EA Gets Exclusive Rights over Star Wars Games
The fate of future Star Wars games seemed uncertain after Disney shut down the LucasArts game development division, in the wake of purchasing Lucasfilm last year. But it seems fans of the popular sci-fi franchise have nothing to fear, as news emerged that Disney gave Electronic Arts exclusive rights to develop games based on the series.
The multi-year deal signed by Disney and EA will allow the video game publisher to design, develop and publish any video games based on and inspired by the Star Wars world. The financial terms of the contract were not revealed.
A joint statement from both companies said EA would be in charge of developing Star Wars games for a core audience and for all interactive gaming platforms. Disney, meanwhile, will retain the rights of developing certain titles for mobile, tablet, social and online gaming.
The president of EA Labels, Frank Gibeau, announced that future Star Wars games would be developed by in-house developers DICE (responsible for Battlefield), Visceral Games (which developed Dead Space) and BioWare (Mass Effect). BioWare has already been in contact with the Star Wars world when it developed massively multiplayer online games such as The Old Republic or Knights of the Old Republic. Gibeau also said that the future titles may be inspired by the classic movies, but will nonetheless have entirely new stories and gameplay.
The EA deal comes one month after Disney shut down LucasArts, announcing plans to license games instead of developing than develop them in-house. The decision brought several projects, including a new Star Wars action title called Star Wars 1313, to a halt. It is unclear whether the project will be resumed one way or another under the Disney-EA arrangement.
The exclusive publishing deal is however unlikely to affect another Star Wars title currently in development. Sony Online Entertainment said the Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures MMO will continue to run without any problems under its current license.
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Dell Acquires Cloud Company Enstratius
Dell has further consolidated its position in the cloud market with the purchase of Enstratius. Enstratius is a cloud company that offers cloud management services including a range of software designed for the purpose. It enables businesses to manage single or multiple clouds at the same time, depending on their preferences. This isn’t the first time a tech giant has purchased a smaller cloud company. This was also the case a couple of months back when Nimbula, a cloud company similar to Enstratius, was acquired by Oracle.
The interesting thing in this episode is that Dell did not reveal any of the details of the transaction. Therefore, it is not known how much the company paid for Enstratius and what the terms of purchase were. As far as the company is concerned, Enstratius has been in operation for nearly half a decade, having been founded in 2008. The company is based primarily in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As things stand, it does appear as though it will be a worthwhile acquisition for Dell. Already Dell has a solid history of buying companies and then making them work.
According to the details revealed thus far, Dell does not plan to lay off any of the employees of Enstratius. On the contrary, Dell is looking to invest further in engineering and sales personnel to boost the company’s prospects. For now, it does appear as though Enstratius will continue operating as an independent entity but with Dell’s backing. Yet, there is always the risk inherent whenever a large company decides to purchase a smaller services provider.
Most importantly, this acquisition represents Dell’s most significant inroad into the cloud market. Dell’s customers will now be able to use top of the line cloud management solutions which the company will provide through Enstratius. It is no secret that Dell has been looking to gain a larger share of the cloud market so this is a step in the right direction in that regard. With more than 20 cloud platforms in its domain, Enstratius is just about the best option for Dell.
Enstratius itself had been broadening its horizons for some time now. Their cloud platforms are compatible with a wide range of operating systems and cloud offerings. Thus, Dell will be able to provide the same now that Enstratius has been acquired. This means that companies can use Enstratius’ services regardless of whether or not they are using Dell clouds.
However, the issue regarding ownership of the company still remains under a cloud. Buyers enter and exit the arena without anything serious materializing. It does appear as though the path is clear for Michael Dell to buy out his company with his consortium and then implement his plans for the future. Michael Dell has already stated in the past that he plans to make Dell a force in the cloud market as well and the acquisition of Enstratius seems to be a step taken in that direction. Yet, until the ownership saga is resolved, nothing can be said with certainty regarding the future of Dell and Enstratius.
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