HP to Acquire Voodoo PC

mytrip writes to mention a News.com article outlining HP's acquisition of Voodoo PC, the high-end gaming computer maker. Following Dell's purchase of Alienware this past March, it would seem that the big computer assemblers are gearing up for a gaming skirmish. "In the weeks prior to that acquisition, Rahul Sood predicted the looming deal after having similar acquisition-related conversations with Dell Chairman Michael Dell, he later revealed on his blog. Rahul Sood will become chief technologist in HP's game division, and Ravi Sood will take on the role of chief strategist, Rahul Sood wrote on the blog. Voodoo will maintain a presence in Calgary, Alberta, where the company is currently headquartered. The deal is expected to close in November, HP said in a press release."

Comments

Wow!

[ubrgeek]

Good thing no one tried to leak this story ahead of time ;)

Do you have to buy someone?

[CastrTroy]

Do you have to buy someone in order to make a good product? I mean, it's not really that hard to make a gaming PC. I guess by buying someone out, they get to use the name, with brings in customers, but I really don't see the big draw. HP is a big enough company that if they put out a real gaming machine, with really good specs for a good price, I'm sure it wouldn't go unnoticed.

Having said that, what's with all the big companies wanting to get into gaming PCs? That's a very small market, and with all the consoles coming out with HD, I don't see PC gaming getting a larger market (although I don't know if it will shrink). I just checked Voodoo PC, and their cheapest rig starts at $2800. For that price you could buy a PS3, XBox360, and a Wii, oh, and a ton of games, and still come out on top. I realize that there's a few games that are just better on PC (RTS and FPS), but seriously, I don' see a lot of people wanting to spend that much money on a computer.

Re:Do you have to buy someone?

[jimstapleton]

I think part of it is, they are adding a new market segment, without having to do the R&D, and while removing a potential competator, in one fell swoop.

Re:Do you have to buy someone?

[Orange Crush]

Having said that, what's with all the big companies wanting to get into gaming PCs?

My guess would be the higher profit margins. The market may be tiny, but it's still got much fatter margins than the cutthroat bargain PC market where Dell is king and manufacturers fight bitterly over every last penny.

Re:Do you have to buy someone?

[CastrTroy]

I think that high profit margins are what they are looking for, but I can't see a real gamer wanting to buy a computer from HP. The gamer crowd would either build their own, or buy from a small company, so that they don't have the same computer as everyone else. A Ferrari isn't "that" much better than a Corvette, but you know that you will get a lot more stares, and be part of an elite group when you buy your Ferrari. People buy these gaming PCs as status symbols. Once it's just another computer from a giant manufacturer, will they still have the same appeal?

With extra features!

[Dark Paladin]

Now, when you order that VoodooPC, it comes with a free phone tap kit! Fun for the whole family (though unless you're a member of the NSA, make sure you get those warrants first!)

Re:so...

[felis_panthera]

Here's the word from your man on the inside...

No.... at least for the time being our tech support is remaining in house... as are our production and service departments... we are now a division of HP, but we are retaining a good deal of our autonomy as we are technically classified as Research and Development...

Re:Shows They Don't Understand Gamers

[NDPTAL85]

Onboard video? Are you stupid or something?

Are you completely and totally unaware they any serious gaming rig from Dell or HP comes with a real dedicated video card?

I mean are you seriously thinking Dell and HP only sell computers with onboard video? And proprietary memory? WTF?

Re:There goes my dream

[dfghjk]

"Even now, when everyone is jumping in to the HTPC field, Voodoo is already one step ahead of the curve. Their HTPC has top of the line parts and no fans."

No fans? The system has both chassis fans and power supply fans. Nothing unique here except the really high price and the custom paint jobs.

Re:Oh well!

[felis_panthera]

don't even joke about that man.... we do not build cookie cutter consumer garbage here and we never will...

here's the meat an potatoes of it as I understand it... HP needed a gaming division and buying us was cheaper than the R&D required to build one of their own... we needed capital to get some of our new designs off the ground.... so now HP has a gaming division (we are a somewhat seperate entity unto ourselves, under the greater umbrella of HP) that's immediately productive, and now we have a much greater resource base for our designs... we haven't been taken over, we've been integrated... from our side of this merger, it is simply allowing us greater freedom to bring our (and your) PC gaming dreams to life...