in an interesting development looks like Autodesk is snapping up alias!
who would've thought
[url]http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=5970886&siteID=123112[/url]
[url]http://www.alias.com/glb/eng/press/press_release_details.jsp?itemId=360…]
$182 million seems pretty dirt cheap.
Do you think Autodesk will be merging the two programs?? Maya is so ingrained in the film industry that doing a Max/Maya hybrid, which takes the best of each programs, would seem like a step backward. Actually, I don't think a hybrid would make sense anyway since the two are so diffrent to each other. I'm making a guess that Autodesk will continue Max and market it for game developers, and Maya for the film industry.
Anyway, agreed that this is pretty big news. Adobe taking over Macromedia, Apple using Intel, and now this. You'd never predict this a year ago O_o
I agree Souri, never predicted it at all.
I dont think they will merge the 2 programs - though I think it is definately possible that in future versions of both maya and max they might mix it up a bit and introduce max stuff into maya and whatnot - who knows really. At the Discreet presentation a few weeks back - the REP said they have the next versions of max already mapped out and planned right up until max version 11. So I wonder how that changes things....
Microsoft purchases EA... on the cards maybe ? [:O]
i dont kow if even Microsoft could afford EA. considering how their profits rely on mass saturation of units over all consoles, it would have to be a pretty big offer for them to publish exclusivly to one system - and a system that dosnt hold the dominate market share. thoughif it happened, it would probably spell doom for sony, since xbox and playstation are so simular and have basically the same ported titles. the bulk of the sports, movie and other licences moving to one console would snatch with it a huge persentage of the userbase. nintendo wouldnt suffer as much in that way, since nobody buys a nintendo system becuase for EA titles, but it would be a massive shift in the market that's for sure.
ok, a little off topic, but it was an interesting thing to think about.
I'm with that. If they did merge we might get to see some of the great features from each in the other. And see some of the more outdated features improved on. But if they stay seperate products they should both benefit from shared knowledge and tools. And perhaps this will help more Max studios support Maya and vice versa. Personally Maya is my program of choice so I'd be pretty disappointed to see it venture into a more film only world, and see Max regain more of the game market. Comes down to personal preference too. One ultimate package that loads as either Maya or Max for the same cost and with the same file formats etc... I'd be for that!
likewise i wonder what will happen to the maya PLE - it's much better than 3dsmax's student versions (which costs money you can only get if you are a full time student, and only last about 8 months) or Gmax. a fully featured 3d app for free is great for learners - almost every beginer i've spoken to on one forum or another uses mayaPLE becuase it's freely. a great way to promote your product if you ask me.
Looks like the merger has already begun..
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Made by one of the artists at work.
quote:In the immediate term, no changes are planned for both companies, which will continue with their respective product releases while the acquisition takes place over its 4-6 month period of settling. It was also said that the products in the immediate term were to remain separate and autonomous, with a development focus on integrating workflow and interoperability between the previously competing products.
For the Autodesk Media and Entertainment Division, attention will be given to making 3ds max and Maya complement each other through ?improving the operability and workflow between 3ds max and Maya?. It was made clear that there are currently no plans to drastically change any feature sets in Maya or 3ds max, and no mention of an immediate product integration/merger (though one would expect the technologies to be unified in future).
From [url="http://features.cgsociety.org/story.php?story_id=3166"]CGNetworks[/url]...
yeah this news seems to be preading everywhere i look. huge news for 99% of the games industry, where companies either use max or maya. will the merge them or keep them as seperate products? merging would offere great benifits from both, but they work in very diferent ways, the result of which means that some of the cool things about max or maya cannotbe easily replicated in the other. I guess we'll find out in max9/maya8...