PS3 News: EA Hasn't Ruled Out Publishing A Bungie Product - PS3 News

Members Login: Register | Why sign up? | Forgot Password?

EA Hasn't Ruled Out Publishing A Bungie Product

Ever since Bungie split from Microsoft, they've been a highly sought-after commodity. So it's no surprise that EA and Activision are playing a little tug-of-war...

We know Activision and and the Halo developer just recently signed a big 10-year publishing deal, but that doesn't necessarily mean EA is entirely out of the picture. As CVG reports, EA made an "extensive bid" to publish Bungie's new IP, but the two couldn't quite settle on agreeable terms, so Activision got the nod. Still, EA remains "optimistic" that it can get a publishing deal with Bungie, provided the latter studio starts work on a second title. EAP head man David DeMartini said Bungie is a "fantastic studio" and they would've been a darn good fit, but the developer didn't really meet the "very specific set of criteria" EA has concerning new deals. Added DeMartini:

"We had extensive conversations with them, but could never really figure out a deal that made sense for both of us. It just didn't come to fruition. Obviously, they were able to come up with some kind of deal that made sense to Activision and made sense to Bungie and we hope they make great games. It's healthy for the industry to have big independent studios that are making great products.

I don't want to see them fail - I want them to be successful. And when they start up a second team, we'll have other discussions with them about that game as well - because they're a great studio. There are probably only 20 studios in the world that are that highest level - and they're certainly one of them."

That's high praise indeed and while Bungie will remain focused on their current project for quite some time, the idea of a Bungie title with the EA logo on the box hasn't evaporated. It also may depend on the performance of this new IP, which we know little about...

5/19/2010 12:10:36 PM Ben Dutka

Put this on your webpage or blog:
Email this to a friend
Follow PSX Extreme on Twitter

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google Share on MySpace Share on Delicious Share on Digg Share on Google Buzz Share via E-Mail Share via Tumblr Share via Posterous

Comments (33 posts)

ace_boon_coon
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:21:35 PM
Reply

did bungie not see what happened to infinity ward? smdh!!!. and they're stuck with activision till 2020. they're goin to make a halo style COD. smh

Agree with this comment 1 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

shaydey77
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:33:20 PM
Reply

one question. Has Bungie made any other game than Halo? All this praise seems a little OTT if it is the only game they have.

Agree with this comment 5 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

ace_boon_coon
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:40:45 PM

only game i remember is that game oni on ps2. it was a launch game

Agree with this comment 1 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Hezzron
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:46:38 PM

They had a pretty good game called Myth for the PC way back. One of their first games. It was actually good.

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

SirLoin of Beef
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 2:57:40 PM

Years ago they made an FPS for the Macs called "Marathon" as well as a few sequels. At the print shop I worked at we had some Macs networked and played it on our lunch breaks. It was a pretty fun game.

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

WolfCrimson
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:43:54 PM
Reply

"20 studios around that highest level"... hmm... I don't think I can name them all:
-Square Enix
-Kojima Productions
-Naughty Dog
-Santa Monica

and... that's it. Can't think of the rest.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 3 down Disagree with this comment

ace_boon_coon
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:47:30 PM

insomniac, sucker punch, polyphony digital, quantic dream, media molecule just to name a few

Agree with this comment 4 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Highlander
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:58:31 PM

Dont' forget Sony's own...Liverpool, London and StudioJapan

Agree with this comment 4 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

StangMan80
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 6:29:22 PM

Didn't Naughty dog make Crash I hope they come back with that game. but maybe I'm asking for to much, I hope not.
Lol when I read Naughty dog I thought about that game called Naughhty bear...

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Vitron
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 6:50:35 PM

LV5

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Dancemachine55
Thursday, May 20, 2010 @ 1:20:55 AM

Where's the love for Santa Monica?

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Dancemachine55
Thursday, May 20, 2010 @ 9:12:07 AM

ah, you did name Santa Monica, my bad.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

I_defenestrate
Thursday, May 20, 2010 @ 11:54:43 AM

Rockstar, 2K, From Software, Bioware, Bethesda, Rocksteady (If Batman: AA wasn't a fluke), Remedy

There is 20 after what you guys named off too. Seems like there should be more..

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Hezzron
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:52:39 PM
Reply

So let me get this straight....Bungie is going to start up a "second team" and EA expects to be bidding for the rights to publish that game? Bungie signs a 10 year agreement with Activision, but they plan on splintering off a second team (Bungie North?) that will possibly make games for another publisher? That's a strange arrangement.
Last edited by Hezzron on 5/19/2010 12:53:11 PM

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Highlander
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 12:59:17 PM

It'll be called Bungie Escape (clause) as in where they'll go if they decide to bail on Activision...

Agree with this comment 6 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

maxpontiac
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 1:05:50 PM

Good one Highlander!

Agree with this comment 1 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Alienange
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 1:41:41 PM

Makes sense to me. I wouldn't sign any Activision agreement without a back door of some kind.

Agree with this comment 3 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Hezzron
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 1:52:42 PM

Yeah, maybe the real people behind the Bungie "talent" are going to pull a fast one, and leave to form that second team for EA. Activision will be left with a name and a bunch of impostors.

Are the Bungie guys tight with the former IW guys? Hmmmm......

Agree with this comment 3 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Cesar_ser_4
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 4:33:34 PM

@Hezzron didnt they work with naughty dog on Uncharted 2?

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

fluffer nutter
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 6:02:55 PM

Alienange is all about the back door.

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

ArnoldK PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 1:33:09 PM
Reply

Bungie is the new Rare. You heard it here first. Call me when they make a game worth caring about again.

Agree with this comment 7 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Highlander
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 1:42:16 PM

ROTFLMAO!

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 2:10:11 PM

agreed.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 4:36:44 PM

haha, whenever Arnold pops up from his dungeon he makes the best comments.

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Wage SLAVES
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 6:37:53 PM

I gotta agree, million dollar ideas don't grow on trees and you can ride on a name for so long.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Alienange
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 1:44:04 PM
Reply

Every time EA speaks they come across as a bunch of really swell guys. They definitely know how to handle the media if anything.

Agree with this comment 4 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

BikerSaint
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 4:28:25 PM
Reply

Alienange,

LOL,
after reading that, I was thinking the same very thing...

All holding hands in a sing-a-long around the campfire & passing some newly made S'mores to one another.

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Hezzron
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 7:03:58 PM

lol

Agree with this comment 2 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 4:37:36 PM
Reply

I wonder what the agreement is with Activision, since it seems to me that EA lets a studio pretty much do their own thing.

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

StangMan80
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 6:32:50 PM

I'm hopping that they don't make another Halo that game sucks. PS3 will be selling like hot cakes oh wait they already are.
Last edited by StangMan80 on 5/19/2010 6:33:11 PM

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Naga
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 5:25:32 PM
Reply

Bungies options were simple....

Activision - Safe but milked to death with yearly release.

EA - Yearly release to but likelyhood of closure

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Dancemachine55
Thursday, May 20, 2010 @ 1:30:49 AM
Reply

I wonder if the deal between EA and Bungie fell through cos of the following discussions at Activision:

Kotick: "We will hype the sh** out of this new IP you're gonna develop and make it seem bigger than Halo. We will pay you a lot of money to stay with us and you will receive a large share in the profit. (whispers) in the year 2022 after I have fired and bankrupted you)"

Or...

Kotick: "Please go with our company, we messed up big with Modern Warfare and the COD franchise, and we're looking for another developer to exploit... woops, did that just slip out? Anyways, PLEASE join Activision!!! We have no talent and could really use yours to make us more money to bathe in of a night... darn it, gotta stop these damn verbal slips."

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

BikerSaint
Thursday, May 20, 2010 @ 3:05:33 AM
Reply

anti-vision probably just "cooked the "books with a phony contract that give Bungie everything, but then & did a quick ole Houdini switch-a-roo on the real contract, which takes everything back, including Bungie's company.

I hope Bungie already hired a stable full of lawyers, just so they're ready for anti-vision

Agree with this comment 0 up, 0 down Disagree with this comment

Leave a Comment

Please login or register to leave a comment.

Popular Cheats

Recent Reviews

Recent Previews

Sponsor

Our Poll

Do you plan to buy a PlayStation Vita this year?
Yes, I'll definitely get one in 2013.
No, but I'll get one eventually.
No, I have no intention of buying the Vita.
No, I've already got one.

Previous Poll Results