Officials from technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) have announced that the company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire high-performance games PC manufacturer VoodooPC.
Following the close of the transaction, HP will form a separate business unit within its Personal Systems Group focused on the gaming industry. VoodooPC co-owner Rahul Sood will become chief technologist for the unit and co-owner Ravi Sood will become the unit's director of strategy.
Both executives will report to Phil McKinney, who will become general manager of the gaming business unit while maintaining his current role as chief technology officer of HP's Personal Systems Group. This operational model is intended to align the gaming business with HP's research and development organization.
The acquisition is expected to close by November 2006, terms of the deal were not disclosed. HP plans to maintain VoodooPC's current distribution model and brand name along with its marketing, sales, support and development operations.
The move has been seen as a response to Dell’s
acquisition of games PC manufacturer Alienware, the primary rival of VoodooPC in North America. The HP and Dell deals have helped to emphasis the continued relevance of the PC as a video games platform and coincide with Microsoft’s new Games for Windows software marketing campaign.
"HP is already a market leader in two of the three major segments in the gaming market by providing industry-leading workstation solutions for game development and powering the largest online game services," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, HP’s Personal Systems Group. "We're absolutely thrilled to welcome VoodooPC, gaming industry pioneers and the premier name in gaming, to the HP team. Together with VoodooPC's leadership and influence, HP will have the expertise to become the leader in the gaming customer segment."
