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Micaelis Rex sent this my way.
Firaxis and Microsoft announced today that they are going to collaborate on Civilization 4, the probably most-awaited game ever. "Seeing parallel developments in Age of Empires and Civilization, we thought we could combine our efforts to produce the best historical build-up game of all times," said Lindsay Riehl, director of Public Relations at Firaxis. Indeed, the similarities between Age of Empires and Civlization are striking: both games lead the play through exactly four ages, acquiring technologies and using them to either conquer the world or win by peaceful means. "Many civilizations are the same, and the graphics quality of Age of Empires is stunning," comments Duncan McKissick of Ensemble Studios: "If we pool our resources, we can create the best game with the most fabulous dynamics ever."
Indeed, Civilization and Age of Empires have both been so successful that they spawned two sequels each, selling millions of copies worldwide. It is argued that Civilization set the standard for historical turn based strategy, while Age of Empires set the standard for historical real time strategy games. Firaxis is an independent game house, while Ensemble studios is a subsidiary of Microsoft. Both companies failed to comment on future publishing rights, as Firaxis publishes through Infogrames and Ensemble through Microsoft. Still, the announcement is a promising step for the gaming industry, showing that collaboration is possible in an environment that is as lucrative (and competitive) as Hollywood.
Indeed, Civilization and Age of Empires have both been so successful that they spawned two sequels each, selling millions of copies worldwide. It is argued that Civilization set the standard for historical turn based strategy, while Age of Empires set the standard for historical real time strategy games. Firaxis is an independent game house, while Ensemble studios is a subsidiary of Microsoft. Both companies failed to comment on future publishing rights, as Firaxis publishes through Infogrames and Ensemble through Microsoft. Still, the announcement is a promising step for the gaming industry, showing that collaboration is possible in an environment that is as lucrative (and competitive) as Hollywood.
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