The rumours flying around for the past week or two have proven to be correct: Dell is taking over Alienware, the hot-box games PC manufacturer. However, it seems both companies will continue to do business as before, with Dell's Intel-based XPS machines competing against Alienware's AMD-based PCs.
According to The San Jose Mercury News:
Nelson Gonzalez, CEO of privately held Alienware in Miami, said his company will operate as an independent subsidiary of Dell. It will keep all of its 750 employees and continue to focus on gamer PCs. It also will continue to sell machines with AMD chips.
"We will continue to do things the way we have always done," said Gonzalez. "That means if AMD has a better product, we'll use it."
Gonzalez said Alienware had to choose between going public to raise money for expansion, or finding a strategic partner. Since Dell has been interested in the gaming market for several years, he said it was a natural fit.
Comment: The trick will be for Dell to improve Alienware's operational and manufacturing efficiency (where Dell has proved to be unbeatable) without Alienware losing the street-cred on which its sales depend.
