Ubisoft Acquires Driver Franchise

Posted Jul 14, 2006 at 4:00AM by QJ Staff Listed in: Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 Tags: Atari, Driver, Reflections Interactive Studios, Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot
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Driver


Games Publisher Ubisoft today announced in a press release that they have acquired the popular Driver franchise and the assets of Reflections Interactive Studios (the studio behind Driver) from Atari in a €19 Million deal. The deal is expected to close in Ubisoft’s second quarter of fiscal 2007. Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft said:

"We are thrilled with this acquisition which will allow us to add a prestigious title to our catalogue and to enter into the driving games segment, one of the most important segments in the gaming industry. With more than 14 million units sold throughout the world, Driver is one of the most successful brands in the history of video games. We look forward to leveraging the unique knowledge of the Ubisoft studios to ensure that Driver will be one of the leading brands of the next generation of consoles.”

This could effect the Driver series for next generation consoles. Don't get me wrong, Atari and Reflections Interactive Studios have done very well with the Driver series and every single one of the Driver games have been fun to play, but they haven't been anywhere near rivals Rockstar Games and their Grand Theft Auto franchise.

It will be interesting to see what changes Ubisoft will make apart from ploughing money into the franchise. However, due to the changing nature of the gaming industry, the financial power of Ubisoft and with the next generation of consoles upon us, the fight between GTA and Driver could get even hotter.

 
 
 

Comments [refresh]

by SteveTao - 2006-07-14 00:14
Yes

With Ubisoft, Drive will become the great game it once was.

by Dan - 2006-07-14 00:28
heh

I aquired the Driver franchise in the bargain bin. Guess Ubi missed the boat. Good luck guys.

by DBLAZE - 2006-07-14 04:35
but...

Driver will NEVER be as good as GTA series...

by Driver will be as good as GTA series - 2006-07-14 04:44
MarcelP102

Driver will be as good as GTA series even better



Ps I HATE THE LASTE GTA (LOL)

by hurray - 2006-07-14 12:03
Good

The last one sucked, maybe Ubisoft can bring it back to the greatness that was Driver 2.

by GTA - 2006-07-14 17:30
Driver never hold up

Driver was a good game on PS1 but GTA took over on the PS2 mybe driver can take over again but who knows/?? personely i tink GTA will beat driver but only buy a little due to the fact that GTA is goin to be released on XBX 360 aswell... o and i to got driver from the bargain bin . mybe next time ill get it full price.

by hush404 - 2006-07-15 01:46
yay

Now maybe it can become a good series again. Once Driver tried to do the whole "get out of your car and explore" thing ... it's always felt like a washed out GTA. They should bring it back to it's roots and concentrate on the DRIVING!

by fdhg - 2006-07-15 17:57
gdf

they need to fix the aiming problem and its gotta be easier just to "hit triangle/Y" to jack a car. the secret is the controls yo. and the driving physics in GTA were very easy to learn.



lol #1, made me laugh

by lansingone - 2006-07-15 19:31
i hope thay make it better

i remember when i first got driver for ps1, how cool it was. i hope thay bring back that joy

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