GregoriRasputin

toby87

Cdestroyer127

Mike918

Though sadly, GTA IV is a naked and stripped down version of San Andreas. A lot of stuff is missing for the sake of "realism".

Regardless, I think this is bad. EA needs to stay away. Now.

butterladle

omg!

nerdslashpimp

fergilicious

I'll say it for you.The Wii is overhyped.

Really,does this news surprise anyone?The writing has been on the wall for months now.It was a matter of when, not if.If you don't like it, DON'T BUY ANY EA PRODUCT.Jesus.This is why gamers do not get any respect these days...

For the past several years, we have let others tell us what games were "cool" or "popular", and like sheep,we have been blindly led along.Sure,there are those who bitch and moan. But they still by the games they hate!We're complacent,shunning change for mediocrity.Now look where it's led us.

I'm really trying not to rant,but I'm tired of so-called "fanboys" defending something they know in their heart is a lie,and defending something (be it a game or a game console) that they really only care about because they have a friend or neighbor that has that game,too.

FWIW, I have all 3 current-gen consoles.I have no loyalties to either one.I like them all because all 3 have games that I like.But all 3 are overhyped by their respective fans.Each one is great,but also has flaws,too.

Again,I apologize for the rant,but people need to realize just because gamer A has an Xbox360,gamer B has a 20gb PS3,and gamer C has a Wii doesn't make one better than the other.

Megatenist

Madden Hearts FTW

Megatenist

chemical_eng_mx

Sheogorath

Stitched

New GTA5: You play as Niko Bellic as you get revenge in the "land of opportunity"

New Bioshock 2: Your in Rapture and must take down Fontane! Battle your way through splicers and RPF your way to victory!

The only thing that could possibly, but almost impossible, turn out good is System Shock 3, which won't prolly ever happen. :(

KEITH1437

If as many people that bought GTA4 ALSO BOUGHT a share into Take2 Interactive, and joined into the shareholder's meeting, how screwed would EA be?

Soldier_CLE

mcool93

diodegrey

Slash3

I don't know if you've been living under a rock for the past few months but Microsoft's "merger" was far from being friendly. It was a very hostile and ongoing attempt and has parallels to this:

1.) Both are bigger companies trying to acquire a smaller one

2.) Both were hostile/aggressive in their attempts

3.) The smaller company has had to constantly refuse the bigger company's offer

LittleBigPlaneteer

After the Activision story, the tale of EA may sound kind of familiar - but its vastly amplified and simplified. When Trip Hawkins founded EA, he did it under the then-novel premise of an independent publisher; EA would run no internal studios, would produce no development of its own. Instead it would scout out, publish, and distribute the work of outside developers, operating under the early Activision principle of promoting programmers and designers nearly as much as the games they developed.

Ok, let's skip to the good part

Around 1990, EA decided it wanted a part of Sega's new console, and yet - like Accolade (and Atari Games with the NES, before them both) - they didn't care for Sega's licensing fees, preferring to manufacture their own cartridges. A few legal threats later, EA and Sega worked out a deal, though EA continued to manufacture its own oddly-shaped cartridges - and it is within these cartridges, combined with EA's experience with celebrity sport licenses, that EA hit its true goldmine.

Repackage essentially the same game year after year, adjusting its roster and adding a few mechanics to stay current, and sell it for full price over and over - it was a whole new model for game publishing. Both disposable and mass-market; buy it one year, you have to buy all of the upgrades if you want to stay current.

In 1991, before this circus got on the road, Trip Hawkins left to follow a new muse (one the world would soon know as the 3D0), leaving his company in the very rational hands of Larry Probst. At the time it seemed a reasonable business decision; Hawkins was more a game developer than a businessman, and after a decade his original ideals were making overt growth harder and shareholders impatient - so Probst knew exactly what to do.

Acquisitions Frenzy

No sooner was Hawkins out the door than the acquisitions (and Madden milking) began. The first came in 1991, with Stunts developer Distinctive Software (later to become SSX and NBA Live studio EA Canada). A year later, fate frowned on Origin; Probst picked them up and set 'em under the eye of Distinctive founder Don Mattrick, who applied a strict discipline whether required or not.

Some staff began to draw conspiracies, or at least detect a conflict of interest, due to the shared resources between Origin and Mattrick's own EA Canada: the less for one, the more for the other. The battles here are many and famous, Mattrick enforcing a policy of big blockbuster games over small, reasonably profitable projects, then holding the blockbusters to an impossible schedule.

The strained relationship with Origin presages a decade-long streak of what could easily be called ruthlessness. In 1995 EA bought out Bullfrog, another wunderkind-led brainstorm house; within two years, its chief Peter Molyneux left to start a new studio, complaining of similar interference; by 2001 Bullfrog was closed.

After Bullfrog, the acquisitions went into rapid fire, at least one a year, nearly every year: Lost in L.A. developer Manley & Associates (1996); Maxis (1997); Westwood and Tiburon (1998); pioneering online developer Kesmai (1999); Dreamworks Interactive (2000); former Sega Sports studio Black Box (2002); racing game developer Studio 33 and PC port master NuFX (2003); Criterion (2005); and three more studios this year: JAMDAT Mobile, Mythic, and DICE.

Tallying in spin-off studios, that's an average of 1.2 acquisitions a year since 1991 - half that, within the current hardware generation. Of the total, one-third have since been closed - all, again, within the past five years. All save Origin, Bullfrog, Maxis, and DICE have been renamed after their parent company, either in part or in whole.

The pattern to these acquisitions, if not universal, is infamous: find a company that made a really popular game, acquire the company and its properties; then set the team on churning out sequel after sequel to the game in question. Sometimes, likely not by design, the staff leaves or burns out, or one of the products sells poorly; the studio is closed or subsumed. Of EA's acquisitions, only Maxis is known for retaining its autonomy and culture within the EA corporate structure, the jewel in EA's crown.

EA seemed to have abandoned all of its founding principles and developed an attitude of rapid growth whatever the long-term cost, thereby setting a poor example for the rest of the industry. But it's not all bad news. The firm has set its sight on growth through creativity, and has been forced to come to terms with the costs of its own ambitions.

Thanks in part to Erin Hoffman and a high-profile class action lawsuit, that overtime business in particular (90-hour weeks, no compensation) has come under close scrutiny, bringing Larry Probst's EA into a critical light. When, therefore, EA decided to buy up 20% of one of its closest rivals, freaking out Ubisoft, everyone's eyes were turned to EA, glaring, almost daring them to take the next step - a step which has, as yet, not manifested itself…

-EOL-

who cares

Admit it, you own EA stock right?

Westwood and Bullfrog were damn good developers, EA, much like the Borg, assimilated them, and now they are no more.

Fuck you EA!

who cares

EmeraldDragon

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.

CCCombobreaker

Azriel77

I hear you. I already sold my TTWO stock however at just over $26 after a year of holding at $13. Hopefully it works out, but honestly, I see the take-over/buy out occurring at some point in the future.

DirtyMonkey

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.

Zazu_Yen

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

Techguy1138

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 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.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

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.

Janos2615

holy_cow

Translation:

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

photoboy

Raziel Dune

Fireblast

mindscienceofthemind

metallicorphan

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

Brocklesocks

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.

Zazu_Yen

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.

mva5580

MykalBloom

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.

MykalBloom

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.

KirbyMorph

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

Xcite79

Xcite79

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

Komrade_Kayce

KirbyMorph

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.

Zazu_Yen

@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.

Al Bino

Its win win!

JustJake

You Commie bastard, shut yo face!

EnigmaNemesis

EnigmaNemesis

King Geedorah

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.

超外人

[www.gamecyte.com]

LeJerque

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

Xcite79

Spiderbait

Xcite79

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.

BlackDove

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

超外人

stranger

kavendano14

Galvanise_

KM91

Komrade_Kayce

Fnor

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

exkon

Chopper_Mike

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

retronaut

Americo

The_nub_next_door

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

Zazu_Yen

pandafresh

UmeShoryu

LedRush

Spenze

DugDawg

Eothein

LittleBigPlaneteer