NBC Merger Leaves VU Games, Blizzard, Sierra In Cold

Thanks to Reuters for their report that Vivendi Universal Games has still not found a buyer, with indication that, despite much confusion, "The video game unit is not a part of the newly-created NBC Universal, and Vivendi has signaled its intention to hold on to the division." VU Games is also the parent company of both Sierra and Blizzard, but although "...industry insiders have questioned why Vivendi would want to retain ownership considering its divestiture of other entertainment assets", VU Games will stay as it is for now, since "...sources in the banking and games-publishing industries have said the sale bogged down over price, with Vivendi asking on the order of $800 million."

Comments

Sierra? So What

[Anonymous Coward]

Blizzard (North and South) is probably one of the top-10 PC game companies. But Sierra died in the early 1990s. A real shame too. They (and dynamix) used to have some of the best games in King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest, Space Quest, Willy Beamish, Heart of China, etc. They were one of the first game companies to digitize actors for games.

But those days are long past. Now all they do is bug-ridden knockoffs of whatever was popular 2 years ago.

Re:Why buy?

[irc.goatse.cx troll]

"Team Fortress 2 - $0. Was due in 2000, then 2001, then 2002, then I stopped caring about it. The idea of a Team Fortress sequel now seems quaint and outdated after Battlefield 1942 and Planetside. I think they've missed the window of opportunity with this one."

Correction, first due out 2nd quarter 1998 according to TF1's birthday mode. By 2000 most people gave up hope, although seeing the sourcecode to it shows they are atleast working on it. (For anyone that doesnt know, HalfLife2's sourcecode leaked out recently, and apparently tf2 and cs2 were both in there. TF2 can even compile in its current state, so it may be close to release.)