Valve Talks About Being Acquired

[AmazingRedd]

"The news are a bit disturbing and even though "the company's doing pretty well", they're "happy to have that conversation" with anybody interested in acquiring the company. Sure, Valve is not a cheap company and not anybody can acquire it. But there are big publishers out there, such as EA Games that could have enough money. So far, I'm rather satisfied with the quality of the games delivered by Valve. So I'm not liking the idea that some other game company acquires Valve. Nothing to worry about yet."


whole article below

Gamasutra - Valve's Lombardi Talks Potential Acquisitions, EA's 'Boogeyman'

if that happens, there could be no more Steam.

[Trooper110]

If EA ever acquired Valve/Steam I would uninstall the program and devil the fact if I can't play the games any more. It's bad enough letting Valve have the kind of access, but if EA had it, well, I'm not letting that happen.

[juneau]

As soon as i read the title i thought of EA. Really hope that doesn't happen.

[Duke{CLR}]

I sure hope that EA doesn't buy them.

[ChrisWW11]

I think EA's to occupied with the offer to buy Take-Two but they will find a way to buy every company out there lol

[ViTO]

Wouldn't it be cool if we had a Software Company that wrote really kick ass PC ONLY games simply because they loved to play really kick ass PC ONLY games !!

Oh nevermind.........I'm just rambling and dreaming !!

[Todd98]

You know it's really sad too see companies getting cought up in mergers and buy outs. The railroads went through this and so with oil companies. When is the madness going too end?

It's always true that some small gaming companies can bring a certain level of satisfaction for gamers like us while huge gaming compaines like EA, Well we all know the kind of results we get from them.

[Hammy]

Critical mass is the goal of companies with their biz model.
They have a few hopes in reaching this point (critical = high popularity, steady regeneration of revenue stream, and a great customer base).

1. Get acquired so we dont have to address potentional/impending/or growing/fatal problems

2. Solve the fatal/potentially fatal problems (they are tapped out on bandwidth and they are starting to have problems around supporting the density map that they have built - that is my assumption from my high volume usage of their services).

3. New technology shifts their business dynamic in their favor

4. Continue to grow- their poop doesnt stink and the customers are willing to ignore quality flaws over brand and preference.

Valve/Steam could be acquired- but I honestly think it would be a minor shareholder transaction equivalent to allowing EA to buy 20-30% of the company for a one time lump and a profit share.

Even then, the question I have is this:

If they sell out 100%, do they sell the software side and retain the delivery packaging system (or vice versa).

I like all of these conversations because they have the potential to improve the services and retain the customer value. A partner shareholder in their business environment could incite EA or Vivendi to start distributing their products over the Steam Client, making it a better marketplace for all of us in terms of ownership, and limit the piracy for those companies that participate.

~hammy

[{CLR} Naillik]

EA = suck. I really hope they don't buy it.

Fantasy notion - If Cain won a big lottery and bought it for all of us

[Cal]

I just hope they (EA) don't force Valve to use the ridiculous antipiracy stuff that crippled games like Mass Effect. Limiting users to 3 installs for a 50 dollar game? Ridiculous. Some of us reformat now and then!

[DougBob]

That's the main reason I don't like EA is their god complex of claiming they want to protect their games and not caring how they do it.
Anybody that installs additional software on my computer, but doesn't feel the need to let me know needs to fall.

[K PhaNTOM]

LOL EA will buy everything. First Take2 and now this... even thou I got no clue to what valve does anyways lol