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THQ's bankruptcy sale details: Auction on January 22nd, Will Allow Piecemeal Purchase
- Thread starter Nirolak
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Based on what Nirolak posted
They seem to have plenty of cash to make a serious effort at grabbing Relic and anything else they might want.
PistolPete
Member
I like the sounds of this. They seem to be letting Creative Assembly do what they do best and everyone wins. I feel a little better now. Thanks for the info.
I like the sounds of this even better....
And from the lot I would think that Relic would be the least disputed and consequently less expensive to make a winning bid.
I already preordered their stupid cart racing game...I'll have to settle for preordering CoH2 instead, if it comes to pass.
Actually, I still haven't gotten around to buying Generations, so that works as well.
TaroYamada
Member
Wait people on Gaf didn't know segasammy had massive cash on hand? The move to digital distribution outside of large retail franchises wasn't SEGA surrendering, it was SEGA recognizing the shifting tides and where the future of our industry lies.
Anyways, Relic + SEGA is a great fit. They've managed Creative Assembly fantastically.
Anyways, Relic + SEGA is a great fit. They've managed Creative Assembly fantastically.
The reason they have so much cash isn't because of Sega, though, it's because of Sammy and their non-gaming divisions.
TaroYamada
Member
Of course but regardless SEGASammy's business move was correct, even EA retracted from retail BIG TIME, they just didn't make some big slightly grave sounding announcement about it.
GAF tends to misunderstand a lot of things. Sega were never in any trouble due to the magical world of pachinko.
As for the Sega & PC thing, it probably helps that Sega have had their pie in the PC sphere since the mid-late 90s when shoddy ports of Virtua Cop, Virtua Fighter 2 and Daytona were the norm. They obviously saw it as a different avenue for profit back then. With the advent of Steam it has only helped them.
Now I just want Yazkua on PC.
I hope so. Based on rumors though I believe their two biggest competitors for Relic are Ubisoft and EA who both also have pretty deep pockets. I am really hoping that Sega who seems to really be focusing on the PC strategy market wants it more then the other two. I really don't want to stop playing Relic games do to their stupid new owner's walled garden.
TaroYamada
Member
They were doing a lot on PC back in the 90's, heat.net (via SegaSoft) chiefly. I also want Yakuza on PC! Do it SEGA!
Kind of makes me wonder if Steam had arrived earlier than it had would the circumstances be a little different.
Sega have always been pro-PC and I've loved them for that.
Holy crap, I remember playing Age of Wonders competitively on Heat.net. Never knew that was Sega. Good memories.
That happened early this afternoon.
He was only at Relic for a relatively short time, I wouldn't stress about that too much.
I knew Sega had no cash problem thanks to Sammy, but we come from a period where they have closed offices worldwide and refocus their videogames operation to go digital, so I had serious doubts they would have the green light to buy another studio after reporting 54 millions pounds of loss.
"SEGA is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise. The company will benefit from a clear focus and realigned strategy for our digital business and packaged goods and we are confident that this will lead to a successful future."
IceDoesntHelp
Banned
No news on the acquisitions I presume?
Nope. Mostly rumour and speculation so far.
Baron_Calamity
Member
But the loss was entirely traditional retail, no?
I also suspect they realize many of their choices for retail just weren't doing well most anywhere. Platinum's a critical darling (usually), but definitely not a sales one. MGR's probably the only possible exception, and that's part of the Metal Gear franchise and may mean nothing for their upcoming Wii U titles.
I do hope that means they'll still get stuff like Yakuza 5 out here, though if they don't I have myself to blame partially for waiting until Yakuza 3 and 4 were dirt cheap. Actually I should plow through the series if they do announce 5, just so I can rationally buy it day one.
Can I blame all of the myriad DLC for Retribution and Space Marine on him, or was that mess someone else's doing?
Screaming_Gremlin
My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
That was probably just THQ trying to stave off bankruptcy. At least I hope so, because the DLC really got ridiculous with those games.
hypodrmage
Member
Any idea if there titles and dlc will be removed from steam, xbla or PSN?
codswallop
Member
If different companies own the IP, anything's possible. Probably not, since they like money, but you never know.
The Bookerman
Member
Was thq Montreal and what ever IP Patrice desilet's working on, auctioned off?
Im guessing with total war and football manager PC has been pretty profitable for Sega, so it seems natural they would try to get another top tier pc dev on board if they can.
Hell, Relic is still around because its been making money for THQ, otherwise it would have been canned like the other 99 studios they closed up.
Hell, Relic is still around because its been making money for THQ, otherwise it would have been canned like the other 99 studios they closed up.
grandjedi6
Master of the Google Search
EA might remove it from steam and some really older titles might be fucked due to licensing.
I think as soon as the rights go to someone else, Valve has to remove them. They can't sell the games without giving the money to whoever owns it. If they can't ink a new deal, it's gone. It's likely that the games will be removed, at least temporarily, shortly after this is all resolved.
It's also highly unlikely that EA would remove any games from Steam. They try to put everything they can on the service, with the only exceptions being games that have Origin-specific DLC. No reason to remove, say, Saint's Row 2.
Dude, you have so many wrong opinions.
It'd honestly probably be too much effort for the likes of SR2. That's made to use Steam as its DRM, you'd have to go hire CD Projekt Red to scrub it out, may as well just get it on Steam and even provide a key on Origin.
TaroYamada
Member
I really hate this thread, I want deets and I want them now. Fuck bankruptcy courts.
Orpheus Telos
Member
If Relic does end up going to Sega I would be a happy man. It's probably the best case scenario for them. I'm still worried about Volition though. I have this terrible feeling that they will end up with EA.
I wouldn't exactly call allowing only EA Partners titles to be published on Steam "trying to put everything they can on the service". When EA removed a few games from Steam in 2011, blaming Valve's new DLC policy -- a non-retroactive policy, meaning it didn't even apply to the games EA pulled -- the only titles to return were those published via EA Partners (Crysis 2 namely). Did Dragon Age 2, developed by BioWare and published by EA, make it back? Nope, and post-release content support has long ceased.
SR2 has Steam as the DRM? Didn't know that. I knew SR3 did.
Crysis 2 was returned only after the DLC for the game was included in the Maximum edition. Dragon Age 2's DLC has not been made available on Steam, so it has not returned. It's worth noting that Crysis 2 and DA2's DLC launched after Steam's policy change. I do not believe the same is true for Dirt 3's DLC, and so on and so forth.
Off the top of my head, the only EA game that could be on Steam (but isn't) is Syndicate.
I could be wrong on all this. It's been a long, exhausting day, and I'm not sure why I'm even still awake.
Sweet dreams, y'all.
TaroYamada
Member
WB has bigger pockets than EA, and I am sure they want that franchise. I personally think they are more likely to win the bidding for Saints Row/Volition.
The company that owns E1 Music? Holy low budget, Batman.
Yes, I know.
Yes, I know. I'm not seeing a point here -- the games shouldn't have been removed at all as the DLC policy EA blamed didn't even apply to them, meaning the DLC offered for the games could have been sold outside of Steam with EA reaping all of the revenue, as it so clearly desired.
MrCunningham
Member
So to sum up this thread...
Sega ==> Relic
Ubi Soft ==> South Park: Stick of Truth
Sega picking up Relic is not a bad thing... but Ubi Soft? Err... the thought of buying Stick of Truth of Uplay doesn't seem very appealing to me at all.
Sega ==> Relic
Ubi Soft ==> South Park: Stick of Truth
Sega picking up Relic is not a bad thing... but Ubi Soft? Err... the thought of buying Stick of Truth of Uplay doesn't seem very appealing to me at all.
Deep Silver would be the publisher then?
I believe you are mistaken, as I clarified in my above edit.
It absolutely would apply to them.
Wiktor
Member
Ubisoft at least makes PC exclusives. Warner Bros and Activision would mean zero chances for new RTS from Relic. With Ubisoft there still would be a chance, even if not a big one.
Sega is by far the best choice though. They've been treating their PC devs extremely well, Relic under them would be a dream come true.
Yeah, but I meant they are known for their low budget efforts in music, movies and games.
It doesn't matter that the DLC launched after the DLC policy came into the effect; the games themselves released prior to it and so they're not affected by the change. I provided a case in point in my post but you've missed it so I'll reiterate here: EA pulled the games circa June 2011, and despite the hot air about Valve being the root cause, Dirt 3 has no DLC for sale via Steam even though virtually all of it released in June, July and August 2011.
Orpheus Telos
Member
I think WB would be a great fit for them and I personally hope that is where they end up. I guess I'm just feeling a bit pessimistic.
grandjedi6
Master of the Google Search
What was the last game EA put on Steam? Alice?
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