The rumor which surfaced just over an hour ago regarding the possible shut down of Pandemic Studios has just been confirmed via an internal Electronic Arts memo snagged by Kotaku. It seems that the individuals EA deems as the Pandemic “core” team will be merged into the EA Los Angeles office, while the roughly 200 other employees will be left jobless.

EA Games Label Senior Vice President, Nick Earl, made the following statements as a part of the aforementioned memo:

“I want to make it clear that the Pandemic brand and franchises will live on … In the months ahead, we will announce plans for new games based on Pandemic franchises.

“This type of change can be difficult. But the situation calls for us to act decisively, to take control of our destiny and to run a stronger, more focused development operation. That’s how we will continue to make great games in our LA studios.”

It’s truly a sad day for fans of explosions, mercenary style payback, and the catchy “Oh No You Didn’t” track (below). Let’s all raise our glasses to Pandemic and thank them for their service. Share your thoughts in the comments section.

According to sources who leaked the information to Kotaku, Pandemic Studios, creators of Full Spectrum Warrior, Star Wars: Battlefront, and most recently Mercenaries 2: World In Flames, will be have nearly their entire Los Angles base staff (roughly 200 employees) laid off today. The announcement is reportedly going to take place one hour from now at 11am PST.

Pandemic’s started in 1998 with a good deal of successful game releases and was eventually gobbled up by EA in 2007. A few under-performing sequels and one Dark Knight game that never saw the light seems to have sealed the studios fate. It is believed that a portion of the staff will merge into other various EA teams and their remaining collection of IP’s will be handed off to EA Montreal.

No official statement on the part of EA has been made yet, so file this under rumor for the time being. If true, it will likely go down as a very sad day for our own Jon Zungre, who openly shared his love for Pandemic explosions with the world.

You may never get to be President of the United States, but if Senator Obama wins this year’s election, you can play one in a video game. That’s right people, the rumor regarding Barack Obama and everyone’s favorite punching bag, Sarah Palin, coming to Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is most certainly true.

Hit the jump for an in-game video, Pandemic’s comments, and my closing thoughts.

Tom Stratton, PR Contact for Pandemic Studios, shared the following with X-Play:

“Mercenaries 2 is a game seemingly ripped straight out of today’s headlines and fueled with the same type of over-the-top action found in the best summer blockbuster films. It only makes sense we inject the game with a spin on current affairs. The timing was too good to let pass.”

I have been headbutting my holy shit button for the past twenty minutes now. Don’t get me wrong, I find this hilarious, but how the heck did this get approved? Can you imagine the reveal to Obama?

Pandemic: Ok Senator, as you can see I’m approaching the tank with your playable in-game character.
Obama: Alright.
Pandemic: …and now I am in the process of struggling with the driver. The objective here is to toss the grenade into the tank while he is still in there and close the lid.
Obama: I see.
Pandemic: There you go. Tank’s all yours now Senator.
Obama: Perfect. I’ve seen enough and I approve this image. Where do I sign?

In all honesty, this move doesn’t surprise me for Sarah Palin, but Barack? Let’s just say he must feel pretty confident in his chances.

Afterthought: What do you think? Are you all for candidates promoting themselves regardless of the medium, or are they out of their minds for throwing themselves into an M rated game?

EA and Pandemic Studios announced today, that from 6am this morning til whenever “the pumps run dry”, they will fit the bill to pump your car full of gas — if you can make it to 8489 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles CA before the deal goes up in flames.

Seriously, who thought mixing flames, gas, and mean looking dudes covered in tattoos together for a real life promotion would be a good idea? Because it is fucking brilliant. Give that person a raise.

A word of caution. If you are one of those people who never tips the full serve gas guy, you may want to bend the rules a bit this time. I’m guessing this is more of side job for the guys shown above, as their full time gig probably involves crushing people’s skulls with their bare hands. Just a suggestion.

Full press release with details as well as a live feed of the event after the jump.

PETROL FOR THE PEOPLE – FREE GAS!

WHEN: AUGUST 29, 2008

TIME: 6am – until the pumps run dry

WHERE: 8489 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles (N/E corner of La Cienega and Beverly)

WHO: Josh Resnick, President of Pandemic Studios will also be on-hand day of the event from 6am-9am for interviews.

WHAT: Petrol to the People from EA

In celebration of the launch of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames from Pandemic Studios, EA is giving away FREE GAS! On Friday, August 29th, before the North American launch, Pandemic Studios will take over a gas station located at 8489 Beverly Blvd in Los Angeles giving PETROL TO THE PEOPLE, FOR FREE!

The Petrol to the People event will feature Mercenaries 2 branding all around the gas station, promotional flyers being handed out to consumers and will even feature actors dressed up as Mercenaries pumping gas.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an open-world action game set in Venezuela – a lightening rod in the global debate around energy policy and oil production. The games story is ripped from today’s headlines.

The story of the game is set in a world where countries rich in oil have found new power. That power corrupts, and in Venezuela, corruption has sparked a political coup. A power hungry tyrant uses Venezuela’s oil supply to overthrow the government and turns the country into a war zone. Players step into the role of a mercenary for whom politics doesn’t matter.

Break.com is currently broadcasting a live feed of the event which can be seen right here. The banner in the video above the pumps reads “There’s no gas like free gas.” Ain’t that the truth.

Afterthought: Do you like this? Should gaming companies offer more real life promotions like this on a larger scale, or would you rather they use the money spent to improve or lower the cost of the game?

Perhaps you’re thinking we’ve had enough Lord of the Rings games, since we were inundated while the movies were being released and now there’s even an MMO. However, Pandemic Studios, the guys who brought us the Star Wars Battlefront games, thought they’d try their hand at one, and from the way Conquest is shaping up, we may be glad they did.

The major hook is the approved–and yes, that means Tolkien Estate approved–new story material that goes beyond the original trilogy to ask what would happen if Frodo royally screwed up and didn’t manage to destroy the ring. The books occasionally hint at the evil that would ensue if such a catastrophe occurred, but Pandemic is fleshing it out into something we’ve never seen before.

The game itself feels pretty familiar, though. You participate in major battles as either a Warrior, Archer, Mage, or Scout, but there is no leveling up– it’s more pick-up ‘n play, arcade-style with combo meters. If you can stay alive, though, you do end up getting rewarded with some unlocked skills (for that session only, I’m led to believe) and the chance to play as a hero character, like Aragorn.

I watched a warrior play the Helm’s Deep battle, which seemed like an awful lot of hack ‘n slash. Granted, first it’s hack ‘n slash up on the wall, making sure the archers (whose ranks he could’ve joined instead) aren’t getting overrun, and then it’s hack ‘n slash on the ground making sure the torch bearers don’t get too close to the keep. The important thing to keep in mind is that each level can be played any number of ways (and the website indicates co-op, as well) so there should be lots of replay value.

Add in the 8 vs. 8 online battles, and Lord of the Rings: Conquest could be one more Lord of the Rings game worth having in your collection this fall.

I saw the Dark Knight movie a few days ago, and yes, everything you hear (and read) about it is true. It’s an amazing film, and Heath Ledger’s performance is one for the ages. However, as Harvey Dent (Two Face) would tell you himself, there is a flip side to everything, and the flip side here is that few movie based games ever amount to much.

Having had several chats with developer friends of mine who have worked on these types of projects, it is easy to understand why they are often considered failures in the gaming circle — lack of time for proper production. The two are worked on in tandem for the most part, and there’s almost always a rush to get the game out before the movie.

With the Dark Knight movie already in theaters, and no game in sight just yet, we may actually be in store for a “dynamic duo” deserving of the Batman brand.

So how do we know that a movie based game is in the works? It was recently leaked by Gary Oldman, the actor who plays Commissioner Gordon in the film, that a game adaptation is well underway. In his interview with G4TV (shown below) Oldman states:

The video game — I saw a tiny little piece of it. They’re trying to get it, so that when he’s gliding — that it’s a sort of — there’s a feeling in it that you’ve never really felt before. That the game doesn’t stop and start. They’re trying to build it in — to the system. Almost like watching the fim. That it’s a continuous thing.

But, I mean I’m on the roof top. I mean my figure just stands there with the back light. I don’t do anything. I’m really boring. I go “Batman we got to get over there” you know? And he goes “woosh” and dives off the building. I’m Jim Gordon, boring Jim Gordon on the roof.

Well now, “boring Jim Gordon” is not so boring if you put a beautiful dark haired female interviewer in front of him now is he? See for yourself, and read the notes from my call with Pandemic Studios after the jump.

With the Dark Knight game now confirmed, many rumors began to circulate regarding which developer was in fact behind it. The consensus seems to point to Pandemic Studios, so I decided to put a call in to the guys (and girls) over at Pandemic to find out.

In speaking with a member of their visual team (who I will not name), I knew that they would not be able to confirm or deny their role in a Dark Knight film, so instead I asked, if Pandemic were to be given the keys to a high profile film adaptation such as The Dark Knight, what strengths do you believe you would bring to the table to help make the game a success?

The response I got was “Wow, that’s a loaded question! [laughter] I’m not sure I can answer that [laughter].”

As our conversation continued, I politely pressed for a few specific characteristics that they felt defined the studio, and would make a Pandemic developed Dark Knight game worth buying for gamers and fans of the character/film.

Generally speaking, they stated that their goal is to always deliver the “best quality possible”. They went on to list “ambitious nature”, “large scale worlds”, and “bringing fantasy to life” as just a few of their strengths — adding that they feel each of these attributes are exhibited in games such as Battle Front and most recently Mercenaries 2.

I ended the call by saying that I truly hope Pandemic is behind the game, to which I was told “Hey, who knows [laughter].”

Pandemic is a high quality studio, and if the rumor regarding their involvement in the Dark Knight ends up being true, we may all be in store for a gaming experience that Gotham itself would be proud of — my fingers are crossed.

If you had been holding on to hope that Pandemic Studio’s much anticipated Mercenaries 2: World in Flames would be lighting up your television set soon, you can officially forget it.

While announcing the company’s hugely successful holiday quarter sales results, EA also officially stated that Mercenaries 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company would be moved to fiscal 2009, with an estimated release date some point after Spring of 2008.

With a reported record high $1.5 billion in sales, it seems that EA is perfectly content with allowing gamers a little more time to enjoy their Rock Band.

Source: Gamasutra

For every one that breaks free, two more get sucked in. As Microsoft’s cleaning crews entered the empty offices once held by the employees of Bungie Studios, another industry giant, Electronic Arts, was finalizing a deal to purchase VG Holding Corp, owners of both Bioware Corp (Mass Effect) and Pandemic Studios (Mercenaries 2: World in Flames & Saboteur).

“These are two of the most respected studios in the industry and I’m glad to be working with them again. They’ll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties,” said John Riccitiello, EA’s Chief Executive Officer. “We also expect this will drive long-term value for our shareholders.”

Price tag for all this? In the ballpark of $785 million — $620 million in cash to the companies stockholders, and an additional $155 million in equity to “certain employees” of the VG Holding Corp. We are going to go out on a limb and say that the janitor and kitchen crew won’t be seeing any of that dough. Have at the press release after the jump.

EA TO ACQUIRE BIOWARE CORP. AND PANDEMIC STUDIOS

Leaders in RPG, Action and Adventure Genres; Ten Franchises in Development – Six Wholly Owned

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., October 11, 2007 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced an agreement with Elevation Partners to acquire VG Holding Corp. — the owner of both BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios. This acquisition gives EA a strong competitive position in key genres in interactive entertainment: action, adventure and role-playing games. The two studios have been recognized for creating some of the highest-quality games in the industry.

BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios have ten franchises under development, including six wholly owned games. BioWare Corp. is currently developing the highly anticipated Mass Effect, which will be published by Microsoft in November, and is in the early development stages of a massively multiplayer online game. Pandemic Studios is redefining open-world games with its upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames™ and Saboteur™, in addition to several unannounced projects.

Pandemic Studios and BioWare Corp. employ roughly 800 people across four studios located in Edmonton, Canada; Los Angeles; Austin; and Brisbane, Australia.

“These are two of the most respected studios in the industry and I’m glad to be working with them again. They’ll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties,” said John Riccitiello, EA’s Chief Executive Officer. “We also expect this will drive long-term value for our shareholders.”

Pandemic Studios is led by Andrew Goldman, Josh Resnick and Greg Borrud. BioWare Corp. is jointly led by Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka. These teams will join the EA™ Games Label run by Frank Gibeau, President of EA Games.

“Pandemic Studios remains focused on attracting the best talent and creating blockbuster action games,” said Josh Resnick, President and Co-founder of Pandemic Studios. “As a worldwide publishing leader, EA represents the ideal partner to bring our titles to market as global entertainment events.”

“We are truly excited by John Riccitiello’s new vision for EA,” said Ray Muzyka, Co-founder and CEO of BioWare Corp. “This vision is consistent with BioWare’s focus on crafting the highest quality story-driven games in the world. It will enable us to further the careers of the passionate, creative and hard working teams at BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Austin.”

EA will pay up to $620 million in cash to the stockholders of VG Holding Corp. and will issue up to an additional $155 million in equity to certain employees of VG Holding Corp., which will be subject to time-based or performance-based vesting criteria. EA will also assume outstanding VG Holding Corp. stock options. In addition, EA has agreed to lend VG Holding Corp. up to $35 million through the closing of the acquisition.

Transaction and Financial Information

· The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory

· approvals.

· The transaction is expected to close in January 2008.

· On a GAAP basis, the acquisition is expected to be dilutive to EA’s fiscal 2008 results by approximately $0.30 to $0.40 due to non-recurring acquisition-related charges, stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets. This amount is a preliminary estimate based on currently-available information and is subject to change.

· On a non-GAAP basis, the acquisition is expected to be dilutive to EA’s fiscal 2008 fourth quarter results by approximately $0.05. This amount is a preliminary estimate based on currently-available information and is subject to change.