Denver gaming firm bought by Sony

Brian D. Crecente, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Sony Online Entertainment Thursday announced the purchase of Denver-based Worlds Apart Productions for an undisclosed amount of money.

The nine-member computer game studio, which has been making online trading card games for about ten years, will become Sony Online Entertainment’s Denver studio.

"The team here in Denver couldn’t be more pleased to become part of the Sony family," said Scott Martins, director of development, SOE-Denver. "We’re really looking forward to building on the synergies between our team’s technology and design experience and SOE’s properties and infrastructure."

Sony Online Entertainment decided to purchase Worlds Apart Productions because they hope to get into the online trading card game business, said Chris Kramer, spokesman for Sony Online Entertainment.

"We are going to be integrating what they do with what we do," he said.

Online trading card games online digital versions of popular trading card games like Magic the Gathering and Star Trek.

In the games players use cards to battle one another. In the online version, players use digital versions of the same cards.

One of the things Sony Online Entertainment is interested in doing is combining online trading card games with their existing massively multiplayer online games, like Everquest II or Star Wars: Galaxies.

"There may be a point in time in the future where not only is there an Everquest 2 card game, but people playing in the (computer game version) of Everquest 2 could go into a tavern, sit-down and play the cardgame inside the computer game," Kramer said.

Kramer said no specific plans have been made yet, but that all of the development teams working on Sony Online Entertainment’s current games and future games are looking at way to implement Worlds Apart’s technology into their games.

"I wouldn’t say this is the next big thing in massively multiplayer online games, but for us we are constantly looking for ways to offer online entertainment for our customers," Kramer said.

New of the acquisition comes as massively multiplayer online game powerhouse World of Warcraft prepares to launch a trading card game with some online elements.

The purchase is also a way for Sony Online Entertainment, which was formed in 2000, to expand into other forms of online entertainment.

"This is a way to expand SOE's business into a very attractive market that is consistently growing at a fast rate," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "With this acquisition, we've expanded the range of online games that SOE can offer, as well as offering entirely new play mechanics and activities that could be built into both current and future titles."