Ghostbusters Benefits From Activision Banishing

ghostbustersBad economic times mingled with company acquisition spells disaster for many game titles but the story ends well, we hope, for Ghostbusters. The game was slated for a Holloween release, last year, but was given the boot by Vivendi when they merged Activision and Blizzard. There is only so much room for projects and management when two companies combine, Ghostbusters was given boot.

Atari picked up the franchise once it was slammed to the cutting room floor and the team has since been given a second chance. Not only did Atari give them access to a channel for publishing, they asked the developers for a wish-list of things they could have done different. They then granted all the changes, in effect, giving the developers a second chance to update the title and make the story telling and game better than it would have been if they hit their original date.

Being picked up by a developer and being given the chance to update the game in ways you really only had dreamed means we, as gamers, will be getting the real title. The biggest factor for a crappy game is the time and money to get the job done. Unfortunately time and money are in constant battle with money usually arriving as victor.

Now, developers are being given the time to do it right at the expense of a little more money in the investment. A once in a lifetime change that could put a “would be” dead franchise in the top spots.

(Thanks, BlendGames)

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It’s official, EA has given up their talks with Take-Two and, as a result, the stock of both companies is falling like a stone. While gamers may cheer knowing the Grand Theft Auto and 2K Sports product lines will continue to compete with EA products, share holders are doing a WTF?

Take-Two has had its share of financial difficulties, but nothing shakes up a stock more than a break in discussions when the words acquisition have been spoken. It causes uncertainty and lack of understanding on the part of the game industry and share holders. EA’s stock dropped 2.7% upon opening this morning but has begun to stablize as it’s clear EA isn’t in any financial peril from this breakup in discussion.

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As the game industry gets more competitive, builds bigger bank-roll and becomes a staple entertainment icon there is always more business savvy people getting into the game trying to make a fast buck. In this case, the shareholders obviously aren’t pushing for Take-Two’s future decisions or product launches — this is the reaction of business folks trying to make money.

There is huge risk with block buster 100-million dollar titles and all the crazy hype involved with some of the biggest games in history. They break sales records, smoke box-office numbers and bring new gamers into the industry but it’s all at risk when money gets involved. One bad move and a company making a title like GTA can find themselves in financial peril.

With risk comes reward, but failure is always sneaking up around the corner so watch out!