Electronic Arts Offers $2 Billion for Take-Two (Update1)
By Nancy Kercheval
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Electronic Arts Inc., the world's largest video-game publisher, has offered $2 billion in cash to acquire Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
Electronic Arts has offered $26 a share for New York-based Take-Two, the maker of ``Grand Theft Auto'' video games, the Redwood City, California-based company said today in a statement. The price reflects a 64 percent premium over Take-Two's closing price on Feb. 15, the last trading day before the offer.
Take-Two rejected an earlier bid of $25 per share, prompting Electronic Arts to sweeten its offer and make it public to the shareholders.
``There can be no certainty that in the future EA or any other buyer would pay the same high premium we are offering today,'' said Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello in a Feb. 19 letter made public today to Take-Two Board Chairman Strauss Zelnick.
Sheesh, EA is just trying to consume every little company out there.
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EA strikes me as the Borg of the gaming industry. Resistance is futile for smaller companies...
Looks like we may only be left with first party and EA for our future games, this is truly sad.
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How scary is this. Is it foolish to hope that something good will come out of this? heh
Did any of you other sports gamers ever wonder what kind of football game we would be playing if the 2K Sports/Visual Concepts guys got to work with the EA fellas? In a perfect gaming world with both teams working together as one, queue the Homer drool line "mmmmmmmm, football"
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I would like to say that EA has taken a lot of good steps lately. I thought that this year's madden was the best in this generation. I think that Skate is an awesome addition and step forward for that genre, and Rock Band is pretty awesome too. I even like the way they stood up to Fox on the Mass Effect story. This comes as no surprise and I am interested to see how this story ends up and if Take-Two's quality takes a dive if they are swallowed up.
I agree. My opinions of EA have changed over the past few years. I really think that EA has made good moves, and for the benefit of gamers and gaming. My dislike for them has started to wane, despite that blowhard Peter Moore working for them. Anyhow, I'm sure that I am in the minority...but I hope that they continue this upward trend of improving and innovating. I still hate what they are doing to the football and basketball franchises, and even though I dislike how Burnout has changed...I can understand those changes.
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I hate how they want to be the only SPORT video game company. They're taking down the 2k Sports Company sadly.
IIDominationII:I hate how they want to be the only SPORT video game company. They're taking down the 2k Sports Company sadly.
No matter what kind of game I was making, I would want to be the only one in the market who made that kind of game. I can't really blame them for doing it. I do wish that other companies had the rescources to compete with their strong arm tactics though.
stupid fascists!!!!! this is capitalism at its worst...and sadly at its best...its just the company at hand is a bunch of morons that will sooner or later kill anything worth doing in this industry....imagine this...bioshock with submarines and multiplayer with no story what so ever and a mass effect with like 3 planets and 5 weapons....they kill any sort of ambition that companies have...madden is total trash...has been since 2002....competition makes companies work for their earnings....its gonna get to the point where many people including myself will not look at videogames as a form of entertainment...its getting kinda sad when the only other company that can put their bids to rest is microsoft....first party company as opposed to a third party company...that would be great for anyone who has an xbox yeah sweet...but again that kills any sort of competition...that would mean sony would have NO football game and would pretty much have no support from any company....god what are they doing to this industry its rediculous......
sorry had to vent
IIDominationII: I hate how they want to be the only SPORT video game company. They're taking down the 2k Sports Company sadly.
Not to mention the release of All-Pro football on the 3-4 year old engine used to run NFL2K5.
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Calm down.
I can imagine what Mass Effect would have been if EA had part in it. Exactly like it is because EA DID publish it. Madden '06 and '07 weren't the best games ever, but '08 is far from trash.
nesnerosybloc: I can imagine what Mass Effect would have been if EA had part in it. Exactly like it is because EA DID publish it. Madden '06 and '07 weren't the best games ever, but '08 is far from trash.
Whats more aggrivating is EA's deal with MS that prohibits MGS from making sports games to compete with EA. It would have been nice to see a new High Heat Baseball. the MLB license exclusive to 2K is only for third party devs. So MS would be able to make a new baseball game just like sony did with the far superior MLB The Show series.
nesnerosybloc:I can imagine what Mass Effect would have been if EA had part in it. Exactly like it is because EA DID publish it.
I can imagine what Mass Effect would have been if EA had part in it. Exactly like it is because EA DID publish it.
Well, to be fair, EA only bought Bioware/Pandemic after Mass Effect was already buttoned up and ready to go gold. EA didn’t have any input in the game development itself since Bioware/Pandemic were still independent.I second Lurk’s sentiment that I don’t hate EA as much as I used to. It looks like the new head of the company is really trying to turn the massive EA borg back around and into something that developers could be excited to be a part of, like EA was back in it’s first heyday.Although I was bitching out EA the other week when I was playing through The Godfather. I swear, the DLC was ****ed up in that game. Go to a character in game and try to buy a gun from him, and the game immediately opens your XBL blade to a page where if you’re spamming the “A” button you will automatically spend 300 points on the gun download. It happened to me. I spent real money on accident to buy a tommy gun. I felt dirty and taken advantage of.