EA appears to have finally found a buyer, and Amazon will reportedly officially announce its offer today.
EA was reportedly looking for a buyer (or merger) as early as 2012, when its market cap plummeted 37%. The publisher declined to comment on speculation at the time, but more rumours surfaced in May that it was under the spotlight again. puck (opens in new tab) (pass VGC (opens in new tab)) reports that Disney, Apple and Comcast — NBCUniversal and Amazon are all in the race.
Now for victory (opens in new tab) Claimed that Amazon had taken the next step and made an offer. The announcement is apparently slated for later today, but there’s no official word yet. This will be good news for EA after a decade-long mission to find a buyer. But it’s not that big in the case of big, deep-pocketed companies that splurge on cash to gain a monopoly in the industry. For example, Microsoft acquired Zenimax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, or planned to acquire Activision.
As a solitary individual, I can do silly things with all of this. So let’s see how this affects my personal bright side. There’s also a tantalizing possibility: As part of my Amazon Prime subscription, I can see all the amazing shows for years to come.
Amazon effect
Video game adaptations used to be daunting.Have street fighter (opens in new tab), Mortal Kombat (opens in new tab)even though super mario bros (opens in new tab) got an action. Decades later, we are finally seeing a turnaround.
The Witcher on Netflix was a hit, and the League of Legends adaptation of Arcane managed to outshine Cowboy Beebop in its debut. With Amazon’s budget in hand, we could see some great new shows based on EA’s trove of IP.
I know I’ve been chattering, but please someone do something about the Emerald Empire. The game is real GOAT material, if we don’t see a sequel, can we please try at least one TV show? Mass Effect is another favorite, and of course, the Dragon Age dwarfs will get themselves dirty when thinking of the franchise-based Prime Video series. Let’s put those casting ideas from Solas into action!
With Amazon’s growing library of original content, its streaming service has some real gems. Among the best Prime Video shows you’ll find The Boys, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and A League of their Own. Sneaky Pete is also a good one if you missed it before it was canceled.
There’s no reason to think a series based on EA’s many IPs will fail. Given Amazon’s resources and track record, I think the opposite is true.
Does this deal portend doom for the video game industry? Maybe. Should large corporations with unlimited capital be allowed unfettered acquisitions of publishers and developers to stifle competition? of course not.
But I am a fair consumer. I consume. on the nominal.
