MCV: Square Enix considering Eidos acquisition; Warner's still in it

by Christopher Grant { Dec 4th 2008 at 10:26AM }

Honestly, we're starting to lose track. In what we can only imagine is routine for its flagship heroine, Lady Croft, Eidos (née SCi) is being courted by a gaggle of interested suitors, ranging from the longtime admirer Warner Bros. Interactive, to recent newcomers EA and Ubisoft, and now ... Square Enix?

MCV reports the Japanese gaming giant is looking more to the West than ever, not only starting Square Enix LA – a new US-based studio – but also considering an acquisition of Eidos to rival current acquisition front-runner WBIE. While MCV's anonymous source thinks "Warner's [acquisition bid] will still win" MCV speculates that "Square Enix could opt to buy single assets – perhaps just IO and the Hitman brand," whom SE president Yoichi Wada "has already visited." Let's just hope that whoever acquires Eidos and all of her assets takes good care of them. It's not just Lara and Hitman ... we've got Deus Ex 3 to consider, you know.

Tags: Eidos, SCi, Square-Enix, Warner-Bros, Warner-Bros-Interactive

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Lord Negatron @ Dec 4th 2008 10:33AM

Eidos you minx, i didnt know you were into Bukakke!?

*mrreooww!*

Alexisonfire @ Dec 4th 2008 10:45AM

Why anyone would WANT Eidos is beyond me. If it was up to me, I'd just leave the company be and hope it dies out in the next few years.

(The Award-Winning) dark_inchworm @ Dec 4th 2008 11:05AM

A Dagger Through the Heart of St. Eidos, if you will.

Lord Negatron @ Dec 4th 2008 11:05AM

It does appear to be more of a liability than an asset...

John Z @ Dec 4th 2008 11:17AM

I don't know... Square-Enix has handled Taito pretty well, which is no mean feat given that they've been trading almost exclusively on Space Invaders for the past fifteen months (and Arkanoid... but milking SI far harder). The case could even be made that SE's intervention made stuff like Space Invaders Extreme possible.

On the other hand, Tomb Raider doesn't have quite the same reputation it once did, Hitman has also been somewhat spotty, and Deus Ex 3 must not be messed with in order to be successful. I honestly don't know if SE can turn TR/Hitman around, or conversely if they'll have the sense to keep their fingers away from DX3.

Of course, this is pretty much not going to happen anyway; I expect Warner Bros. will step up their efforts PDQ in an attempt to try to screw SE over (and will subsequently make all those mistakes up there).

Markusdragon @ Dec 4th 2008 12:00PM

They don't want the company in particular, they want it's IPs; Tomb Raider and Hitman are the obvious ones, but Thief, Carmageddon, Legacy of Kain and Just Cause have potential for exploitation too.

Alexisonfire @ Dec 4th 2008 10:55PM

@ John

Very good point about Taito. But I think that is a little different. Taito is a Japanese company, so Square Enix at least has the familiarity of working with a company that has the same way of doing business. But Eidos is based in England and has a very western way of making games.

I could see why Square Enix would want it for that reason, as they've been trying (unsuccessfully) to make more games focused on western players (See Last Remnant). But there's a kind of barrier there that SE is trying to get through, but taking control of a sinking ship and trying to use it to drive right through an iceberg is not going to work.

@ Markus

If they just want the assests, why buy now? Wait until the whole thing collapse and then pick through the pieces. Remember Interplay? I'm sure lots of people wanted the Fallout license. But Bethseda managed to scoop it up once Interplay was shutdown.

I don't meant to sound heartless about the people working there and what not. But Eidos doesn't make good games. They don't. And all the bullshit they do with marketing does not help one bit.

@ Dark_inchworm

We have a winner.

sk8monroe81 @ Dec 4th 2008 11:51AM

square just concentrate on the games you have now please.
the last remnant could have used some more tuning.
if more of your games have issues we might stop playing them like eidos games.

Lord Negatron @ Dec 4th 2008 3:14PM

You make a great point Sk8

Like the Hitman series, i played the 1rst one on PC. Buggy, new and interesting. Some time passes i try it out on Ps2/Xbox(?). Same stuff, buggy gameplay.

Heres my experience as a stealthy hit man: Kill, hide body, change clothes. At some point the enemy with a hunch recognizes me. Or half way through the level,the previous body is found (by who/what idk). End result, big shoot outs, rambo style until i stumble upon the "target." All that was missing through the bumbled up missions(not all) was HitMan saying Go go gadget Copter! Instead of the Copter', big red roller skates appear on my feet.

Markusdragon @ Dec 4th 2008 12:08PM

Oddly enough, for the first time ever I find myself rooting for EA. EA's past foray with IO Interactive (who made Hitman, and are now making Kane and Lynch 2... ew.) resulted in the rather excellent Freedom Fighters, and I suspect that EA's current quality-builds-IPs mantra could result in reasonably solid returns to form for some of Eidos' flagging and forgotten series.

Unfortunately, Warner are going to get it. They already have a 30% share in the company, and have much closer ties to Eidos than any of their rivals.