EA is set to buy Codemasters for $1.2 Billion - Another One Bites the Dust

[whatever I feel like]

And nothing of value was lost.
Really though, i heard something that they tried to not be bought out by them for years, and now they just did it by buying their parent company. What is it what EA sees in them?

At worst they run the company as is, make a bit of their money back, prevent Take2 from entering the racing business (T2 had a 1 billion offer in which EA just surpassed) and close the studio 5-7 years from now while retaining possession of the F1 liscence and all of the racing IP they already own.

 

[ZMOT]

No, Battlefield V did indeed suck. You notice there hasn't been a Battlefield VI, aye?

it sucked so hard sony went back to promote battlefield 1 for their ps5 lineup.

Respawn. Now they can't make another Titanfall game since it's all about Apex Legends.

they can't make another titanfall cause respawn sucks, 1 was a fluke (in part due to extreme circumstances) and 2 was coasting on that. I don't even wanna imagine what an abomination 3 would be. just let it die.

 

[heyitsmike]

prevent Take2 from entering the racing business (T2 had a 1 billion offer in which EA just surpassed)

Prevent Take-Two from entering the racing business? This may sound stupid at first, but they're already in the racing business with GTA V. They could easily parlay that into a full racing game.

Pop quiz: Which game has open wheel car races with pit stops and tire wear, and which one doesn't, Project Cars 3 (now owned by EA) or GTA V (Take-Two)? Answer: GTA V.

 

[whatever I feel like]

Prevent Take-Two from entering the racing business? This may sound stupid at first, but they're already in the racing business with GTA V. They could easily parlay that into a full racing game.

Pop quiz: Which game has open wheel car races with pit stops and tire wear, and which one doesn't, Project Cars 3 (now owned by EA) or GTA V (Take-Two)? Answer: GTA V.

No one ever liked Project Cars. It was the butt of jokes since before the release of the first game all the way up to the present. Never played GTA online but I know Rockstar maintains full creative control of it and won't just let Take-Two make a spin-off with an outside studio.

 

[heyitsmike]

No one ever liked Project Cars. It was the butt of jokes since before the release of the first game all the way up to the present. Never played GTA online but I know Rockstar maintains full creative control of it and won't just let Take-Two make a spin-off with an outside studio.

While it was definitely the Windows phone in an iOS and Android world, it was still at least a semi-competent sim racer.

But I'm not talking about a GTA spinoff. I'm talking about a new IP. They already have a physics engine. They already have a damage and wear model. That's half the battle right there.

Upthread I said I don't think it was necessarily a bad decision to make Project CARS 3 into an arcade racer. If you look at the current racing game environment you have:
Closed track sim: iRacing, Assetto Corsa
Closed track simcade: Forza Motorsport, Grand Turismo
Open world arcade: Forza Horizon, The Crew, Need For Speed
Closed track arcade: GRID, Project CARS

One of these is not like the others. There is absolutely space in the market for a good closed track arcade racer. It has by far the weakest lineup of the four groups.

 

[whatever I feel like]

I suppose, now that you say it I could even see Rockstar making one. But such an event would solely be down to someone internal at the company having an interest in the genre, rather than pressure from T2 to make it. It would have been a lot easier for them to just have Codemasters continue one of their existing series. Though I think EA was more worried about Take2 putting money into Codemasters in order to compete with NfS than it was interested in adding an asset that isn't, to my knowledge, any sort of profit juggernaut. I could be wrong though, EA and the other publishers have put out offers for studios before without any sort of long-term "we must own X market segment of Y genre" planning. Sometimes a studio and its current output just generates income and thus has a base value aside from any specific plans of future growth.

Also, I think I was confusing Project CARS with The Crew, which in my opinion catches even more shit than Project CARS and its insane goal to have all of the cars in it, does.

 

[heyitsmike]

Though I think EA was more worried about Take2 putting money into Codemasters in order to compete with NfS

I doubt EA is worried about a newcomer into the open world arcade space. All three of them have their niches that don't really overlap.
Horizon: best graphics, biggest car list, best physics, best performance customization and tuning, however Xbox only.
The Crew: closest to Horizon for PlayStation owners, largest map by far, pretty good visual customization, MMO.
Need For Speed: By far best visual customization, emphasis on street racing, police, longest history.

I don't see an opening for a new open world racer. What would be the angle for someone new to get in?

 

[whatever I feel like]

I doubt EA is worried about a newcomer into the open world arcade space. All three of them have their niches that don't really overlap.
Horizon: best graphics, biggest car list, best physics, best performance customization and tuning, however Xbox only.
The Crew: closest to Horizon for PlayStation owners, largest map by far, pretty good visual customization, MMO.
Need For Speed: By far best visual customization, emphasis on street racing, police, longest history.

I don't see an opening for a new open world racer. What would be the angle for someone new to get in?

Well, if its Rockstar or some other publicly adored studio, that is often enough. Where was the opening for CDPR to get into the GTA-clone genre? The answer was that they were CDPR and thats enough. How does Nintendo make an arena shooter? They're Nintendo, thats enough.

If you want angles in the open world genre, you could have a better or bigger map, better customization/monetization, better physics, something like an engine that allows more cars or crowds on-screen, a healthier online ecosystem, some sort of non-shit story mode, a time period other than modern day, a different graphical stylization, etc. I am not saying all or any of those could work, or would be easy to make, but don't put it past some exec to want a car game that has obnoxious Fortnite art stylization, or is based in the 20s/30s or is based in Europe instead of America, etc. You could make the main character an overweight black lesbian who wins races against racism, anything.

 

[heyitsmike]

Where was the opening for CDPR to get into the GTA-clone genre?

Cyberpunk 2077 was announced before GTA V was even released on seventh gen consoles. Sure, GTA was already big then, evidenced by its huge opening 24 hour sales, but it still wasn't the juggernaut it is today. It got that big from online, not single player. I'm sure at the time Rockstar didn't seem to be so big that no one else could get in their space.

 

[Pee Cola]

Great. I can see the F1 series being the first Codemasters franchise to be given the EA treatment.

I'm fully expecting F1 2021 to only offer the Tilke-designed tracks and the player's choice of cars from Haas or Williams out of the box. The rest of the tracks and non-shithouse cars to be DLC ranging from $9.95 for an Alfa Romeo or Renault to $29.95 for a Mercedes-Benz or Ferrari. As an added bonus, said DLC will only be valid for one season.

Prove me wrong, EA.

 

[whatever I feel like]

Cyberpunk 2077 was announced before GTA V was even released on seventh gen consoles. Sure, GTA was already big then, evidenced by its huge opening 24 hour sales, but it still wasn't the juggernaut it is today. It got that big from online, not single player. I'm sure at the time Rockstar didn't seem to be so big that no one else could get in their space.

Thats not how I remember it. GTA was one of the biggest, most respected series going for a full decade at that point. If anything, the series has only decreased in public popularity after that point. Sure, GTAO has made more money than any other game, but I never hear about in public like I used to about the single-player games. If anything, its easier to go against GTA now than at any other time in the past decade because its been so long since the release of V. CDPR was on track to put up a viable, publicly loved, game in a difficult genre anyway but Rockstar has really left he door open for them.

 

[heyitsmike]

If anything, its easier to go against GTA now than at any other time in the past decade because its been so long since the release of V.

Yeah there's certainly an opening for a game right now, but to capitalize it would have needed to start development three or four years ago, when no one though that 2020 would end without so much as a GTA VI trailer.

Three years ago I don't think anyone thought Rockstar would be so audacious as to release GTA V for the third consecutive console generation.

 

[jimsterlingspronoun]

if i was a codemasters employee I'd be looking for a new job now

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

You guys are forgetting that Take-Two already had a foot in the door of the open world arcade racing game. It was called Midnight Club, it competed directly with Need For Speed, and they haven't showed any interest in continuing that series in years. If they wanted, they could just announce a new Midnight Club and get right back into the genre. Guaranteed it would sell on the name alone. However they haven't even attempted it. Maybe acquiring Codemasters was their attempt to get a developer that could focus on that series full time? Or maybe EA saw it that way, and decided to grab Codemasters to forestall that plan.

 

[Snekposter]

I fucking loved Midnight Club 3 on my PS2 and would dearly love for a resurrection of the series, especially if they do a PC port.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

Its officially happened boys. "F"s in the chat for Codemasters:

https://mynintendonews.com/2021/02/18/ea-has-acquired-racing-game-company-codemasters/