Question Of The Week Discusses Developer Consolidation

The "Question Of The Week" feature, a specific industry-related question to be answered by professional game developers and Gamasutra readers, discusses the continuing purchase of independent developers by bigger publishers, and its ramifications for the industry, following major recent deals such as Sony buying Zipper Interactive and Guerrilla Games, Vivendi purchasing High Moon Studios, and 2K Games acquiring Firaxis. The new question, which can be answered at the official Question Of The Week page until January 31, is: "What do you think of the continuing trend of major publishers acquiring significant independent game developers? Is industry consolidation necessary for reasons of stability and growth, and what does it mean for the future of game creation?" As with the previous questions, the best responses will be compiled into an article to be published on the site, and users can either respond publically, with their name and company specifically cited, or anonymize their answers if they wish.