Whenever a big company like EA tells you everything is going to be ok, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
With its purchase of PopCap Games, EA has taken the typical stance of “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” As someone who’s been through a few acquisitions, this is just a way to keep your worker bees happy until the transition is complete. We’ve heard this time and again from EA as they continue to buy out what they can’t accomplish on their own.
EA purchased PopCap Games for $750 Million in cash and stock, in a deal that has many fans of the studio, myself include, up in arms!
EA’s track record is riddled with acquisitions that have been stripped down to bare bones and made robotic. A studio like PopCap Games is best represented when creativity is able to flow freely. Once factors like bottom line and stock price come in to play that creativity begins to suffer.
I think we can all agree that allowing PopCap Games to run autonomously would be the most beneficial for the consumers as well as EA’s bottom line, but most often, companies that large stay within the boundaries of rational thought.
PopCap Games was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Jason Kapalka and Brian Fiete. They currently offers games across multiple platforms and boasts installs in excess of 150 million. Some of their most popular titles include Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies, and Zuma.
Via: Touch Arcade