If you were one of the people who were looking forward to EA being bought out by another company, I’m afraid I have some sad news. Nexon, a Tokyo-based company that helped pioneer the free-to-play computer game movement, is not in talks with EA to buy them out. Instead, it turns out the talk are a bit more mundane, as a person with knowledge on the matter told Bloomberg.com.
EA is looking to use Nexon’s servers and developers for the game in Asia. They want to use Nexon’s expertise in getting people to buy downloadable content and use it to get people to spend their money on things like team jerseys and player experience points. In other words, EA is looking for Nexon to be the distributor of FIFA in Asia.
This makes quite a bit more sense than a merger. Nexon deals more in the free gaming industry, where a person can play a game for free, but if they want to get more enjoyment out of the game, they can purchase different virtual add-ons to customize their character. If they bought EA, I would see that there would be a clash of cultures and philosophies, and it would be a rocky marriage from the start. If you’re one of those people who were wishing to see EA bought out by another company, however, I’m afraid you’ll have to keep waiting.