Go inside the Digital Madhouse with LifePix | A Studio Profile

Living in the hot, sun-soaked state of Arizona, those of us in the gaming industry have little options in terms of checking out some local studios.  Most developer houses are born out of cities where things actually happen after dark, instead of the masses crawling back into our Air Conditioned homes for refuge from the day.  We had Rainbow Studios (a THQ studio most known for their ATV Offroad series, and a few licensed games), but lo and behold THQ just shut down their studio this week.  We have Running with Scissors, a Tucson-based pc developer most known for shock and awe, than really anything else resembling good games.

Read the rest and check out LifePix after the break

EA purchases Firemint - Let the iOS games begin!

Okay - I know there's more interesting news out there, but some of us can really see the benefit of having a top publishing arm (EA) help distribute small iOS (and other mobile OS) games. EA has already created small, digestible versions of their console franchises, but with the acquiring of top mobile developer, Firemint (Flight Control, and Real Racing); will we see more titles from them?

Press Release:


EA TO ACQUIRE FIREMINT


Creators of Flight Control and Real Racing to Become a Studio of EAi


Melbourne, Australia and Redwood City, Calif. -- May 3, 2011 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced an agreement to acquire Firemint Pty Ltd., the leading independent mobile development studio. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Firemint brings a proven powerhouse of creative talent to EAi, with original hits Flight Control and Real Racing for iPhone® and iPad™, and an attractive future slate of games. The deal is not material to EA overall and is expected to close within four weeks. Financial details are not disclosed.


“The Firemint team is remarkable for its critical and commercial success,” said Barry Cottle, Executive Vice President and General Manger of EA Interactive. “Having them as part of EAi will accelerate our position as worldwide leader in game development for mobile devices and online gaming platforms.”


The agreement follows EA’s recent acquisition of Mobile Post Production Inc. (MPP), the worldwide leader in high quality cross-platform development and porting of games for smartphones.


Cottle continued, “The added technical expertise of MPP, combined with the creative talent of Firemint and our EAi studio teams, fuels EA’s leadership in delivering top selling, high quality games across mobile phones and smartphones, tablets and future digital interactive entertainment platforms.”