JAMDAT and Gameloft race for growth

JAMDAT and Gameloft both announced their numbers for year 2004. JAMDAT is approximately twice as big as Gameloft, but this smaller competitor is much more profitable. Gameloft benefits from its close relationship with Ubisoft, but JAMDAT had to fight its way to the top. This can be seen in the product palettes of these two companies – JAMDAT has more licensed and casual game material, while Gameloft has bit more refined slate of products. Ownership plays crucial role for both companies, Gameloft has it safe as its major shareholders include Ubisoft’s Guillemot brothers. However, JAMDAT doesn’t enjoy such a security and could be target for hostile tenders, after all, JAMDAT has lot of talent and money they just lack some good franchises that they can turn into mobile form. This is why JAMDAT could probably benefit from being bought by major game company like Electronic Arts, Activision or Take-Two Interactive. Market valuations for both companies hover so low that it wouldn’t be a problem for any of the mentioned game companies to make the purchase.