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Google acquires ITA for $700m, dives headfirst into airline ticket search
Look out, Kayak / Bing Travel -- you both are about to have your respective worlds rocked. While Google has managed to stay on top (or close to the top) when it comes to almost everything search related, the company has curiously allowed smaller niche brands to handle the travel side. Even amongst the hardcore Googlers, avid flyers typically head to a place like Kayak to weigh their options, while vacation planners either do likewise or turn to Bing Travel. In a few months time, we suspect some of that traffic will be diverted back to El Goog. The company has just announced plans to acquire Cambridge-based ITA Software for a cool $700 million, which will put one of the world's most sophisticated QPX software tools for organizing flight information into the hands of the planet's most dangerous search ally. According to Google, the pickup will allow consumers to search and buy airline tickets with less hassle and frustration, though it's quick to point out that it has "no plans to sell airline tickets [directly] to consumers." For the travel junkies in attendance, there's a high probability that you won't find any better news coming your way today than this. [Thanks, Matthew]
Gladiator Begins fighting for North American PSP audience
Acquire's Kentoushi Gladiator Begins, a PSP game more famous for its advertising than for its gameplay, is headed to North America, courtesy of Aksys Games. In Gladiator Begins, you'll get to master several fighting implements like the sword and shield, polearm, and even your own fists in your quest to defeat other gladiators, entertain bloodthirsty crowds, and attract the attention of one of five patrons. While Aksys didn't announce a release date for the game, a subsequent announcement lets us know exactly when we'll get to play part of the game. A demo for the arena combat game will be available on PSN July 13.
PSP RPG adopts 'freemium' model in Japan
Acquire and Zero Div are working on a new PSP RPG -- and it'll be completely free. Bakumatsu Revolution will be free to download via PlayStation Network and will feature a full ten-hour quest, which can be played solo or cooperatively with up to three others (Monster Hunter style). According to IGN, players will even be able to freely distribute the game through PSP-to-PSP wireless connectivity. Of course, there's always a catch. While the core game will be free, for-pay add-ons, such as downloadable items and quests, will be available after release. Essentially, this is the "freemium" model that's been successfully utilized by many PC MMOs and casual titles, especially in Asian markets. Bakumatsu Revolution will be available on June 25 in Japan; but no plans for a North American release are currently in the works.
Google acquires server hardware startup Agnilux, a bevy of former Apple / PA Semi employees in tow?
It's no secret that Google's been on something of a shopping spree as of late, buying startups left for right like it was trying to win the final round of Supermarket Sweep. This latest one's a bit more interesting, though. Agnilux was borne of former PA Semi / Apple engineers, and its director of application software, Scott Redman, used to be a software architect at TiVo -- basically, it's got some talent behind it, and although no projects have ever been announced, the New York Times suggested back in February that "some kind of server" was being made, and there was a partnership with Cisco that we'd assume has now gone the wayside. At any rate, the company -- and probably more important, the employees -- now seem to be the property of Google, who could probably use a few good server men and women in pretty much all aspects of the company.
Class of Heroes 2G attending PS3 this year
Acquire's Class of Heroes is graduating from PSP to PS3 later this year, despite the old-school dungeon-crawler not ranking very high in the PSP popularity contest last year. Still, the RPG series is supported by a devout clique of players, and while Atlus has passed on publishing the PSP sequel in North America, an apparent PS3 version is in development for Japanese release. Class of Heroes 2G is presumably an HD port of the PSP game, and Siliconera reports the game may have full voice acting, an expanded character edit mode and is planned for release in mid July. Considering the old-school gameplay and relatively simplistic presentation, Class of Heroes 2G would make an ideal candidate for a PSN release in North America. That is, if anyone decides to localize it.
Sony puts together Patchwork Heroes demo for March 4
Known as Million Ton Barabara in Japan and the work of Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?! dev Acquire, Patchwork Heroes is hands-down the coolest-looking PSP game about sawing up giant airships we're ever seen. Okay, so it's the only game of the type we've ever seen -- viva la originality! Sony has announced that we'll all get to experience the (we hope) joys of dismantling flying war machines tomorrow, Thursday March 4, when a demo of Patchwork Heroes hits PlayStation Network as part of the service's usual weekly update. It all goes well, it should fulfill our weird 'n wacky gameplay needs through the entire weekend.
Holy trademark, NIS! 'Badman' games to be renamed [update]
What did I do to deserve this, my lord!? That is both the question on NIS America's mind and the new title of its series, once known as Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! The publisher announced that it's changing the name of the Acquire-developed action-strategy game in response to "a conflict of interest with an existing IP." We're guessing the trademark issue in question is with a certain comic book franchise owned by Warner Bros. -- Plastic Man, obviously. This week has not been kind to NIS. Just yesterday, the Japanese parent company reported a 95 percent drop in profits, and now the American branch has to change the name of one of its franchises midstream. May 4 is the new release date for what is now called What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2. [Update: May is indeed a new release date for the game: it was originally slated for March.]
Million Ton Barabara getting localized as Patchwork Heroes
Fans of Qix, airships, and systematically disassembling airships in a Qix-like fashion, rejoice! Sony announced that it will bring Million Ton Barabara, from Acquire, the developer behind the ostentatiously named Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman: What Did I Do to Deserve This, to Europe and the U.S. under the moniker Patchwork Heroes. The title might have lost a bit of catchiness in translation, but at least we'll now be able to read what the game's adorable characters are saying. PlayStation.Blog has a bit of information about the game for folks who didn't follow its Japanese iteration. Basically, you and your team are tasked with carving chunks off of a massive, flying warship while avoiding the vehicle's turrets and other defense systems. You can get a sliver of gameplay in the Japanese trailer posted after the jump, along with the greatest theme song ever. Hopefully, that won't get left out of the localization.
Million Ton Barabara demo coming to Japanese PSN next week
We'd gone ahead and written off Million Ton Barabara, the upcoming project from Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman creator Acquire, as a simple, extremely Japanese Qix clone. That is, until we watched the super catchy, seemingly Wes Anderson-inspired trailer posted after the jump. Upon viewing it, we fell instantly in love -- and became all the more excited that, according to AndriaSang, a demo for the game will find its way onto the Japanese PSN sometime next week. Importing stuff from the PlayStation Store is a huge hassle -- but something tells us this one will be worth it. Seriously, folks -- if you're looking for some good whistling material for the next few hours, check out the trailer just past the jump.
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins' price silently slashed
Newegg has been the place for heavily discounted M-rated Wii titles lately. The latest game to have its price reduced to a negligible amount: Acquire's Tenchu: Shadow Assassins, one of the first major Wii releases of 2009. At just $9.99, even wannabe ninja who spent all their lunch money on caltrops can afford to pick it up! If you've waited all year to play a game about using ninja cats to distract sort of British-sounding targets, and you somehow missed this game, now's your chance to make that right. %Gallery-25071% [Via GoNintendo]
One Million Ton Barabara falling onto PSP in Japan
Acquire has teamed up with the Playstation C.A.M.P. project once again to produce another quirky and unique PSP game idea -- the last collaboration produced Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This? In the new game, One Million Ton Barabara ("bara bara" being a Japanese word describing something breaking up or scattering), you play the leader of a town's protection force, charged with destroying the giant airships that loom over your city Independence Day-style. To do this, you and your squad grab onto the ship and tear pieces off. When enough of the ship lies in ruins on the ground, you've completed the level. It's kind of like tower defense meets Qix, or something. Last week, Sony launched a teaser site which provides a look at the game's aesthetic. One Million Ton Barabara will be out in February in Japan. [Image via Wii Everyday]
Logitech plans to acquire LifeSize Communications, coming soon to a boardroom near you
There's a good chance you've owned a Logitech webcam at some point in your life, and if all goes according to plan your company's executives might soon be buying them, too. Logitech has announced intent to acquire LifeSize Communications, makers of high-end, high-def video-conferencing systems that primarily find themselves installed at one end of long, richly stained tables, flanked by tall leather chairs and positioned such that the CEO can gesture vaguely toward the camera and proudly say how expensive it was without actually knowing how to use it. If approved, the $405 million deal will put Logitech in competition with industry stalwarts like Polycom and Cisco, creating a no-holds-barred rumble for boardroom domination that will leave no golden parachute untouched.
TGS 2009: The worst logo of the show
There were plenty of game titles at TGS that we couldn't read because they were all in Japanese, but only one that we couldn't read in English. In fact, it was only because of the Japanese title underneath this logo, for an Akella-developed MMO published in Japan by Acquire, that we could parse this unfortunate image at all. Good luck!
Sprint acquires Virgin Mobile USA for a cool $483m
Remember Virgin Mobile? Sure you do -- not long ago the last-man-standing MVNO snapped up Helio, and seemed ready to take its place as one of the few boutique prepaid operations still... er, operating. Well that appears to be all but done and done, as Sprint has just announced a "definitive agreement" to purchase the company for $483 million worth of sweet, succulent stock (which looks to be right about what it was valued at to begin with). It looks like Sprint will pair the acquisition with its Boost Mobile brand, which till now was in direct competition with VM. It's not quite rival city, however, Virgin Mobile USA was launched as a joint venture with Sprint, and the MVNO glides on Dan Hesse's network as it is. Still, it does seem to be another indicator that the days of the MVNO are certainly on the wane, though Sprint now looks to own the space -- what little there is.
Intel snaps up Wind River, looks for that embedded systems edge
Wind River Systems has been doing Android up right for quite some time, and evidently Intel is sick and tired of sitting on the outside looking in. Disregarding that massive EU fine for a moment, the company somehow managed to find time to pen a check in the amount of $884 million in order to fully acquire the aforesaid embedded systems company. The reason? Intel knows the CPU business is morphing into something entirely more elaborate, and it reckons a solid presence in the embedded devices segment (MIDs, UMPCs, etc.) is necessary to keep those profits up in the future. Honestly, such a pickup isn't really a shock; Intel has shown great interest in being a serious player in the handheld computing market, and its fledgling CE 3100 media processor could also benefit from a respectable layer of software behind it. Meanwhile, something tells us those Wind River guys are gearing up for the weekend of their lives.
Western Digital enters SSD market via $65m SiliconSystems acquisition
Man, the consolidation efforts are really heating up. Just days after Cisco forked out a small fortune to acquire Pure Digital, HDD mainstay Western Digital has penned a check for $65 million in cold, hard cash in order to acquire SiliconSystems, Inc. Said outfit is an Aliso Viejo, California-based supplier of solid-state drives for the embedded systems market, and rather than wasting any more time falling behind in the SSD realm, WD figured it prudent to just buy the technology it needed to position itself as a legitimate competitor. WD has already made clear that it hopes to sell SSDs for the netbook, client and enterprise markets, and given that integration will begin "immediately," we're hoping to see some shipping products sooner rather than later.
Cisco acquiring Flip Video-maker Pure Digital for $590 million in stock
Funny -- that patently absurd half a billion figure we heard tossed about earlier this month was low. In reality, Cisco has just announced its full intentions to acquire all of Pure Digital, the maker of the immensely popular Flip Video camcorder, for around $590 million in stock. According to Ned Hooper, senior vice president of Cisco's Corporate Development and Consumer Groups, the "acquisition of Pure Digital is key to Cisco's strategy to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and to capture the consumer market transition to visual networking." To an outsider, the move may seem somewhat odd; after all, what's Cisco doing spending this much on a consumer product? Let's just say that uploading HD video requires loads of bandwidth, and Cisco's all about that. Expect the deal to close in Cisco's fiscal fourth quarter of 2009.
Cisco said to be buying Pure Digital for around $500 million
Believe us people, popularity pays off. Just ask Pure Digital CEO Jonathan Kaplan, who is reportedly scrambling for ways to spend $80 million of the $500 million Cisco Systems is about to hand over in order to acquire the company. Granted, none of this has been confirmed just yet, but TechCrunch has it that the deal is all but done. Reportedly, Cisco's interested in bringing the firm into its portfolio in order to further push high-bandwidth using services. Obviously, user generated HD video fits pretty perfectly into that agenda. We suspect we'll be hearing more on the subject as the work week begins in earnest, but it sure sounds like Linksys is about to get a new cousin.
Hitachi acquires Fabrik, looks to expand market presence
We keep hearing that it's a buyer's market out there, and for anyone with any amount of cash (that'd be Hitachi, in this scenario), the getting is pretty great. Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (GST) has just announced that it has snapped up Fabrik, Inc., a privately-held supplier of personal and professional storage solutions. You may be more familiar with the said company's brands, as G-Technology and SimpleTech tend to ring bells much better than a name easily mistaken for clothing. According to Steve Milligan, President of Hitachi GST, the acquisition will soon become "the cornerstone for the next phase of Hitachi's business transformation," though he certainly didn't bother to elaborate. Who knows -- maybe one day soon we really will see Hitachi taking on the likes of Western Digital and LaCie in the external sector.
Coinstar buys out Redbox, will test higher Blu-ray rental prices
Redbox, the company made famous by its red movie rental kiosks, has been completely bought out by its majority owner: Coinstar. The announcement was made during the outfit's Q4 earnings call, and it's expected that the buyout was made in order for Coinstar to wallow alone in the windfall profits that are expected over the next few years. Speaking of profits, we're also being told that Redbox will start testing higher rental prices for BDs, much like Netflix has done, but obviously on a per-rental basis. There's been no word yet on just how high they'll push the Blu-ray rates above the standard $1, but you know you'll just suck it up and pay it. Not like you're reverting to DVD now, right?[Via ZatzNotFunny]Read - BuyoutRead - Increase in BD prices
