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Ubisoft adopts Petz dev

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Nov 5, 2007 4:06 pm PT

French publisher takes on a big responsibility in cleaning up after Japanese DS studio Digital Kids.

In September, French publisher Ubisoft was rumored as a possible suitor to acquire Eidos parent company SCi Entertainment, a transaction that would include its stable of multimedia franchises such as Hitman and Tomb Raider. Ubisoft denied that rumor, but today the publisher revealed that it had been in the market for an acquisition with the announcement that it will purchase Japanese studio Digital Kids.

With a staff of 20 developers in Nagoya and Osaka, Digital Kids has worked with Ubisoft on its Petz series of games, specifically Hamsterz Life. In a statement, Ubisoft explained the deal by pointing to the studio's track record in creating pet simulators that appeal to both Japanese and Western audiences.

The publisher's acquisition of the DS-specialist development house is expected to close before the end of the year.

23 Comments

  • Slash_out

    Posted Nov 6, 2007 3:41 pm PT

    ---------
    funkamatic 64
    uhhh, ubisoft is in france, which is in the eastern hemisphere.
    ---------
    Haha, did you ever go to school? I know USA, is in south africa so it's pretty far from European country but still... I hope it was irony.

  • frasermoo

    Posted Nov 6, 2007 12:11 pm PT

    everyone knows France is about 300 miles off the coast of New Zealand.

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Nov 6, 2007 10:21 am PT

    could be peach's could be corn, that's the beauty of it

  • lord-of-gamers

    Posted Nov 6, 2007 6:39 am PT

    lol what is wrong with the people saying France is in the eastern hemisphere? i mean come on... i dont like the french that much (im english - i have a reason) (although some are really great so no offense to them) but that doesnt mean that you can just move their country as you please lol - GET SOME GEOGRAPHY LESSONS!

  • XBASX

    Posted Nov 6, 2007 6:21 am PT

    Squeek!!

  • DonutTrooper

    Posted Nov 6, 2007 3:17 am PT

    If a Japanese developer can respect Ubisoft enough to work for them, then we can respect them and their games. Japanese respect means a lot compared to most Euro-American respect. You ever been to Tokyo? Exactly..

    Short Version: Ubisoft is becoming what EA SHOULD have become.

  • HellraiserMC

    Posted Nov 6, 2007 3:08 am PT

    funkamatic64 said
    uhhh, ubisoft is in france, which is in the eastern hemisphere

    A,ha ha ha ha ha ha...
    Americans don't know were Europe is...A ha ha ha ha...

  • Game-o_O

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 11:38 pm PT

    "uhhh, ubisoft is in france, which is in the eastern hemisphere." I believe the major company is in Canada. He might of been attempting to point that out. Ubisoft isn't an americanized game maker, btw.

  • darknferno12

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 10:32 pm PT

    Hamsterz Life. Day 1: owner buys you
    Day 2-5: owner forgets to feed you
    Day 6: Game over

  • funkamatic64

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 10:04 pm PT

    Wellscha:
    "A western company owning a Japanese developer?

    I'm interested."



    uhhh, ubisoft is in france, which is in the eastern hemisphere.

  • MasterChief725

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 7:40 pm PT

    wow, I didnt think those games like "horsez, dogz, catz, catz 2, dogz 2" were any good, but I guess if they didnt sell well, we wouldnt see all those games! Interesting

  • Wellscha

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 6:44 pm PT

    A western company owning a Japanese developer?

    I'm interested.

  • LINKloco

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 6:40 pm PT

    Petz iz gansta fool.

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 6:19 pm PT

    why do they add a "z" at the end? is it gangster or something?

  • johnnyv2003

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 6:13 pm PT

    well this article definitely gets the award for the most underwhelming thing i've ever read on gamespot....so underwhelming it's almost quaint

  • theclaw135

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 6:03 pm PT

    What's the difference between Digital Kids (who I've never heard of), and MTO (who did the GT Advance series and various Japanese pet simulators Ubisoft translated into Petz products for GBA)?

  • LouieV13

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 5:05 pm PT

    yay?

  • thatguy0130

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 4:57 pm PT

    oh come now, who among us didn't own a digipet or a tamagochi when they were the "must have" trend back in the day. Why they go right along with Yo Yos, Pogz, and those annoying talking whrist watches

  • Agreb91

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 4:51 pm PT

    Oh what fun it is to have a virtual pet.

  • diesil

    Posted Nov 5, 2007 4:43 pm PT

    Coming soon tom clancys hamster recon

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