A little while ago, it was all doom and gloom as Dell bought Alienware. Or, at least, many predicted - reports flew right and left over how the corporate 'man' was going to bust up one of the premier gaming machine makers. As it stands, it really didn't do too much at all. Unless, of course, you count copycatting - now
Hewlett Packard has just snapped up premier system maker Voodoo PC.
Granted, Voodoo PC is not quite Alienware, and HP
has enough troubles keeping its name out of the press for other reasons at the moment that this might just have slipped on by many people. Similar to Dell's acquisition of Alienware, Voodoo PC will be left to operate happily from its home in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Owner Rahul Sood
discusses the takeover in his blog, commenting on how he expected the offer shortly after receiving a similar one from Dell.
Now, Rahul and his brother Ravi will instead be Chief Technologist and Chief Strategist in HP's Games Division, and have a little bigger corporate bankroll to play with. The purpose of the acquisition is a lot less about what Voodoo PC produces in sales and a lot more about understanding a growing market - the real PC gamer. By learning the very different market that spends $2,000-3000 USD on a high-end PC, HP hopes to use its marketing leverage to grow Voodoo PC into a strong line - with much higher profits than its office lines.
Have you got a thought on the purchase? Is it good to see these bigger companies (who can drop prices due to sheer volume) looking at the higher-end markets, or is this just another little cow for them to milk? Tell us your opinions
in our forums.
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