Infogrames in financial trouble.

[Dinner]

I saw this and thought I might see if I could spark some discussion; especially since so many people here at 'poly accussed Infogrames of making excess profits off of Civ3 & PtW. Businessweek a while know and respected American financial journal is reporting Infogrames stock has plunged 98% from its high of last September and the company is on the verge of drowning in a sea of debt. Further more the Infogrames name has been so sullied by bad products that the French company is changing it's name to Atari Inc whom they had aquired last year when the stock was still flying high.

So what do you folks think? Is Infogreed reaping the rewards of turning out poorly sorted games like Civ3? Or is it being unfairly punished by the market?

[Dinner]

Supposedly Infogrames NEEDS their lastest Matrix game take off to be a hit or they go belly up. What do you think this means for future Civ3 Expansion packs or even a Civ4?

[Flight]

firaxis are teh kind of developers who would be bought by anyone with the cash imo so i dont see any danger for reasonably long term games (civ4) but the xp might be ****ed

as for infogrames, who knows, i never much liked them anyway

[bobbo008]

i'm not sure about us losing the xp. i'm sure there's someone who'd be willing to buy the publishing rights to it.

does infogrames own firaxis?

[VetLegion]

I have read the 'features' list for the new Civ III expansion and I think it is a ripoff. Is it Firaxis idea to publish it or Infogrames I don't know. Atari is a cool name, but it can not save a company.

[Dinner]

I'm with you VL on the Atari name change but I'm afraid they may tarnish this golden oldie name just like they did their current one.

I do think we'll still see out XP though I suspect its budget has been slashed as they've eliminated 50% of their future products and cut the budgets for 25%. The odds are realy good the XP is being put out on a shoe string. That means fewer features and fewer patches.

[ALPHA WOLF 64]

if they were smart, they'd sell of the civ francise now, since it has limited near term profitablity. I figure civ4 is at least 2 years away, and in one of the chats, firaxis said that a successful XP sells 1/2 of the previous release. So it seems that this release will bring in some money but not a big windfall.

[statusperfect]

Re: Infogrames in financial trouble.

Originally posted by Oerdin
So what do you folks think? Is Infogreed reaping the rewards of turning out poorly sorted games like Civ3? Or is it being unfairly punished by the market?

the punishment of the market is never unfair


cheers

[Spiffor]

So, Lyons really ends with 's' in English ? It thought it was a consistent typo in Civ... Does Marseilles really ends with an 's' in English too ?

As for Atari's financial problems, this reminds me of Vivendi Universal. Unti a year ago, everybody wondered when Vivendi's paetite would stop, and what would stop the rise of Vivendi's CEO Jean Marie Messier. One year ago, Vivendi entered a serious debt crisis, and the CEO was laid off.

I think Infogrames will survive, even though they may not being able to handle being a world major anymore. The smaller French videogames company Ubi Soft is doing well, even though it doesn't play on the same scale.

As for Firaxis : Firaxis is a subcontractor of Infogrames. Infogrames owns the Civilization franchise, as well as other profitable franchise they can sell for a high price. However, Firaxis has just signed new agreements with Infogrames, that makes it more involved with the Lyons company. I think Infogrames values Sid Meier's company as a company that brings profit with little risk involved (but also not so many profits involved).
IMHO, that's why they haven't cancelled PtW development, and allowed Conquests development.

[WarpStorm]

Originally posted by ALPHA WOLF 64
and in one of the chats, firaxis said that a successful XP sells 1/2 of the previous release.

No, historically, XPs sell about 1/4 of the original title's sales, not the previous XP's release. It seems that most people who buy one expansion for a title they really like buy them all (see The Sims). Civ3 is a cash cow for Atari. They will try to milk it till it is totally dry (this is at least 2 XPs down the road).

Besides that, XPs can be 'farmed out' to third party developers to save costs and lower risk.

I figure Civ4 is probably at least 4 years down the road. They have to finish the projects they are on now before starting it (typically 18 months to 2 years) plus the inevitable XP for those titles plus the time to get Civ4 out the door (another 18 months to 2 years).

[statusperfect]

Originally posted by WarpStorm
Civ3 is a cash cow for Atari. They will try to milk it till it is totally dry (this is at least 2 XPs down the road).

So there is more to be expected?

cheers

[Immortal Wombat]

http://www.gamerevolution.com/games/infogrames.mp3

[statusperfect]

Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
http://www.gamerevolution.com/games/infogrames.mp3

ROFL!

cheers

[Dinner]

I'm not sure if we'll see much more beyond the next XP and a "Gold Edition" which sells the original game, both XPs, and all the patches.

[WarpStorm]

As long as they continue turn a profit (and Civ3 and PTW did big time), I think you'll see more. The latest press release from Atari hints at multiple future Civ titles. I don't think they are willing to wait (and spend the big money) for Civ4, when they can crank out a couple of XPs in the next few years until the time is right for an overhaul.