AfterDawn: News

Buena Vista Games expanded Tuesday by acquiring Avalanche Software. Last year, Walt Disney Co. (Buena Vista parent company) reported it had earmarked $40 million for developing its game business. No details on the deal were disclosed but Buena Vista Games senior VP and general manager Graham Hopper, said that "they totalled well south of $50 million." Buena Vista Games plans to reach $536 million in fiscal 2006 after its $265 million of revenue in fiscal 2004.

"The acquisition of Avalanche Software and the creation of a development studio in Vancouver mark a significant milestone in becoming a top-tier video game publisher by securing the industry's top talent to build and create game franchises," Hopper said. There is already a partnership between the two as Avalanche is developing the video game counterparts to Walt Disney Pictures' "Chicken Little,".



Avalanche is well known for its million-selling "Tak" franchise, which Hopper referred to as "one of the few successes in the children's intellectual property space." The startup studio that BVG also acquired is based in Vancouver and is led by senior development and business staff previously with Electronic Arts. The team is already working on developing games for next gen consoles like the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3.

Source:
Reuters

Written by: James Delahunty @ 19 Apr 2005 20:21