Well well, what was first a rumor that just happened around the internet a week or so ago has finally become absolute truth; Dell has indeed purchased Alienware. Why bother? Well, for some small part I’m sure that Dell has had difficulty selling its XPS line of high-end gaming computers to consumers who are interested in hot-looking, powerful gaming computers. Who knows what’ll happen to the XPS line after the purchase is complete, and in good news, Dell won’t try to Dell-ize Alienware (as parodied in the image above), Alienware will be operating as a wholly owned subsidiary that reports to Dell but isn’t directly managed by Dell. Kind of like how Tim Horton’s isn’t managed by Wendy’s, for example.

Tasty.

No, not donuts; the fact that Alienware’s image and product allure hopefully won’t be tinged by Dell’s presence; a lot of people buy Alienware systems partially because they want the best product and partially because they have way too much money, but I would believe to a large extent because computers like Dell just aren’t for them, no matter how snazzy they try to make it look, or how many case lights they add. It’s definitely good news that Dell won’t try to brand Alienware systems or get involved in it’s day-to-day operations, and allow Alienware to continue operating, just with a new overhead owner. But yes, the question remains-will Dell continue this way and allow Alienware the wiggle room it needs, and how will this change effect Dell’s core customer base? Will it alienate them, or will it not faze them at all? Will they continue looking to Alienware as a maker of premium systems, or will they move to a company like Voodoo PC or Falcon Northwest? Time will tell, but if Dell plays this right and leaves Alienware alone, it’s probably a sure bet that Alienware will continue to do well.

[ New York Times :: Dell to Buy Alienware, a Maker of High-End PCs for Gamers ]
[ Yahoo! Finance :: Dell Enhances its Commitment to High-Performance Computing with Planned Acquisition of Alienware Corporation ]