Whatever Electronic Arts is spending to acquire PopCap, its casual gaming rival Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds, would cost more. That's according to ... well, Rovio.
"The valuation from our point of view is somewhere, I dunno, maybe north of PopCap," Ville Heijari, the vice president of franchise development, told Eurogamer. Let's remember that PopCap's deal is $1.3 billion $750 million, and Rovio is identified with just one (1) franchise.
"A lot of people look at our game and say, 'Who do these guys think they are with their one title?'" Heijari added. He noted that in addition to the PopCap deal, another Rovio peer, Zynga is "aiming for a $1 billion [initial public offering.]" The implication is an opinion of one's self soaring into nine figures isn't necessarily inflated.
Heijari said last summer, Rovio fielded "a lot of inquiries from many, many different parties," i.e., regarding an acquisition, but "I don't think there's ever been a really relevant discussion of whether somebody is going to buy us."
Last year EA acquired Chillingo, the publisher of Angry Birds.
[Update]: While an earlier version of this story erroneously reported the size of the PopCap/EA deal (it is $750 million), Forbes reports that Zynga actually bid in excess of $1 billion for PopCap. Incentive clauses are believed to be the reason PopCap went with the EA deal.
Rovio Values Self 'North of PopCap' [Eurogamer]