Multi |
by Serban Stokker |
24th January 2007 |
In a surprising and ironic announcement today, it was revealed that veteran PC developer Ritual Entertainment was acquired by a casual games developer. Ritual's new owner is MumboJumbo, a company that was founded by former Ritual CEO Ron Dimant, who left the studio back in 2001 (hence the irony of it all). The move comes after a
growing Ritual exodus over the past few months, when several key members left the studio - including its previous CEO Steve Nix, QA Manager Michael Russell, and vice-president and co-founder Tom Mustaine.
What's left now is described in today's announcement as a team of over 30 employees, with high-end, multi-platform expertise in game design and artistic quality, that perfectly complement "MumboJumbo's mass market approach to casual game development and gives [Ritual] a true competitive advantage".
In reality, we'd rather think of it as a step backwards for Ritual, whose latest games (including SiN Episodes: Emergence) enjoyed only limited success, and who are now lowering themselves to making "premium casual games". Of course, calling them "premium" doesn't make them any less "casual". So much for hardcore gaming, Ritual!
Anyway, here are Ron Dimant's thoughts on the deal:
"MumboJumbo established the casual games category at retail, and the purchase of Ritual Entertainment is consistent with our strategy to bring high-quality casual game content to the major platforms. The combination of Ritual's high-end, multi-platform expertise and our own industry-leading publishing model will set the bar for quality and sophistication in casual games and create a major industry powerhouse. The casual games market is beginning to mature as evidenced by an increase in consumer expectations. Ultimately, the companies providing the best content will win, which is why we are investing so heavily in the development of technology and original IP."
Another one bites the dust, then.
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