EA has bought criterion, including their game studios and their renderware platform:
Link to the press release
Link to the press release
EA buys Criterion
- Thread starter MrWibble
- Start date
Jeez... Wake me when there's that final "EA has officially bought the entire industry" email. 
There's a lot more potential for conflict of interest with Renderware licesing now that EA's controlling it. Each platform manufacturer should be making XNA-like (doesn't have to be a closed standard, though) initiatives a priority.
Paul:
Paul:
In Renderware, they already have a platform from which to collect licensing fees now, and it doesn't require them to incur huge expenses from hardware nor be limited to just one hardware's base.
Interview by gamesindustry.biz
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=3883
You'll need to shift thru a bit of PR stuff and answers.
Interesting snippet
Need to ask, what other popular middleware tools are there that supports PC and all 3 consoles?
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=3883
You'll need to shift thru a bit of PR stuff and answers.
Interesting snippet
Need to ask, what other popular middleware tools are there that supports PC and all 3 consoles?
If EA doesn't raise the rates or increase restrictions on it, would they bother? I could see players working on possibilities anyway (those who'd normally do so anyway, and those who'd like to see themselves with an "out" if necessary), but offhand I don't see them bothering much so long as the impact to them is the same--or even improved. (As EA doesn't have to draw as much profit off it, and would benefit from more widespread use instead.)
Of course EA may just squeeze it for as much as it's worth, so hey.
Of course EA may just squeeze it for as much as it's worth, so hey.
Is it me or does some Renderware titles seem technically better in many areas than EA titles developed with internal technology?
Guess we'll get a better gauge when Burnout 3 and NFSU2 come out at about the same time.
But it's interesting to see MLB Baseball running at 60 fps while MVP is running at something less than that.
My understanding is that Renderware engineers have grown increasingly hands-on to support some of their licensees. If that has to continue, can you imagine Renderware engineers, who will nominally be EA employees, helping say Rockstar develop some future GTA game?
Guess we'll get a better gauge when Burnout 3 and NFSU2 come out at about the same time.
But it's interesting to see MLB Baseball running at 60 fps while MVP is running at something less than that.
My understanding is that Renderware engineers have grown increasingly hands-on to support some of their licensees. If that has to continue, can you imagine Renderware engineers, who will nominally be EA employees, helping say Rockstar develop some future GTA game?
More folk weighing in.
Following today's surprise acquisition of Criterion by Electronic Arts, we spoke with Criterion CEO David Lau-Kee and EA worldwide studios VP Bruce McMillan about the future of the industry's most popular middleware platform.
In [today's interview], both men speak about their intentions for the future of Criterion and for EA's involvement in the middleware market, and outline a vision which sees EA striving to grow the industry as a whole by making its own internal technologies available through RenderWare.
Following today's surprise acquisition of Criterion by Electronic Arts, we spoke with Criterion CEO David Lau-Kee and EA worldwide studios VP Bruce McMillan about the future of the industry's most popular middleware platform.
In [today's interview], both men speak about their intentions for the future of Criterion and for EA's involvement in the middleware market, and outline a vision which sees EA striving to grow the industry as a whole by making its own internal technologies available through RenderWare.
Sorry about the confusion, but this doesn't mean that EA have GTA now, does it? The only link between Criterion and Rockstar was the fact that GTA used Renderware, right... Haven't been around for a while...
That's just the thing, renderware isn't exactly a complete engine. More specifically when you compare it to unrea it's not. BTW, unreal currently only works on Xbox gamecube and PC, there's a outside group working on the PS2 "specific" version currently, and no, splinter cell was a port job as there wasn't a native PS2 version available at that time.
There are other cross platform engines available, however they don't get advertised nearly as much as renderware.
"OH NO NO NO NO NO NOOOO...."
(Worms 2 quote.)
There's no dev house that would have survived alive in EA! BurnOut series kind of stepped on market that has been EA's priviledge since they bought Distinctive Software Inc around 10 years ago (and smeltted it as part of EA studios. only bits and pieces of original DSI team are left in EA Canada.): Open Road Racing. Easiest way to get rid of pontential competitor is buy them out. BurnOut3 is coming from EA, so now they can continue converting (read: destroying.) NFS -series to something which eventually will kill it.
as in simple words: This simply sucks!
EDIT:
oh well, EA has been made my own little boycott very easy. Not much games from there that I would have really wanted to buy...
EA won't own any companies that are using Renderware engines. Just like Microsoft isn't own you, if you have WindowsXP lisence. As simple as that.
Renderware is more like collection different kind of cross development tools and engines/Low Level APIs, than a just one massive engine with interface.
(Worms 2 quote.)
There's no dev house that would have survived alive in EA! BurnOut series kind of stepped on market that has been EA's priviledge since they bought Distinctive Software Inc around 10 years ago (and smeltted it as part of EA studios. only bits and pieces of original DSI team are left in EA Canada.): Open Road Racing. Easiest way to get rid of pontential competitor is buy them out. BurnOut3 is coming from EA, so now they can continue converting (read: destroying.) NFS -series to something which eventually will kill it.
as in simple words: This simply sucks!
EDIT:
oh well, EA has been made my own little boycott very easy. Not much games from there that I would have really wanted to buy...
EA won't own any companies that are using Renderware engines. Just like Microsoft isn't own you, if you have WindowsXP lisence. As simple as that.
Renderware is more like collection different kind of cross development tools and engines/Low Level APIs, than a just one massive engine with interface.
