It doesn't matter where your office is located or how high it is -- if you're an executive in the video game industry, you can stare out your window and spot the looming shadow of the colossus, Activision Blizzard. Ben Feder, CEO of Take-Two, shared this view at a recent UBS investment conference (as reported by Reuters), where he stated that the soaring costs of game development make industry consolidation "inevitable."

"Video-game development is not getting any cheaper," said Feder. "It's a capital-intensive business, and I don't see that going away. That will drive some of the smaller competitors out." If the last few months have been any indication, rising costs and expectations are prompting publishers to snap up notable developers and even each other, much like [disturbing Hungry Hungry Cannibal Hippos reference removed]. A stable financial base and a desire to best the competition may provide an incentive for taking new IP risks, but the cynic among us would more quickly rub his hands together in anticipation for UbEAsoft's Madden's Assassin 2k7.