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Square Enix To Buy Eidos, Midway Files For Bankruptcy

Posted by Soulskill on from the finish-them dept.

arcticstoat writes to tell us that Square Enix has been revealed as the potential buyer to Eidos, developer of the Tomb Raider franchise. Eidos had been shedding workers and studios in an attempt for financial stability. This comes alongside news that Midway Games is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to stave off creditors while they sort out what's left of their resources. World of Goo publisher Brighter Minds Media also filed for bankruptcy last month. Free Radical, a UK studio recently put in a similar position was snapped up by Crytek, and we discussed news of Sega's financial turmoil as well. It seems that claims from late last year suggesting the games industry may be "recession proof" are quickly being proven wrong, though Kotaku suggests that most of the blame falls on the developers.

3 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. Midway files for bankruptcy? by serviscope_minor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Midway files for bankruptcy? I think that's a...

    FATALITY

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    SJW n. One who posts facts.
    1. Re:Midway files for bankruptcy? by Darth_brooks · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ch. 11 offers protection from creditors while you attempt to reorganize, While Ch 7 is outright bankruptcy. Sometimes it works, usually you're just staving off the inevitable. So the correct joke to use here is...

      FINISH HIM!

      --
      There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
  2. Sweeping statements by Shrike82 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From the summary:

    It seems that claims from late last year suggesting the games industry may be "recession proof" are quickly being proven wrong

    Labelling an entire industry "recession proof" seems a bit excessive. Any games company with a solid fanbase, probably through years of making good quality games and having good customer support, are unlikely to be affected too badly by the global economy problems. Sure, things are a bit tighter for me money-wise now, but I'm sure as hell not going to stop buying games. A good business model and high quality products, for a receptive market sounds like a winner to me. But a bad games company, making bad games and treating their customers like idiots, criminals, or flat out ignoring them, is going to go under no matter what. Recession just speeds things up, and being in an industry considered "safe" from economic problems isn't going to save you one little bit.

    Another approach to riding out a recession is to create games that are mind-bendingly addictive, and provide income month-after-month. Anyone for WoW?

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