This is reminding me of Microsoft's attempts to court Yahoo. The more I hear about this, the more I hate EA.

This shit just got serious.
Dear shareholders, hold on for the sake of the developers.

Yowtch! Hate to pay interest on that puppy!

2 billion in cash eh? I'd get it exchanged into gold dollars and swim around like Scrooge McDuck.

If the deal is not contingent on financing, than EA takes the risk that they cannot finance the deal. That means they need to get money. Otherwise, they'd have to pay a break-up fee if they were unable to get enough money to pay for the acquisition.

And the lynch mob gathers. I look forward to reading another 100 comments by people claiming how much they hate EA, that company is evil, their games suck, I'll never buy an EA game. Did I miss anything?

it aint gunna happen, give up!

@LittleBigPlaneteer: "This is reminding me of Microsoft's attempts to court Yahoo."

'Court' is such a nice sounding term. So misleading. I would rather not have GTA 5 and Bioshock 2 in EA's hands thanks.

Imagine how many great games they could develop for that money. Or they could revive both westwood and bullfrog! And i guess they could you know feed poor kids and stuffs...

EA is stepping into a neighborhood it doesn't belong in...

EA go away!

BTW: isn't Activision now king of the hill? *LULZ*

Wow, EA doesn't know when to back off..

Wow EA...is a hostile takeover really good for the industry?

The Madden series isn't of cash cow for you guys?

Dear god, we're clannish. Next thing you know, you're going to have hordes of angry gamers with sticks outside of EA's office screaming "One of us! One of us!"

Take-Two: One... MILLION dollars!
EA: ...okay.
Take-Two: Uhhh... we'll get back to you on that

Oh no.

It will truly be a sad day when Take 2 falls to EA. As someone who has grown up resenting EA well before it was fashionable to do so, I can't help but shake my head.

@Zazu_Yen: as long as you offer 2.3 billion and 1 dollar it's all good

That means they'll be upping their offer next week I take it...

EA is desperate... lol
I thought the deal was only up until a day or two ago? I guess they really want TakeTwo.

The interest sounds ugly though... 1 billion is just nuts especially when it comes to gaming's slow profit rates...
>_>

Ehhhhh...

Of course EA is going to buy Take Two.

It's just a matter of when the shareholders are going to sell. Great value for them if they bought it at 17 or pre-17.

As if anything would be different with EA publishing a Bioshock 2 or a GTA5! Geez. Stop caring so much. Its like a broke record. I for one dont give a a damn. Rockstar will have the same treatment as Bioware. EA isn't stupid! They dont want to ruin franchises they are acquiring.

Sounds to me like EA just took out the cooking pot.

@超外人:

1 billion is nuts? GTA4 made half of that in a freakin week!

The bank loan is called "Project Braveheart." The humor writes itself.

[www.gamecyte.com]

@Xcite79:

They spent a ton of money and time making that game nearly 4 years, they even appreciated that 50m Microsoft gave them.
Interest in 4 years of borrowing 1b is pretty scary. A payout isn't guaranteed, also no one knows what'll happen to Rockstar if this goes through, they may fade away into obscurity like many developers have.
it is likely, they are just wanting to secure the sports monopoly.

GTA series is a huge reason for the acquisition. It would be ridiculous to think otherwise. It doesn't have all to do with sports games. The 50 million dollar exclusive content just adds how little 1 billion is when that is not included in the overall sales of GTA4 or the sales of the downloadable content itself when its released!

OWNED

Some people/companies just have too much money sometimes.

@EnigmaNemesis:

You Commie bastard, shut yo face!

Then Bungie is going to buy EA so what is the big deal.
Then they will have enough money to build a giant sling shot and shoot the comptetion into the sun.

Its win win!

@Spenze: You'd seriously hurt yourself if you'd decide to do it for real. Change it into 1 Dollar bills, at least this stuff won't break your neck if you dive face first into the pool. :P

@Topic: Seems like EA's really going to get serious, but after T2's stock didn't rise with the release it pretty possible some stock holders will be going for EA's money.

@Xcite79: True, EA isn't stupid. They're a corporate conglomerate interested in maximizing profit while minimizing cost. People who are not gamers are making the money decisions at EA, thus lots of Sims spin offs, lots of sports games.

True that GTA 5 and Bioshock 2 will probably not be seriously effected by a takeover by EA, they are the reason EA is after Take 2 by and large. But if Irrational had been owned by EA beforehand Bioshock would probably not have been made, or if made it would not have had the money that was lavishly spent on it, and some of the game mechanics would have been hard to get past the suits (killing little girls for power?)

Innovation does not happen under EA's wing unless the innovation is happening under a name so well known it guarantees sales in and of itself (Will Wright, Steven Spielberg). But how many other innovative companies have been consumed by EA only to suffer creatively and then never be heard from again. I can think of Bullfrog, Origin and Westwood Studios off the top of my head.

In short, if this happens, Ken Levine will probably have to leave so he can get his next pet project off the ground.

You didn't actually ask why they would borrow the money, did you? You never spend your own money. You use that to invest and make more money to pay off the minimal interest rates on a loan. EA would be retarded to just spend their own money on Take Two when the bank will just give them money with a low interest rate.

@EnigmaNemesis:

Da Comrade. Eez better with leftist socialist non-conomy, no?

Amazing how your talking about how we wont see innovation in future franchises with the exception of big wigs. Who do you think is responsible for most innovative unique games? Big players in the gaming field! Army of Two was another title. Everyone wants to blame EA for releasing rehashed sequels, who can blame them? They sale! As long as consumers demand it they will deliver! Blame fellow gamers.

@Zazu_Yen:

The last comment as you probably know was for you. Forgot to hit reply.

@Zazu_Yen: EA innovates as much as it has to. There's no point spending money if people will buy the same thing. It's like a new car. They don't change every year. They look almost identical the last model with some minor changes, yet people still go nuts over new cars and buy them every year. New paint job does wonders. Is it a good thing? Not really, but it's what people want based on money.

Also, EA has helped put out Rock Band, a game everyone seems to liek. Didn't publish it, but everyone credits Atlus for doing the same thing all the time, so because its EA, I guess it's alright to ignore it.

Activision is identical, but no one complains about them. Jus tlook at Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for an example of mediocre work put out and rewarded.

Take Two put out GTA4, a game they've put out 5 times already on the PS2 and PSP with GTA3, San Andreas, Vice City, VC Stories and Liberty City Stories.

It has prettier graphics now, some multiplayer options, but is pretty much the exact same game with a new coat of paint every single time. I'd give GTA4 a marked improvement over the previous 5 identical games, but it's similar to how EA works every new generation with its franchises, so no big difference when that's taken into account.

It's fun to hate on EA, but it's hard to fault them when everyone lets the other devs do the same thing.

Nintendo is one of the biggest treadmill recyclers ever and no one cares. There's been like 10 Mario Party games since last generation.

Metroid's had the same game 3 times in a row with Prime. I guess the Wii has new conrols, but nothing else changed.

Mario Galaxy is Mario Sunshine with smaller, easier and more monotonous levels for casual players. Shittier camera for some reason though.

Smash Bros has been recycled 3 times now with minor graphical improvement, shallow attempts at a single player mode and an extra 5 or so characters each generation. No gameplay changes other than fixing bugs like wave dashing. "Online" only counts if it works.

Contrary to popular belief, Nintendo wants your money and does its best to take it from you at every opportunity. No one complains about having to buy two controllers to play one game with the $40 Wiimote and $25 Nunchuk attachment, making it the most expensive controller on the market, but complain about paying for a Dual Shock 3 with rumble. The DS is probably made for $50 or less and even after winning a settlement against screen manufacturers overcharging for screens, Nintendo still didn't lower the price of the DS. They're currently funnelling Wii's to areas that will buy more of them, like Europe,d espite limited supplies in the US and Japan, simply because they want to sell more. Nintendo charges you like $15 for a fucking plastic steering wheel that does nothing and 3rd parties have had out since launch for like $5 or less. No one complains because its Nintendo.

So, ya, its fun beating up on EA, but Nintendo, Activision, and every other goddamn company does the exact same thing. EA was the biggest and everyone liked picking on the biggest and now they are dropping to the new dog, Activision, so its even more fun watching them fall.

Yes, EA deserves it, but its just too funny watching fanboys act like every other company doesn't do the same thing. Nintendo isn't just Miyamoto smiling and being his cooky self all the time. Their programmers work 100 hour work weeks and all that jazz too.

I love how everyone hates on EA as if they came in the middle of the night and raped your puppy.

EA didn't do shit to you. If gamers are tired of repetitive sequels, they have no one to blame but themselves. EA puts out what sells. Bottom line. They're not out to get you, they're not out to make you happy either, they're in it to make money. Just like everyone else.

@KirbyMorph: Bravo, my friend. Bravo.

The deal is done, get over it.

And to you @KirbyMorph: Well said. But you can't reason with internet fanboys, so there's no use trying. They'll justify their stance no matter what it is. But very well said.

Yes I am saying we wont see innovation in future franchises with the exception of big wigs from EA.

Big wigs come from somewhere, they come from innovations and genre defining games developed by people you've never heard of before. Which then makes them big wigs. You wont see that happen inside EA, you'll see it happen outside EA at companies which EA then buys, and then creatively starves.

I'm not saying EA is evil, I'm saying they're a big conglomerate who's afraid of risk. Just like Microsoft. Just like Vivendi. Just like Activision.

Yes Nintendo wants our money. ALL companies want our money or they'd be non-profit organizations. But Nintendo takes risks, you've got to give them a little respect for that.

But back to corporate publishers. It happens all the time: small company makes something cool that sells well, big corporation buys them, bug corporation starts laying down rules, creative people leave and go to new small developers, original company fades away into the corporate mass.

This is as opposed to the other typical cycle: small company makes something that sucks or is cool but doesn't sell, small company dies.

If I resent EA at all its because it has the name of this really cool company that started a long time ago. I remember flipping through the pages of Applesoft magazine and coming upon a two page spread announcing the forming of Electronic Arts and outlining it's dedication to promoting the designers and programmers responsible for their games. At the time the companies games had pictures and mini-bios of the principle designers/developers of the game, it was cool. And they had a great run producing many of my favorite innovative games from the time: Pinball Construction Set, Archon, M.U.L.E., The Bard's Tale, Starflight, the list just goes on.

Now they're just another corporate game publisher. It's just kinda depressing.

Fuck that. Seriously, fuck that. The moment this deal exchanges... I'm done supporting Take-Two ever again. I'm serious about that, and many people I know as well.

Shareholders, I know the deal looks tempting but there's more in it for you to just hold on to it. This sucks.

EA you had your fill with Pandemic and Bioware

@KirbyMorph: Even though I agree with you, Ubisoft made Rainbow Six not Activision. Maybe you mean Call of Duty.

EA stop acquiring good developers who make better games than your shit. Please, you are making the game industry less and only are hurting your company name even more.

lol the only sport they wont have monopolized is Baseball and Formula 1 Racing....this just in codemasters and sony have been bought by EA.

'"It helps us maintain maximum flexibility for any opportunities," said Brown.'

Translation:

"We might find other games companies also making good games and want to buy them too!"

Fuck you, EA!! Nothing can stop them!!!! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!!!!!

@Zazu_Yen:

Lol the last thing Nintendo did this gen is take a risk. Sugar coating a $100 console with a new look and new controls and selling it for $250 is not something I would call a risk.

I have said time and time again, Nintendo could put a pile of garbage in a plastic box, slap their name on it and 20 million people would snatch it up in a heartbeat.

Do I think the Wii is a pile of garbage? I think the jury is still out on that one because so far I have not been impressed. Just ask yourself how many games Mario has been in and you will find that EA, Activision, Microsoft, AND Sony all do the same thing.

On topic though, who really cares if this goes through. People will still buy GTA5,6,7,8,9,100, Return again to Vice City, San Andreas Stories 8, and GTA Online by the millions.

@KirbyMorph: hold on there, first of all, EA wasn't always the company to hate. What you have to understand is the difference between Nintendo and EA is Nintendo will at least try to introduce new ways to play within the existing franchise. That's if they don't go off the deep end and introduce something like WiiSports...which EA is now saying..."who woulda thunk it" like some dumb ape scratching his ass without a clue.

I look at games like Metal of Honor 2: Heroes and the first thing that comes to mind is "fuck you EA" because the game was clearly a rush job to cash in on Wii popularity. This game came after EA ADMITTED they screwed up with early Wii development by rushing titles to market. MoH shipped with obvious bugs and was so technically inept that only the most desperate played the game for any great length of time. EA is not a small time developer so things like quality assurance and bug testing should be a given but they weren't in a title that was hyped to the Wii crowd to the tune of "NO FRIEND CODES and 32 player online battles"

the next gen Maddens have been gimped with the first 360 release being so poor that the PS2 version scored higher than the 360 version and the current version still has too many money plays. I watched a friend play online and there were literally 5 interceptions thrown in 6 minutes. what kind of bullshit is that from a flagship title? A title that is supposed to be the closest to playing a true NFL game on your couch. EA straight dissed Visual Concepts and NFL2k but still has yet to surpass 2k5 in presentation, audio, animation and realistic offensive, defensive schemes that don't require a all pro quarterback that doesn't scramble...to run back 10 yards to throw a five yard pass with a pro bowl offensive line. NBA Live was so pathetic that it didn't even ship.

It goes on and on. Sequels are a part of the industry but you have Nintendo sequels, SquareEnix sequels, Konami sequels, Capcom sequels and then there's EA sequels. All of these companies milk their franchises but when was the last time EA made a game that was of the caliber of FFXII...how about RE4...MGS3...Metroid Prime....Mario Galaxy? The ONLY game EA has made in recent memory that was truly worthy of note is Skate. Which was so much better than Tony Hawk (which activision rode into the dirt) that they canceled TH for 08.

EA is not know for quality. EA is not known for bringing anything particularly new to the fold. This was not always the case but it is what it is. Look at what other developers are doing with the technology of today...Incognito said to hell with the single player campaign and made Warhawk a kick-ass multiplayer warzone. Fans waited 10 years for a sequel to Warhawk and to make it online multiplay only took balls, more than EA has shown and guess what...Warhawk turned out great, just as yet another example. Warhawk could have been a paint-by-numbers sequel but it's not and thank goodness Incognito had the courage to run with what they did.

THIS is what EA should be doing. They are one of the largest developers in the world and yet can guarantee bug testing and quality control for their games? They can't push the envelop a bit and try to bring something new to the fold. Nintendo released fucking Brain Age, Nintendogs, Wiisports, Wiiplay and WiiFit in the last 3 years, all new IPs they have gone on to sale millions, In addition to the marios, zeldas, etc. I have my own issues with Nintendo but lack of innovation and originality ain't among them. This is why I don't particularly care for EA and stop buying their product. people will buy EA games because in many cases they just don't know, or don't care. What happened to the EA that made the original SSX? Where are the A+ original EA IPs?

So when I hear people say "to hell with EA" I'm not surprised.

I wonder if the sec would have anything to say about this. Given how much software the two publishers sell it might go into monopoly status.

Wouldn't the two studios account for something like 70% of all games sold,counting all platforms?

As a TTWO shareholder I'm not convinced that EA will be a good deal for me.

TTWO has been performing poorly but has largely cleaned up it's act before gta 4 dropped. I can see TTWO trading in the mid 30's. I don't foresee ERTS being able to do that except to run up the stock price before a merger to screw the ttwo holders.

I also assume that they will not give a 1:1 share deal of ttwo vs erts. So I would need to see a 2x bump in EA share to make up the difference in ttwo shares.

ERTS isn't a growth stock and it isn't paying dividends. I own ATVI and TTWO for a reason. I also don't own ERTS because it's over valued.

@Techguy1138:
I mean to say I don't see erts going for the mid 50s to the mid 60's.

The same jump as if ttwo went from 26 to 36$

@mva5580: yes it was a risk. Sony and Microsoft would have NEVER done that. Launching a console, even one that's not as expensive as a 360 or PS3 is amazingly expensive and risky to your brand. And one with unique controllers, completely different from what's been mainstream before, is even more risky.

On the one hand you guys shrug your shoulders at creative companies being bought out because, what, you feel "innovates as much as it has to" is good enough? Then you bash companies that try something new because it's just a gimmick and people will buy anything with that brand?

You guys have said a lot about what's bad in the industry, and that everyone's doing it so why care... but you aren't coming out in support of anything in exchange.

If I'm a fanboy I'm a fanboy of innovation and creativity. I have nothing especially against EA besides the aforementioned sadness, if it was Activision or Microsoft trying to buy Take Two I'd feel the same way.

"who really cares if this goes through", "EA innovates as much as it has to", "who can blame them", "Stop caring so much"

Yeah, sure, fine, I do care about the game industry, so sue me.

In five years you'll all buried up to your necks in shovelware copies of "Madden's Sim Arena Football Party" because you don't care enough to know who Warren Spector is or DMA Design was without having to look them up on on the Wikipedia (let alone Moby Games). You'll get what you deserve when the Rockstar label is retired then, coinciding with the launch of "The Sim's GTA8: Gotham City Capers."

But you wont care anyway.

meh

Man I'm grouchy today.

All these EA bootlickers need to realize that EA hate is there for a reason. Look at the history of game studios who are bought under EA, see what happens to them over the long haul. Watch bioware and see where they are going to end up after a couple of years. I do not want to see take-two fall into the squid called EA.

@LittleBigPlaneteer:

What? You're kidding right? This is absolutely NOTHING like Microsofts attempt to acquire yahoo. EA is going for a HOSTILE TAKEOVER. Microsoft was going for a merger(i.e. friendly buyout). Yahoo apparently didn't want it and Microsoft has since stopped trying to acquire Yahoo. For now anyway.