ZeniMax (Bethesda) buys id software...

[brisk]

oh wow

"We're really getting kind of tired competing with our own publishers in terms of how our titles will be featured," Carmack said. "And we've really gotten more IPs than we've been able to take advantage of. And working with other companies hasn't been working out as spectacularly as it could. So the idea of actually becoming a publisher and merging Bethesda and Zenimax on there [is ideal.] It would be hard to imagine a more complementary relationship. They are tripe A, top-of-the-line in what they do in the RPGs. And they have no overlap with all the things we do in the FPSes."

[Kat]

Didn't see that one coming...

[bitWISE]

Interesting

[phantasmagoria]

well at least it wasn't EA

[obsidian]

Didn't see that one coming...

Heck no, they've always said that they were proud and enjoyed all the advantages of being an independent developer. I'm not sure if all these mergers are a positive thing for the game industry, but I'm hoping this works out for the best.

[Mat Linnett]

Well at least Bethesda finally have some decent in-house engine tech.
On the other hand, this makes me incredibly sad to see such a strong independent company get absorbed by a publisher that has been aggressively extending its portfolio recently.

And they fucked up Fallout

[Kat]

Didn't see that one coming...

Heck no, they've always said that they were proud and enjoyed all the advantages of being an independent developer. I'm not sure if all these mergers are a positive thing for the game industry, but I'm hoping this works out for the best.

I think they've probably just come to a hard realisation that that 'old way' just can't keep up with the ever increasing pace of development these days... a 3 year dev cycle is probably starting to be very costly...

[Don Carlos]

heh...I was going to post this earlier.

Out of the blue that one! I really didnt see it coming...but there we go. They probably have nothing to do with them as such, but it may make a Doom/Quake RPG game more possible after seeing Halo Wars?

Lets see the deal...and make judgement 2 years down the road

[7zark7]

I'm shocked and stunned.

[Plan B]

Not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't really see how it's a good thing, either.
I have nothing against Bethesda, they're a solid company and I like what they churn out, and I doubt this will have much of an impact on id's independancy, development wise, but I fail to see the reasoning.
AFAIK id is a thriving dev that does quite well for itself and isn't struggling, but maybe they just want to consolidate and secure themselves for this ecomically trying period.
But yeah, if it ain't broke...etc.

[xer0s]

And they fucked up Fallout

Blasphemy!

[Hipshot]

Fuck. The gaming-world is becoming more and more gay every day now.

I hate Bethesda more than I hate Epic.

[GONNAFISTYA]

I think they've probably just come to a hard realisation that that 'old way' just can't keep up with the ever increasing pace of development these days... a 3 year dev cycle is probably starting to be very costly...

If I had my way ALL games would have a 3 year dev cycle. Perhaps then we could weed out the shitty, low quality 6 month dev cycle games that need 3 patches to work correctly. Whoever said that "high quality games can be made in under a year" is a fucking moron and it is a horrible truth that developers MUST convince the publisher that they can pump out games as quickly as the next studio. It's a snowball effect that - over the years - has given consumers more bug-riddled software than most people care to admit.

[Don Carlos]

True

[Hipshot]

I think they've probably just come to a hard realisation that that 'old way' just can't keep up with the ever increasing pace of development these days... a 3 year dev cycle is probably starting to be very costly...

If I had my way ALL games would have a 3 year dev cycle. Perhaps then we could weed out the shitty, low quality 6 month dev cycle games that need 3 patches to work correctly. Whoever said that "high quality games can be made in under a year" is a fucking moron and it is a horrible truth that developers MUST convince the publisher that they can pump out games as quickly as the next studio. It's a snowball effect that - over the years - has given consumers more bug-riddled software than most people care to admit.

Heil.

[fKd]

can id make good games anymore? im starting to wonder after the spectacular failure of doom3/quake4/qw:et... all with quite big dev cycles. i think the old horse has finally given up the ghost... imo the last good title they did was quake3. the torch has been passed on. just my 2 cents...

[obsidian]

I still play ETQW as do many other people, so I certainly don't consider it a failure. Both Doom3 and Quake4 had rather enjoyable single player missions. Financially, all the games were profitable. They may not be the hallmark leader of the industry anymore, but they are certainly still holding their own.