Yup, it's true. Official press release staat hieronder.
Persoonlijk koop ik geen enkel Sierra product meer in mijn leven, ook Homeworld niet. Alle
medewerkers en fans zijn royaal in hun reet genaaid.
Sierra can burn in hell as far as I'm concerned.
----
SIERRA ON-LINE, INC. ANNOUNCES REORGANIZATION AND
ENHANCED FOCUS ON MARKET SUCCESS
Bellevue, WA (September 21, 1999) - Sierra On-Line, Inc., a leading
developer and worldwide publisher of interactive entertainment and
productivity software, today announced a reorganization into three
business units; Core Games, Casual Entertainment and Home Productivity.
This new structure enhances Sierra's focus on developing and publishing
leading products for these three distinct marketplaces and is effective
immediately.
Each business unit, led by veteran Sierra talent, is outlined below:
· Core Games, led by Sr. VP Business Unit Manager, Mark Hood and VP of
Marketing Jim Veevaert, is recognized by the award-winning Sierra
Studios(tm) label, publisher of Valve's mega-hit Half-Life(r), and
features
several of the world's most renowned development teams including
Impressions Games(tm), Papyrus(tm), Sierra's Northwest studio, and the
Tribes(tm) team. In addition to Valve, other third party relationships
include
Relic (Homeworld(tm)), Troika Games, and Massive Entertainment
(Ground Control(tm)). This Core Games group is the market leader in the
core gaming genres, which include strategy, action, RPG and adventure
games.
· Casual Entertainment, led by Sr. VP Business Unit Manager, Steve Van
Horn and VP of Marketing Barbara Schwabe, includes the Hoyle® line, the
Trophy Bass(tm) Fishing series, Professional Bull Rider, the Field and
Stream(r) Hunting series, the 3D Ultra(tm) series, YOU DON'T KNOW
JACK(r), and Austin Powers(tm): Operation Trivia(tm). This group has a
26% share of the casual entertainment market, one of the fastest growing
genres in entertainment software.
· Home/Productivity, led by Sr. VP Business Unit Manager, Dianna Amorde
and VP of Marketing Anne Boswell, will continue phenomenal growth in the
market with titles for cooking, gardening, home design, home publishing,
family heritage, digital imaging and web page design.
This reorganization comes at a time when Sierra is enjoying spectacular
success. Its overall year-to-date net revenue is up 33% versus last
year.
Several of its titles are among the top 10 best selling titles in the
US.
For
example, Half-Life is the number one selling game in its category and
has
won more than 45 "Game of the Year" awards from a variety of
publications. Complete LandDesigner(r) and MasterCook(r) dominate their
categories, each owning 60% of the market. Hoyle(r) Casino has been the
number one selling casual entertainment title in recent months, while
the
critically acclaimed YOU DON'T KNOW JACK(r) series recently released
for the PlayStation(r) platform, has led the market in the trivia
category.
Many new and highly anticipated titles will be released later this year
including Homeworld, Pharoah(tm), Gabriel Knight(tm) 3, Tribes
Extreme(tm), NASCAR(r) 3, iStyle(r) MakeOver, Professional Bull Rider,
SWAT(r) 3D and more.
"Over the past year, Sierra has made huge strides in our growth and
profitability," said Dave Grenewetzki, president of Sierra. "These
changes
will create an even better environment for the development of great
titles
and, as a result, increase our growth pace."
This success illustrates the effectiveness of a strategy focused on
publishing products that provide a superior experience and value to the
customer. As a result, Sierra has elected to cancel several titles that
did
not
meet its success criteria. Cancelled titles include Desert Fighters and
Pro
Pilot Paradise at the company's Dynamix studio in Eugene, Oregon. In
addition, Babylon(r) 5, a project of Sierra Studios, and Orcs: Revenge
of
the Ancient(tm), a Berkeley Systems(tm) title, will be cancelled. The
product
cancellations will result in the loss of 105 jobs.
This new structure clearly defines the organization in a way that
streamlines
processes, adds leadership and increases the momentum of Sierra's
market success.
Sierra On-Line, Inc http://www.sierra.com / is one of the original
developers
and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and
productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a
global
leader in interactive content. It is one of the world's largest
publishers
of
education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions,
Blizzard(r), Coktel, Knowledge Adventure(r), Sierra(tm) and WON.net(tm)
are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles.
Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the
French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.
Persoonlijk koop ik geen enkel Sierra product meer in mijn leven, ook Homeworld niet. Alle
medewerkers en fans zijn royaal in hun reet genaaid.
Sierra can burn in hell as far as I'm concerned.
----
SIERRA ON-LINE, INC. ANNOUNCES REORGANIZATION AND
ENHANCED FOCUS ON MARKET SUCCESS
Bellevue, WA (September 21, 1999) - Sierra On-Line, Inc., a leading
developer and worldwide publisher of interactive entertainment and
productivity software, today announced a reorganization into three
business units; Core Games, Casual Entertainment and Home Productivity.
This new structure enhances Sierra's focus on developing and publishing
leading products for these three distinct marketplaces and is effective
immediately.
Each business unit, led by veteran Sierra talent, is outlined below:
· Core Games, led by Sr. VP Business Unit Manager, Mark Hood and VP of
Marketing Jim Veevaert, is recognized by the award-winning Sierra
Studios(tm) label, publisher of Valve's mega-hit Half-Life(r), and
features
several of the world's most renowned development teams including
Impressions Games(tm), Papyrus(tm), Sierra's Northwest studio, and the
Tribes(tm) team. In addition to Valve, other third party relationships
include
Relic (Homeworld(tm)), Troika Games, and Massive Entertainment
(Ground Control(tm)). This Core Games group is the market leader in the
core gaming genres, which include strategy, action, RPG and adventure
games.
· Casual Entertainment, led by Sr. VP Business Unit Manager, Steve Van
Horn and VP of Marketing Barbara Schwabe, includes the Hoyle® line, the
Trophy Bass(tm) Fishing series, Professional Bull Rider, the Field and
Stream(r) Hunting series, the 3D Ultra(tm) series, YOU DON'T KNOW
JACK(r), and Austin Powers(tm): Operation Trivia(tm). This group has a
26% share of the casual entertainment market, one of the fastest growing
genres in entertainment software.
· Home/Productivity, led by Sr. VP Business Unit Manager, Dianna Amorde
and VP of Marketing Anne Boswell, will continue phenomenal growth in the
market with titles for cooking, gardening, home design, home publishing,
family heritage, digital imaging and web page design.
This reorganization comes at a time when Sierra is enjoying spectacular
success. Its overall year-to-date net revenue is up 33% versus last
year.
Several of its titles are among the top 10 best selling titles in the
US.
For
example, Half-Life is the number one selling game in its category and
has
won more than 45 "Game of the Year" awards from a variety of
publications. Complete LandDesigner(r) and MasterCook(r) dominate their
categories, each owning 60% of the market. Hoyle(r) Casino has been the
number one selling casual entertainment title in recent months, while
the
critically acclaimed YOU DON'T KNOW JACK(r) series recently released
for the PlayStation(r) platform, has led the market in the trivia
category.
Many new and highly anticipated titles will be released later this year
including Homeworld, Pharoah(tm), Gabriel Knight(tm) 3, Tribes
Extreme(tm), NASCAR(r) 3, iStyle(r) MakeOver, Professional Bull Rider,
SWAT(r) 3D and more.
"Over the past year, Sierra has made huge strides in our growth and
profitability," said Dave Grenewetzki, president of Sierra. "These
changes
will create an even better environment for the development of great
titles
and, as a result, increase our growth pace."
This success illustrates the effectiveness of a strategy focused on
publishing products that provide a superior experience and value to the
customer. As a result, Sierra has elected to cancel several titles that
did
not
meet its success criteria. Cancelled titles include Desert Fighters and
Pro
Pilot Paradise at the company's Dynamix studio in Eugene, Oregon. In
addition, Babylon(r) 5, a project of Sierra Studios, and Orcs: Revenge
of
the Ancient(tm), a Berkeley Systems(tm) title, will be cancelled. The
product
cancellations will result in the loss of 105 jobs.
This new structure clearly defines the organization in a way that
streamlines
processes, adds leadership and increases the momentum of Sierra's
market success.
Sierra On-Line, Inc http://www.sierra.com / is one of the original
developers
and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and
productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a
global
leader in interactive content. It is one of the world's largest
publishers
of
education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions,
Blizzard(r), Coktel, Knowledge Adventure(r), Sierra(tm) and WON.net(tm)
are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles.
Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the
French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.