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Lionhead Studios In Purchase Talks?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the molyneux-history-redux dept.

Lionhead Studios, best known for the Black and White series of games, may be in acquisition talks with Microsoft and Ubisoft From the Eurogamer article: "Of the two, Microsoft has the most history with the studio - the software giant published one of Lionhead's most successful titles to date, Fable, and is believed to be working with the firm on a next-generation sequel to the game for Xbox 360. Credence is also lent to Microsoft's involvement in the deal by the close relationship Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has enjoyed with the firm and its top executives since the launch of the Xbox, with the well-known designer often appearing to sing the praises of the Xbox platform in public." Gamespot reports further on the subject, stating that while it's certainly plausible, it's not official yet.

20 comments

  1. Yeah. by mrseigen · · Score: 1

    Because that worked so well with Bullfrog, although it's slightly encouraging to see that Lionhead isn't profiting from what they've put out in the last few months. Fable was acceptable but B&W 2 was just utter tripe.

    1. Re:Yeah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Actually, I feel it necessary to express the reverse; I thought Fable, for what was promised, was a terrible shadow of the hype that preceded it, while Black & White 2 was a decent improvement over its predecessor (though still lacking the bullfrog magic). Seems like Molynuex gets really excited about a project, promises us the moon in a box, and then gets tired of it a few months later, opting for the good ol' EA style wrap-up (of the sort that killed origin studios).


      It's pretty impossible for me to see him as the guy behind things like Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper and Populous anymore, and I really don't care what happens to his company.

  2. B&W2 Mac version? by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I heard there is a Mac version of Black and White 2 coming. Would being bought by MS kill that? Granted, it's a port by another company, but the risk remains, right?

    1. Re:B&W2 Mac version? by damsa · · Score: 2, Informative

      They still port Age of series for the Mac, I don't see how this would be any different.

    2. Re:B&W2 Mac version? by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 1

      I heard there is a Mac version of Black and White 2 coming. Would being bought by MS kill that? Granted, it's a port by another company, but the risk remains, right?

      They had a playable alpha release of Halo on the mac at macworld in 1999 before MS bought Bungie. In 2001 they released the x-box version. It was not until 2003, four years later, that Halo was finally released for the mac. That is to say, it took them four years to go from a working version to a production version on what used to be their primary development platform. To answer your question, it is anyone's guess whether there would still be a timely Black and White 2.

    3. Re:B&W2 Mac version? by PFI_Optix · · Score: 1

      To be fair, they also killed the PC release of Halo along with the Mac version. It's assumed that MS arranged that to make Halo the killer app to drive XBOX sales.

      I can remember as late as mid-2000 looking at demo videos of Halo at LAN parties and talking about all the upgrades some of the guys would have to make to run it. Then MS bought Bungie, Halo for XBOX was announced, and Halo for anything else went away.

      --
      120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
    4. Re:B&W2 Mac version? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Then MS bought Bungie, Halo for XBOX was announced, and Halo for anything else went away.

      Yes, then Halo for PC came back, probably because of all the people who (like me) said "I'll buy this crap for PC but there's no way I'll play an FPS with a gamepad."

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:B&W2 Mac version? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, then Halo for PC came back, probably because of all the people who (like me) said "I'll buy this crap for PC but there's no way I'll play an FPS with a gamepad."

      Yes, and then everyone who bought it for PC realized that they were stuck with a half-hearted console port that ran like crap on the PC.

    6. Re:B&W2 Mac version? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Yes, and then everyone who bought it for PC realized that they were stuck with a half-hearted console port that ran like crap on the PC."

      No.

      People realized that Halo was a piece of crap that only gets talked about because there is nothing else worth playing on the console.

    7. Re:B&W2 Mac version? by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      Risk? What risk? MS would license out the development to a Mac porting company and earn income from the sales. Which is what they've done before.
      You do know Microsoft makes software for the Macintosh right?
      The only risk I can think of would be if they were to port there server applications to OS X - that will never happen.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
  3. B&W 2 by UMEngin · · Score: 1

    Worse, might this perhaps kill the chance of a multiplayer/skirmish patch?

    1. Re:B&W 2 by RandomPrecision · · Score: 1

      Didn't the game come out October 6th?

      Not sure that you're getting one.

  4. Maybe then we'll see B.C. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On Xbox 360? Or given their development cycles the next Xbox?

  5. Pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This does nothing to address the crisis Microsoft faces with the 360.

    http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/funds/investing/102 67646.html

    It is obvious things are going badly for Microsoft and the 360, but I didn't realize just how bad until I read this article. Microsoft needs to stop putzing around and buy someone big. And soon.

  6. Past history... by oberondarksoul · · Score: 3, Informative

    If I remember correctly, Peter Molyneux founded Lionhead after leaving Bullfrog simply because he couldn't stand the corporatism that selling Bullfrog to EA had presented. If it was bad enough for him to leave the first company he founded, I'm not sure he'd make the same mistake twice.

    --
    And tomorrow the stock exchange will be the human race
    1. Re:Past history... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it was bad enough for him to leave the first company he founded, I'm not sure he'd make the same mistake twice

      Don't be stupid. Building up a company - and selling it for a pile of money - is one of the (several) holy grails of capitalism.

      Do it right and you get another chance to have a fresh start and do things better the next time. The whole process must be extremely rewarding.

  7. I can see through this ploy... by Excelsior · · Score: 4, Funny

    After patenting ones and zeros Microsoft wants control of black and white, too! It's all part of a devious plan to control the universe.

  8. PR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They've been pretty desperate to get noticed lately.

    A few weeks ago they leaked a story about Elevation Partners being interested in them, which had no other purpose than a "Hey Elevation, while you're at it, we're desperate for a buyout".

    Now the same thing with the created rumour about a bidding war. Nobody is going to war over Lionhead, they'll be lucky if they find a buyer as long as Sir Peter M. is part of the company. Too risky.

    1. Re:PR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because for a long time now the money has been running out. Lionhead always believes its own Hype. The Movies was going to be the next sims apparently, and after around 3 years of development, the whole design got thrown away and done from scratch for no good reason. Then witness the 'secret' project dmitri, thats been going for at least 5 years without even a screenshot to show for it, and wasted god knows how many millions. You can only coast along on past glories for so long until the banks stop lending you money. Not only this, but a long line of people have recently left the company. Lionhead looks and sounds like a dead man walking.