent yet can be a part of something bigger.
Take Two Interactive, EA, and Activision are a few examples of existing public game companies and the challenges they face - all 3 are trading at near their 52-week lows as the gaming industry rides the low that is the XBOX360 launch. Seems gamers are holding back on buying new games waiting to either get a 360 (or a PS3.)
Posted by scottsh at Monday January 02, 2006 - 12:45 PM | Category: Business | © 2006 Gaming Signal
Yeah, look at EA when thinking about public companies. I can only hope that when/if they do - they can avoid the sequel game that plagues most of the industry since they need to show continued growth. Now I think its great that you can support your favorite game company in more than one way.
Posted by Tim on Monday January 02, 2006 at 3:16 PM