Ubisoft said it had completed the previously announced acquisition of both the intellectual property and technology rights to the Driver series. Along with the Driver franchise, Ubisoft acquired nearly all of the company’s assets and personnel at the cost of $24 million. Publisher Atari will hold a three-month sell-off right to all games in the franchise except for the recent Parallel lines, which it will hold through 2006.
The release noted Ubisoft looks forward to continuing the series, which has now spanned four console games and sold more than 14 million units worldwide.
The company also revealed it has obtained the rights to distribute GT Pro Series through an agreement with MTO Co., Ltd., outside the Japanese market. GT Pro Series will be exclusive to the Wii console and will feature 80 licensed cars, tuning customization, and drift-style controls and physics. Ubisoft states the game will be available at launch and promises to take full advantage of the Wii remote controller.
GT Pro Series ups the company’s scheduled Wii launch lineup to seven – it joins the previously announced Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbits, as well as Monster 4X4 World Circuit, Open Season, an unrevealed Far Cry title, and Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WW II.
Midway, Activision detail fiscal results
Midway and Activision posted quarterly fiscal results this week, both reporting a loss for the period.
Yesterday, Midway provided its results for the second quarter of operation in 2006, reporting a loss in net revenues from the previous year.
The Chicago-based software developer reported net revenues for the 2006 second quarter at $25.9 million, compared with 2005 second quarter net revenues of $36.9 million. The 2006 second quarter loss applicable to common stock was $31 million. The company’s third quarter will elapse at the end of September, to which Midway anticipates a net revenue loss of approximately $23 million.
The company provided anticipated highlights of the remainder of 2006, including ports of the PS2/Xbox best-selling Blitz: The League to the Xbox 360 and Sony PSP this fall, the announcement of two titles to hit the Wii this fall (The Ant Bully and Happy Feet), and release of Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run (Xbox, PS2), Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Xbox, PS2), and Happy Feet (multi-system).
Article Author: Aaron Auzins
Aaron Auzins, better known as "nestlekwik," is an avid gamer and collector who resides in Ohio. He has written video gaming reviews for his personal site GemuBaka, Diehard GameFAN, J2Games, Bemanistyle as well as news for Arcade Heroes.
Article comments