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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Microsoft Might Be Forced To Purchase Epic Games!

Skeeuk on 20 February 2010
CaptDS9E said:
I'm surprised MS hasn't got either Epic or Valve yet.


the games they make will be on 360 anyways so what business sence is there?



...not much time to post anymore, used to be awesome on here really good fond memories from VGchartz...

PSN: Skeeuk - XBL: SkeeUK - PC: Skeeuk

really miss the VGCHARTZ of 2008 - 2013...

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Hephaestos on 20 February 2010

that whole engine aspect of things makes it so the company looses a lot of value by being bough by a console maker.... it has to be a publisher that does not plan on releasing consoles... activision or ubisoft would be good guesses (don't ea have plans for a console or parteneering or something?)



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Carl on 20 February 2010

Would be a great buy for MS, but i don't think it will happen.

If anyone does it, it will be EA or Activision.



                            

Xelloss on 20 February 2010
Munkeh111 said:
Xelloss said:
Munkeh111 said:
Xelloss said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:
Xelloss said:

If Sony was smart, they would find the financing to pick up Epic, and partner Epic with their hardware division. Ie: Have the best engines, tools and middleware available pre-launch for the PS4 to guarantee that the PS4 isnt a repeat of PS3.

Hrmm....Sony and a PC company? nahhhh. Microsoft has much better relationships with them.

Epic isnt a PC company. They are a middleware/hardware support company. The hardware they support, happens to include most major PC hardware, but they are not a "PC company".  Engines, design tools, programming support, technical integration & etc for multiple platforms... that is what Epic does. Which is also exactly what Sony failed to provide pre PS3 launch, and along with poor pricepoint, is why PS3 suffered for so long.

 

Oh, and Epic occasionally builds a game based on their tech , partly for game profits but mostly to showcase.

Well Epic are expanding, but Epic themselves only have about 75 employees, I know GeoW was made so cheaply (like $20m) because they outsourced coding to China. So they are smaller than Naughty Dog, so you wouldn't expect them to release that many games actually. They do now own Chair entertainment (who made Shadow Complex) and People can Fly, so I think they are expanding to some degree to make more games, but they are mostly just an engine company....  UT 3 is certainly an example of showcasing, especially on the PS3 as around then people were having problems with the UE 3 on PS3

Well yeah, thats basically what I was saying. Thats why it would be a coup for Sony to aquire them. Epic supports hardware, with engines and tools and libraries to make use of hardware features, they also provide developer support. IE: Epic provides things Sony has notoriusly had a hard time with the past 5 years. Epic has also opened overseas offices in Asia to support their licensees there.

 The reason Sony should aquire them has nothing to do with their games, they should aquire them for the same reasons they aquired Psygnosis back in the 90's - to provide tools and publishing support. While this is less key for the current gen, when the next gen rolls around if Sony does not do something and provide tools and services to lowert the barrier to entry and cost of development on their new platform, MS will have another leg up on them again for the simple fact that MS will still be operating on a DirectX platform , and even though the capabilieties will improve - the difficulty of coding will not necesarrily be more difficult. If anything, it will be easier because performane tweaking will be less of an issue on more capable hardware.

If Sony releases another system with a barebones dev kit and little developer support, they are in for a bad time. Instead of trying to rebuild this functionality internally, it might be logical to aquire a company who already has that capability - in which case Epic would be the #1 contender.

I agree, but a cheap solution would probably be an expansion of the ICE team. The problem is, with Epic going to Sony, would they be building engines, or just making dev tools? Because their primary product is the UE 3, and so that obviously goes out the window, as there are much better PS3 only engines around, and so they are just there to provide support for 3rd parties and 1st parties?

Thats a good question , I would anticipate that they would make both engines and tools. And like I said, at this point its not about current-gen. Its about what happens when Sony releases PS4, and given their track record will all kinds of hardware in the past I would anticipate Epic being able to provide tools, updated UNR engine and design tools for the new gen of Sony hardware, especially if this were their primary focus.

Having a shiny new Unreal title at launch wouldnt hurt either.

But still, I think Sony would be much better position for early support if their dev kit came with a working UNR engine and flushed out dev package.

 Whereas IIRC the PS3 basically came with a c++ compiler, a few libraries and a 2nd rate barebones engine. Sony said "here ya are guys, now have fun figuring out the SPU's ! " 3rd party dev reaction was... underwhelming to say the least.



mrstickball on 20 February 2010
Chairman-Mao said:
Epic games is another company (also Valve) that I think is a tad bit over-rated but if MS purchases Epic that would be a huge hit to Sony's 3rd party and a boost to MS' 1st party.

Honestly, I think its the other way around. Epic is one of the most under-rated. Not because of their games, which are good but not great in terms of frequency. However, their Unreal Engine is what makes Epic a must-have for Microsoft.

Imagine a world where Microsoft gives out Unreal Engine as part of a SDK for free to developers. Could you imagine MS aquiring new developers by giving it in turn for exclusivity or a greater cut of royalties? MS would do insane business by that, and could screw Sony over in the process.



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

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Kantor on 20 February 2010

Microsoft won't be forced to do anything. They may have the opportunity to purchase Epic, but even that isn't made particularly clear in the article. All he's saying is that it's difficult to be an independent developer.



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jacks81x on 20 February 2010

While MS can certainly acquire Epic, I don't see it making sense financially. The company's value will decrease exponentially if acquired by MS as a lot of 3rd party devs will stop using the Unreal Engine with the concern that MS will only allow them to release their games on the 360. Also, the use of the Unreal Development Kit is free of charge to the public currently. Somehow I don't think MS will be as generous. They're going to lose a lot of support from small, independent devs as well who someday may become major devs.

http://www.udk.com/licensing.html



shinyuhadouken on 20 February 2010
SpartenOmega117 said:
i guess thats what microsoft would do but who knows. maybe someone else will purchase them like EA or activision

I hope that never happens. Microsoft should purchase Epic. EA already took Bioware. That's enough I say.



Not a 360 fanboy, just a PS3 fanboy hater that likes putting them in their place ^.^

gekkokamen on 20 February 2010

Has microsoft adquired any big/succesful studios this generation?



Slimebeast on 20 February 2010

I am against this because it wouldn't contribute anything. MS already has Gears as an exclusive and Unreal Tournament doesn't matter bcause it's a dead franchise which I never liked.

MS should buy Remedy instead.