Apple's admiration for games and their ability to makes us spend more and more time with our iPhones, iPads, and iPods continues with news that the company may be acquiring a large Chinese development studio.
Though Apple has made very few moves in the games space itself, save for release a very competent Texas Hold 'Em game for iPhone in 2008, its support for game developers and game initiatives is growing all the time. Apple's plans for a game-focused social networking application in the shape of Game Center turned a lot of heads earlier this year when it rolled out plans for iOS 4, and it continues to feature games very prominently in the App store thanks to their dominance when it comes to app sales.
It has long been rumored that Apple would escalate its interest in the space, with rumors as diverse and wacky as the unlikely possibility of it buying Electronic Arts (fueled almost entirely by news of Apple's available cash reserves, and the fantasies of some business pundits.) Today, however, the Chinese news service Sinocast Daily Business beat reports that Apple is preparing to buy Handseeing Information Technology, a Chinese game developer focused on Rich Internet Applications (RIAs.)
As US-based Apple Inc. is close to making the purchase of Handseeing Information Technology Co., Ltd., a mobile Internet service provider and a mobile game developer in China, for as much as USD 150 billion, the emergence of more potential buyers has added to the uncertainty of the deal.
Apple's plan to take over the Chinese company underscores its mounting interests in China's potentially huge mobile Internet sector, which has been basically ignored by it for a long time.
The "$150 billion" is likely a typo due to a) that price being completely bonkers and b) $150 million being much more likely.
Why Apple would pick this particular studio is unclear, save for the desire to get into a relatively untapped market with huge potential early. Handseeing's expertise in Java-based online gaming technologies is apparent, and it enjoys a relationship with Sun Microsystems that resulted in the deployment of Tianya Club, an online community that is now one of the largest social networks in China.
Previously, it had been reported that Apple's manufacturing partners Foxconn had expressed interest in acquiring Handseeing.
Source: Daily News from GamePro.com
Friday, August 6, 2010