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   I think we can all agree that, ever since the first - and best - Driver game came out in 1999, the whole series went right down the drain. Reflections' sequel Driver 2 was a PlayStation exclusive, and reportedly a bad one at that. Then came Atari's Driv3r fiasco, which still makes me shiver in disgust every time I think about it. And finally, this year saw the release of the fourth - and apparently not final - game in the series, Driver: Parallel Lines on the PS2 and Xbox; once again, however, without much success.

   After all that, why would anyone want to have anything to do with this license, and even pay a ludicrous amount for it? Well, ask Ubisoft, because they just did! In a joint agreement between Ubisoft, Atari and Reflections Interactive, the companies announced that Ubisoft bought the Driver intellectual property and the Reflections assets for a whopping $24 million (€19 million). And to think Bethesda only paid around $1 million for the rights to develop Fallout 3, back in 2004...

   Anyway, the deal marks Atari's latest initiative in its previously stated plans to refocus its portfolio of franchises as well as streamlining the company's cost structure. And with such a troubled franchise out of the picture, plus a hefty deposit in their bank account, they might just dodge bankrupcy after all.

   What concerns us most, of course, is what Ubisoft plans to do with the Driver franchise. It's been a while since they did a good racing game, but assuming that Reflections will continue to handle the series' development, with some guidance and/or sane ideas from the French publisher, hopefully, we may yet to see another good Driver game, after all. Don't hold your breath, though, no Driver 5 sequel has been announced as of yet.