It looks like at least one company is doing well during this financially harsh times. Activision today announced that they’ve purchased developer Budcat Creations and have already put them to work on a new game in the Guitar Hero franchise. The developer has worked on a number of PS2 Guitar Hero titles for the publisher and is also the team behind Blast Works, Medal of Honor: Vanguard for the Wii and, um, Nacho Libre for the DS.
"Budcat Creations is an outstanding developer with an experienced management team and a very talented group of programmers, designers and artists," said Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. "In addition to strengthening our development capabilities on the Nintendo platforms, this acquisition increases our Guitar Hero development resources as we continue to grow the franchise and expand our global leadership position in the music-based genre."
But what about that new Guitar Hero franchise?The press release doesn’t go into any more detail and the hand-out quote from the Budcat folks is just a bunch of “thank you Activision” comments. Looking around Budcat Creation’s site, I don’t see any hints. It looks like the only Guitar Hero games the team has made have been for the PS2 and that their other experience on the Wii and DS. My money is on a new DS game, I’m just totally guessing here, but unless by “new game in the Guitar Hero franchise” they mean a port, I think that’s a pretty logical guess. Activision Publishing Acquires Budcat Creations SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov 10, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced that it has acquired video game developer Budcat Creations. Based in Iowa City, Iowa, Budcat Creations is an award-winning development studio with expertise on the Wii(TM) home video game system and the Nintendo DS(TM). Activision Publishing has worked with Budcat Creations on the development of multiple games in the Guitar Hero franchise including Guitar Hero(R) III: Legends of Rock(TM), Guitar Hero(R): Aerosmith(R) and Guitar Hero(R) World Tour. The studio is currently in development on a new game in the Guitar Hero franchise. "Budcat Creations is an outstanding developer with an experienced management team and a very talented group of programmers, designers and artists," said Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. "In addition to strengthening our development capabilities on the Nintendo platforms, this acquisition increases our Guitar Hero development resources as we continue to grow the franchise and expand our global leadership position in the music-based genre." "We are thrilled to partner with Activision and believe that this acquisition is a perfect fit for both companies," said Jeremy Andersen, General Manager of Budcat Creations. "Their world class sales and marketing support coupled with best-in-class execution across all areas of their business means that we can focus our time and resources on what we love and do best — creating great games." Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Budcat Creations has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Publishing and the company's management team has signed multi-year employment contracts with Activision Publishing. The studio will continue to be based in Iowa City, Iowa. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc., a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc., is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Activision Publishing maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision Publishing and its products can be found on the company's website, http://www.activision.com.