The Gaming Universe Just Became A Little Bit Smaller

You probably glanced over this news item today and didn't even think anything of it. Ubisoft acquired the German developer Sunflowers. However, the gaming universe just becomes a smaller place one developer at a time.

Yves Guillemont, CEO of Ubisoft, said, "With the acquisition of Anno, Ubisoft reinforces its position in the real-time strategy market. Anno, along with Ubisoft’s The Settlers, is one of the most well known franchises in Germany, reaching a wide audience that includes not only traditional gamers, but also women and families. We are proud to add another top-quality brand to our rich portfolio and we are looking forward to bringing the brand to an even wider audience."

Unfortunately we are slowly starting to see developers run in to financial trouble and go out of business or get devoured by larger, hungrier developers. Rare has run the gamut, existing on its own, then to be a preferred developer for Nintendo and then to be later claimed by Microsoft. Atari, one of the oldest developers has had financial trouble for several years. Old companies like CinemaWare who made classic games of their time could not survive.

What we have now is a number of massive software companies, like Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Take Two and its subsidiaries who are just getting bigger. What this means is a lowering in the amount of diversity which we have in the industry. Diversity is what makes gaming great. However, the need for companies to create franchises and long term income with major titles means that, as they get bigger, they have to devour smaller developers. It reduces the amount of competition they have for their own titles and adds existing revenue from their competition in to the kitty.

What we are seeing in gaming is similar to what goes on in Hollywood. Major studios are few but have access to the funds required to make "mainstream" releases and a categorized "independant" cinema which suffers from a lack of budget. Unfortunately, I hate to say that I watch Hollywood movies and say, "Is that the best that the most creative people in the world can come up with?" Is this what we are going to face in gaming?

Rest In Peace:
Troika Games, CinemaWare, Black Isle, Interplay, Bitmap Brothers, Accolade, Acclaim, Bullfrog, and the many others ...