EA attempt to buy DICE (Battlefield Developer)

[Ryno]

Apparently EA is attempting to buy Swedish developer Digital Interactive (DICE), developer of the Battlefield and Rallisport games series. Many DICE stockholders are attempting to block the takeover. EA's offer was considered a low-ball bid by many.

More info as it comes.

[ElysiumGX]

NOOOOOOOoooo!!!

[The3DGuy]

EA STAY AWAY. i lub my rallisport xbox games /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[Daz]

meh, I dunno why this would come as a surprise to anyone.

[lkraan]

Wasn't EA already the biggest shareholder?

Why would it be a bad thing?

[oXYnary]

Because EA has a tendency to suck the creativity out of any developer they buy out.

[MoP]

Daz: No surprise to me...
lkraan: See oXYnary's post /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Toomas]

I dont see why they even bother? They buy it then it starts to make total crap and they shut it down.

[CheapAlert]

Why?

They love money. No brainer there. 'nuff said.

[Toomas]

My point is they buy it, so the previous owner (who propably ran the comapny) will lose any motivation to make good games cause he gets fixed pay.
I would rather have publishing contract because then they have some motivation left.
Look what EA did with Bullfrog and OSI, Molynex and Garriot propably still grin with joy :P

[adam]

Theres a couple of guys who post here and that are friends of mine that work at DICE. Hopefully they catch this thread and put in their 2 cents. I talked to one of them and basically his opinion was, 'Meh, we'll still be making the same games.' Talked to another but I don't think I'll be putting his opinion here. :P

[FatAssasin]

Well, they better invest in some cots and sleeping bags. Let the deatmarch begin!

[cochtl]

...and shortly after aquiring DICE, EA was happy to announce that it would soon be happy to modify its fellow DICE employees' benefits packages to include used cots and blankets and a warehouse full of mountain dew so as to increase employee productivity. CEO sumguy stated "We deman-...expect a long moneyfull relationship with DICE and expect a full run with our battlefield franchise for decades to come, because...you know...Madden won't be around forever..that old fart..."

crazyness

[Jackablade]

Aren't Digital Illusions Norwegian? Their lead designer/producer/head honcho guy Lars Gustavsen certainly is...

I also read in Gamasutra recently that DICE had made some massive profit in the last financial year. Do you think perhaps this might be the reason why EA are suddenly so interested?

[Jes]

Wherever money is made in a fair and un-exploitive way, EA will be there to buy the evil money-makers and ensure deathmarches for all... xD

[Ryno]

Some of the boys might be Norweigan, but the company is Swedish. My boss is a Swede, and was one of the founding artists of the company.

Also, it is a publicly traded company on the Swedish exchange. Apparently the orignial owner and some of the senior people still hold a lot of the stock, and some of them will be fighting the takeover.

EA just loves franchise games, as they are predictable moneymakers. With Battlefield and Rallisport, they know exactly what they're getting. A big fat cash cow. And they just want to milk that heiffer dry.

[eepberries]

LOL @ EA