I know this won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone, but Activision was not the only company that Bungie talked to when deciding on what publisher to work with. No, when you’re the prettiest girl at the ball you can afford to shop around a bit. Evidently,EA spent plenty of time trying to get Bungieto go home from the dance with them.
EA Partners’ chiefDavid DeMartini EA said, “We had extensive conversations with them (Bungie), but could never really figure out a deal that made sense for both of us. It just didn’t come to fruition.” DeMartini explained that the two company’s structures did not seem to fit each other at the moment, citing the want for the partnership to be financially profitable for both sides. “It’s not good to enter into a partnership that doesn’t make financial sense for both sides,” he noted.
Still, DeMartini doesn’t begrudge Bungie or Activision in the deal, saying that he hopes they make great games because great games make a stronger industry. However, he might just be saying that because Bungie hasrecently saidthat they could be interested in developing a second game some time down the road — one that would be available for EA to publish if a deal could be worked out. It’s never good to burn your bridges.
EA: Bungie deal still possible[CVG, viaJoystiq]
