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Ubisoft adopts Petz dev

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

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.

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.

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Slash_out 30 pts

--------- 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 5 pts

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

Chief_Kuuni 5 pts

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

lord-of-gamers 5 pts

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!

DonutTrooper 5 pts

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 5 pts

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 5 pts

"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.

DeltaSpirit 11 pts

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

funkamatic64 5 pts

Wellscha: "A western company owning a Japanese developer? I'm interested." uhhh, ubisoft is in france, which is in the eastern hemisphere.

MasterChief725 5 pts

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 5 pts

A western company owning a Japanese developer? I'm interested.

playstation_wii 5 pts

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

johnnyv2003 5 pts

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

Lum_Yatsura 5 pts

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)?

thatguy0130 5 pts

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 12 pts

Oh what fun it is to have a virtual pet.

diesil 5 pts

Coming soon tom clancys hamster recon

lamprey263 5 pts

ugh, why didn't they just buy Eidos, that would have been so much better

IKKF 5 pts

I want to know how much they bought SCi for. AT LEAST 100 million.

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