Interesting to see that EA has bought Mythic.  EA certainly has a rather troubled past when it comes to acquiring online game developers, but their continued investment in it shows that they still see the importance of competing in that market sector.  I'd like to think they are going to buy Mythic to acquire their expertise; I don't think it would be necessarily just to acquire their IP or Warhammer Online.  But will EA listen?

Successfully integrating an acquired company is an art, not a science.  I like the folks I've met from Mythic, and I certainly wish them the best.  It would also be nice to see one of the other big publishers be able to compete on even footing with Vivendi / Blizzard, just because a competitive environment always spurs faster advancement in the genre.  EA's track record isn't great but the optimist in me hopes that means they've learned lessons from the past that they can learn not to repeat.