(11-04-2005) Bono's private equity firm buys videogame makers - SFBT*

[HelloAngel]

Bono's private equity firm buys videogame makers


A Menlo Park private equity firm that includes rock star Bono as a partner is buying a couple of major videogame makers.

Elevation Partners will take control of Pandemic Studios LLC of Los Angeles and BioWare Corp. of Edmonton, Alberta, the Wall Street Journal reported. the two companies employ 450.

They make games that are distributed by companies like Electronic Arts Inc. of Redwood City and Activision Inc. of Santa Monica. Pandemic is known for the game Full Spectrum Warrior; BioWare is known for Jade Empire.

No value was reported for the transactions.

Elevation partners include John Riccitiello, former president of Electronic Arts Inc., Fred Anderson, a former chief financial officer of Apple Computer Inc., Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee and Bono, the lead singer for the band U2.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.
http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2005/10/31/daily30.html

 

[nbcrusader]

That is an interesting connection. Why would Bono invest in manufacturers of violent, first person shooter games?

 

[Vincent Vega]

They are not only "manufacturers of violent, first person shooter games", but also produce Role-Playing-Games and strategic titles.

 

[beau2ifulday]

Elevation Partners tried bidding on a video game company last year (Core, I think), did they not?
It seems to be an area of interest for them. Either that, or just an sound area for investments.

 

[Vincent Vega]

It was Eidos last year, but it went to SCi (which at the moment has alot of problems and maybe EA will buy this company).

 

[beau2ifulday]

Thanks, Vincent. I remembered it being something related to Tomb Raider, but couldn't quite remember what.

 

[lmjhitman]

edmonton!!

eta:

the front page of our local paper today had the screaming headline: BONO IN $300M BIOWARE DEAL.

mind you the story inside had little, if anything to do with bono, other than listing him as one of the backers of the deal.

it got my attention, anyway.

 

[DaveC]

That is an interesting connection. Why would Bono invest in manufacturers of violent, first person shooter games?

Neither company makes first person shooters. Full Spectrum Warrior is a simulation/strategy. Basically you command a platoon and you have to use actual US Army tactics to win. And you don't do any of the actual shooting. You just tell your soldiers where to shoot.

And it's a fun game.

 

[Ladera Heights]

Holy shit, I interviewed with Pandemic Studios 5 years ago, but got rejected. I wasn't the badass programmer they were looking for.

 

[Lancemc]

Bioware is the greatest video game developer in the business! Pandemic is also a rather impressive company. I first heard about this deal on ign.com and I was super-excited about the merger of Bioware/Pendemic. Only near the end of the article did I see that Elevation Partners was the catalyst for the deal! How awesome is this whole thing? Pretty fricken awesome, I say.

 

[faithingrace]

Everytime I see this headline I think it says "Bono's Privates"

 

[yolland]

from U2 at the End of the World:

The countdown to the U.N. deadline has been dominating the news for a couple of weeks, but still, it's a shock to hear that the war has begun and U.S. missiles are blowing up downtown Baghdad. Bono sits at the TV transfixed, amazed that CNN is broadcasting the war live twenty-four hours a day, and that he—like millions of TV viewers— finds himself watching war as if it were a football match. He turns on a movie, switches to the war for a while, over to MTV, back to the war:

Whoa, look at those missiles! That was a big one!

Edge is struck by the fact that the young pilots returning from bombing raids and the soldiers directing the missiles from launchpads far from Baghdad often compare what they're doing to playing video games at home. It is all computer controlled, they never see any blood or destruction—children who grew up using toys to pretend they were at war end up at war pretending they're using toys. They fly off on missions with the Clash's "Rock the Casbah" blaring. Edge and Bono are watching TV together when a young American pilot is interviewed on CNN. When asked what the bombing looks like from the plane, he says, "It's so realistic." Bono and Edge look at each other, amazed.

Bono thinks that something fundamental has changed, not just in the world's political structure, but in the way media has permeated the public consciousness. In the last decade cable TV has spread through what used to be called the free world. There is no more line between news, entertainment, and home shopping. Bono says that when U2 tour behind this album, they have to figure out a way to represent this new reality.

I agree with nb, this is a strange investment for Bono to be involved in.

 

[Vincent Vega]

It isn't the computer games that start war, go to war or even make the people less aware.
I'm playing first person shooter, strategic titles, WWII games etc. as well as simulations like Operation Flashpoint, economic simulations like Anno 1602 and Anno 1503 and games like the Need For Speed franchise.

But neither I support any war, nor I support to drive above limit or by risking my or somebody else's life.

Most people don't. You have to differentiate between games and a real war.
I think most soldiers do so, but to explain it to people who don't know about war they might think the easiest way is to compare it with a video game.
OK, some people/soldiers may have problems to differentiate this, or they try to protect themselves from thinking that they just killed people in real. I don't know.

And, as Bono said he is no pacifist, and I don't think he says a computer game makes you more violent.
Also he is only one person from Elevation Partners, the other three are from the computer business, and one from the video game business directly.
They want to support companies of the entertainment business, and video games are part of it.

 

[edgeboy]

..so when will they make a u2 videogame? that would be great.

 

[david]

Sweet. I can't wait for a first person shooter with Larry Mullen Jr killing people that really annoy him!

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

Sweet. I can't wait for a first person shooter with Larry Mullen Jr killing people that really annoy him!

So who exactly does that leave alive?

 

[wizard2c]

reply

Pandemic Studios.............{something just came to mind on this.........}