Michael Pachter Gives Mostly-Thumbs-Up to EA-BioWare Deal

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is predicting good things from Electronic Arts' recent purchase of BioWare and Pandemic, as long as they don't blow it.

"It's a lot of money, which places more pressure of them to deliver revenues at the level that they have modelled - $300 million-plus per year," Pachter said to GamesIndustry.biz. He said it's an achievable goal given the past performance of BioWare and Pandemic, but that future earnings could not be predicted based on their previous efforts.

"If Pandemic and BioWare continue to be as productive in the future as they have been in the past, revenues should easily hit the required level," he said. "However, much of their past revenue came from games like Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate and the Star Wars games. The first two franchises are somewhat tired and are PC-centered, while the last one will likely not be licensed by EA going forward." He did suggest the BioWare's two Dungeons & Dragons franchises could continue to generate revenue by being turned into MMOGs, but cautioned that "neither Pandemic nor BioWare has had success in that area in the past.

"I think it's likely that the deal will pay off, but there is some risk. In order to succeed, they will have to continue to generate great games. There's nothing to suggest that they won't."