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[DC R1D3R]

Lock if old.

As Epic’s management team heads west for the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week, GamePro magazine is predicting that Microsoft will buy the fast-growing game technology firm.

“Microsoft will buy Epic Games for $1 billion this summer,” wrote Travis Moses, assistant editor at GamePro, in the magazine’s new issue.

Epic and Microsoft are practically joined at the hip already. Microsoft’s game publisher division paid Epic millions of dollars to develop the award-winning “Gears of War” in November of 2006 for the Xbox 360 platform. Gears won multiple awards and sold several million copies. The online version of the game remains among the most popular on the Xbox Live network.

The two companies will be exhibiting at the GDC side-by-side.

http://www.wral.com/business/local_tech_wire/opinion/blogpost/2449264/

 

[Shard]

Today must be rampant rumor day, I do not like this.

 

[Keyser Soze]

EPIC

 

[LiquidMetal14]

We need 1 thread for most of this.

 

[Busty]

I can absolutely believe this. I heard that MS were buying the Gears Of War IP from EPIC.

 

[Naeblish]

Lol @ all the microsoft rumors today. GDC must be close...

 

[TJ Spyke]

Why is the prediction of 1 GamePro editor notable enough to make a thread about?

 

[disappeared]

Gears of Cooking Mama.

 

[Xater]

Yeah I don't think so. Epic makes money with their engine and I am pretty sure they like their freedom.

 

[Luckyman]

:lol :lol :lol

No.. seriously. Epic isn't worth 1B.

 

[Kabouter]

A billion dollars....for Epic? Wow.

 

[Crusade]

He must've gotten that scoop with their Gears 2 world exclusive preview

 

[VOOK]

Half the MS rumours end up being true, they leak like an 80 year old.

 

[fse]

I could see them buying Epic.
the need people to make them halos

 

[DECK'ARD]

On the rumour-probability scale, I'd rate this as atleast 70% likely.

 

[pswii60]

Seriously not going to happen. For a start, MS buying Epic would piss off third party developers and publishers using UE3, not to mention the looming SK court case to take in to the equation. Bullshit.

 

[Psychotext]

As much as I like the 360, if MS did this... SHOOTERBOX CONFIRMED! :lol

 

[Phantast2k]

Yes yes the recent MS policy towards devs (Bizarre, Bungie, BioWare) suggests that.

 

[ZeroTolerance]

well..GDC is like 2/3 days away I presume ?

 

[Shard]

If true, I am wondering if Microsoft is just looking to spend that Yahoo bid Money some other way or if they have learned nothing from the past, don't overbid for devs.

 

[Riddick]

I heard Microsoft will buy the world for one trillion billion.

Btw this move makes sense. I mean they'll owe billions to the banks if they buy yahoo why not owe one billion more for fun?

 

[Router]

Today must be rampant rumor day, I do not like this.

The flood of rumors will be replaced by actual news over the next few days.

 

[Doc Evils]

Let say this did happen, what would happen with UE3 on multiplatform games?

 

[Narcosis]

I know this is a rumor, but my doubt is very high of this even being logical

 

[Cipher]

:lol

I could see them buying the Gears IP but Epic?

 

[Riddick]

The flood of rumors will be replaced by actual news over the next few days.

And as always they'll be completely dissapointing.

 

[Stahsky]

then they will steal all the UE3s away from the devs and laugh, laugh at the global victory.


laugh

 

[Kosma]

I don't think so.

 

[Kafel]

He must've gotten that scoop with their Gears 2 world exclusive preview

:lol:

 

[Rolf NB]

Epic and Microsoft are practically joined at the hip already. Microsoft’s game publisher division paid Epic millions of dollars to develop the award-winning “Gears of War” in November of 2006 for the Xbox 360 platform.

Oh yeah, it's exactly like Bioware, right? Inseparable partners in business, right?

 

[Psychotext]

Microsoft already owns Bungie, the develop of the wildly popular Halo game franchise, so a deal for Epic would follow precedent.

orly? :lol

Edit... wtf, how did that typo get past the editor!

 

[Shard]

The flood of rumors will be replaced by actual news over the next few days.

I look forward to that.

 

[goldenpp72]

1 billion for epic? Aren't they like an 80 man dev team? I could see them buying the gears IP or forming an exclusive contract of sorts but.. yeah.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

And as always they'll be completely dissapointing.

Ditto, why latch on to a lot of hearsay.

 

[ZeroTolerance]

 

[Riddick]

Microsoft already owns Bungie, the develop of the wildly popular Halo game franchise, so a deal for Epic would follow precedent.

Epic’s Unreal Tournament 3, its newest release, is currently under development for the Xbox 360 platform and is due to release in May, according to GamePro. As for a possible Microsoft acquisition – well, stay tuned.

Is this a joke article?

 

[ThatHurt]

who's leaking the April 1st edition?

 

[guidop]

A billion dollars seriously... gamepro seriously... I love the sources for these rumors:lol

 

[Rottweiler]

I heard Microsoft will buy the world for one trillion billion.

Btw this move makes sense.I mean they'll owe billions to the banks if they buy yahoo why not owe one billion more for fun?

Sarcasm? It's hard to tell over the internet nowadays with all the seriousness that goes on in forums.

 

[methane47]

:lol :lol :lol

GAMING JOURNALISTS

:lol

 

[Router]

And as always they'll be completely dissapointing.

What is he saying here? Its starting to drive me nuts.

 

[MickeyKnox]

:lol

1 billion?

For fucking Epic?

$1,000,000,000.

L

O

L.

 

[Rolf NB]

orly? :lol

Edit... wtf, how did that typo get past the editor!

Why do you ask about the typo? You should ask how that fucking sentence made it in there. Microsoft does not own Bungie anymore, a fact that our pro predictor here seems to be unaware of. If he doesn't know that, what can he be trusted to know?

 

[Mithos Yggdrasill]

:lol :lol :lol

No.. seriously. Epic isn't worth 1B.

True.

This aquisition is not of question anyway.

 

[Shard]

Is this a joke article?

Well, there is some evidence that does point toward an Xbox 360 version of UT 3.

 

[Riddick]

What is he saying here? Its starting to drive me nuts.

:lol I think he says "yes we can"

 

[Rolf NB]

What is he saying here? Its starting to drive me nuts.

Looks like "yes we have".

 

[DopeyFish]

:lol

1 billion?

For fucking Epic?

$1,000,000,000.

L

O

L.

do me a favor and ballpark how much UE3 licensing gets Epic

just remember each license is around $500,000!

 

[AceBandage]

After the way Epic keeps complaining about how MS treats them badly regarding online? Yeah... right...

 

[Riddick]

Well, there is some evidence that does point toward an Xbox 360 version of UT 3.

But he avoided to mention that the game is already on PS3 and PC. And Bungie isn't owned by Microsoft he should have known that.