While consolidation of major publishers into Electronic Arts Inc. is becoming a worrying trend for many UK bigwigs and other European entities, to this stage few battle stations of import have been manned. Indeed, capitulation seems to have been the play to date. However, with the recent "hostile" purchase of 20% of French company UbiSoft's shares by the North American behemoth, it appears that the French government may be preparing for war.
According to gamesindustry.biz, Chirac and his high-level cronies are concerned with the potential takeover of one of the last major French bastions of the growing videogames market and may pull some political strings to help the Prince of Persia publishers regain a more significant unilateral control. More power to them.
If the UK isn't careful, it may end up in the same boat, regardless of lobbying by industry bodies such as TIGA. Companies are going under at an alarming rate, resulting from the ballooning of British publishers and developers in the era of buoyant optimism in the late 1990s and the subsequent indefatigable increase in games budgets. Not to mention considerable publisher conservatism.
If the UK doesn't somehow hold on to its role as the most powerful developer and publisher force in Western Europe and is consumed by the EA virus, the diversity of international games creativity will have reached game over. The French recognise it. Will we?
