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As a console-focused gamer, sometimes it can be easy to forget just how big the mobile market is, but a quick glance at Activision’s purchase of mobile developer King should be enough to remind just about anybody. CEO Bobby Kotick and the other higher-ups at Activision saw fit to pay $5.9 billion for King and its stable of successful properties, including the money printing Candy Crush games.
While that number might seem ridiculous, it’s important to keep in mind just how successful King’s games are; Candy Crush Saga, by itself, pulled in $1.3 billion dollars last year while other titles like Candy Crush Soda Saga, Farm Heroes, and Bubble Witch all contributed hundreds of millions more. But what could prove more valuable is the potential impact it might have for Activision by establishing an incredibly strong foothold on the mobile market. Activision has long been one of the most profitable names on the console market, so there is no doubt that the publisher wants to use King’s resources, brands, and experience to continue its conquest onto the phone and tablets of the world.
What is also interesting to consider is how this might impact Nintendo gamers. Activision has continued to be a fairly strong supporter of Nintendo’s products, especially compared to many other third parties; the Skylanders series continues to be big on Nintendo consoles and Activision even brought the recently reborn Guitar Heroes franchise to Wii U. The fact that both of Nintendo’s current consoles prominently feature touchscreens could make it quite easy to bring some of King’s big games to Nintendo hardware. One could even argue that Nintendo started this trend with the mobile to 3DS migration of Puzzle & Dragon.
What are your thoughts on this acquisition and the impact it could have on Nintendo and the industry as a whole?
Source: Kotaku
Activision has no vision but making money. Boring.