EA2K
February 24th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
You know, I’m not a huge fan of chasing down business stories. It’s hardly my specialty. But I do like to watch a good business fight from the sidelines. Check out this story on EA’s rejected bid to buy Take-Two.
T2 turned EA down, so there’s a new letter from EA head John Riccitiello. It’s one of those carefully-worded statements that sounds so sweet and nice on the surface, but has a much harder undercurrent to it. Much like the whole Yahoo/Microsoft thing, EA is taking it to the shareholders:
“Our strong preference is to conduct a private negotiation. If you are unwilling to proceed on that basis, however, we may pursue other means, including the public disclosure of this letter, to bring our offer and the compelling value it represents to the attention of Take-Two’s shareholders.”
My gut tells me this deal will eventually happen, maybe once GTAIV has come and gone and Take-Two starts to worry about what’s next. I’m also not immediately repulsed by the concept, to be honest.
Also, now that I think about it, I think I prefer GTA4 to GTAIV as an abbreviation. Once you start abbreviating, why not go all the way, right?
February 24th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
IMO EA will buy everything!
February 24th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Please no. I don’t want an annual GTA game. >.>
February 24th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I don’t know… as someone sympathetic towards players of an occasional sports game I think I do find myself quite hostile to the idea.
Outside of the sports genre I don’t really see T2 as much of a direct genre competitor to EA. In that way I’m not opposed to it unlike with Ubisoft who are very much direct genre competitors to me.
February 24th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Of course, they own Maxis. Bioware and Pandemic were bought outright. They own a big chunk of Ubisoft and will probably end up with all of it someday. If they got Take Two, what percentage of the western games market would they control?
Just wait, someday they’ll probably go after Capcom & Konami.
February 24th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
What does Take2 have after GTAIV…or, GTA4?
February 24th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Well Roman Numerals are to illustrate the epic-ness of something. Such as:
FINAL FANTASY XIII
vs.
FINAL FANTASY 13
Doesn’t work. Abbreviations should never go with roman numerals. It’s GTA4 or Grand Theft Auto IV, not Grand Theft Auto 4 or GTAIV.
February 24th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
ya GTA4
February 24th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
The logical abbreviation of Grand Theft Auto IV would be GTAF, I’d think.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
GTAF is a stupid abriviation… you’re stupid!
GTA4 is how i’ve been abbriviating it all along… it’s better…
but i would never dare type Grand Theft Auto 4… except now, to illustrate a point…
and, i would also abbriviate FF13 just like I did there…
February 24th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
If im not mistaken, take-two is planning to make GTA4 a trilogy, much like past GTA games like GTA3, GTA:VC, and GTA:SA. Im a big GTA fan and I love the game dearly, but If this deal does go through like Jeff said, I see a dark future for the GTA franchise, but this is just my opinion. I just hope Take-Two really think this through and make thougtfull decisions before they come to a conclusion. They need to think about thier fanbase, and thier overall integrigy as a game publisher. The GTA franchise is not like any other franchise, it has meaning and is loved by many, including me. Whatever happens in the future, I just hope for the best. Hey Jeff, can you address this issue in your next POINTS please, thanks.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Take 2 also controls BioShock, which I’d rather not see fall into EA’s hands like System Shock did.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I don’t really mind how people abbreviate things as long as they are easily understood as the original words. EA can buy Take-Two as long as they leave them alone to do whatever the hell they have been doing for the last decade. If EA wants to own all the heavy-hitters so be it as long as those heavy-hitters remain to be so and aren’t interfered with.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I agree with MK. As long they don’t interfere with the quality and let Take-Two work like they do; I don’t mind EA buying it.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
So how many years until EA cut out the middle man and just build their own console?
February 24th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
2K games suck. I’m a EA sports guy all the way (only madden really). mlb the show is the only good baseball game, and nobody plays basketball games anymore. hockey games look nice and play great so i can’t say nothing about that. 2K football is TRASH!!!!!!!!
February 24th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
This would be the end of all competition in licensed sports games, NBA2K in particular would hurt. I think that’s a pretty good example of why this would be terrible for gamers.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Since ID4 (Independence Day) is the coolest abbreviation in history, GTA4 is certainly cooler than GTAIV.
Don’t make plans for August.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
ocdog45 is the clear authority on this topic since he obviously has a vast knowledge of 2K Games and all their properties.
This idea does irk my the wrong way. Although I love the fact that 2K turned them down, I really hope it is more of a principle thing and not money. I’d much rather see Activision/Blizzard gobble up 2K than EA.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
oh yeah, this could be thier new logo:
“2, K, SPORTS… it’s in the GAME!”
February 24th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Man if EA gets their hands on GTA it would look a hell of alot better but you’ll lose most of those fake GTA in game ads for real ads at every street corner.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Is this just an attempt to eliminate competition in sports video games.
Because otherwise, this takeover attempt (which is only beginning) does not make sense.
Electronic Arts has said in the past that it wants to be seen as the “Disney” of the video game industry. When I think of games like Grand Theft Auto, The Darkness, Max Payne and Manhunt, I am not reminded of Disney.
And while EA has mature-themed games of its own, clearly there is a line that it will not cross. Big difference in tone between Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto III and EA’s The Godfather.
But what about Miramax, the brand Disney uses, in part, to distribute media that it doesn’t want associated with the Disney brand?
I vaguely remember reading an interview several years ago (long before Take-Two bought Sega’s American sports properties and development studios and EA hate on the Internet reached comical levels) with then Electronic Arts CEO Larry Probst in which he said that he considered buying Take-Two for just that purpose, but decided against it because he felt that EA would be better off without the controvery in any form (or something to that effect).
Beyond that, the baggage that would come with a Take-Two buyout, both financial and cultural, would be difficult to deal with.
But you never know. Everything in business is about money and politics–anyone who talks about “principles” is naive or a liar–and this is certainly both.
February 25th, 2008 at 12:49 am
In a weird way this makes me want to pre-order a copy of GTA IV (4:)) even more.
As much as I was a fan of EA back in the days of MLF, B.O.B., and other great long forgotten EA games.
I’m not really into them owning everything.
I think the NFL monopoly turned me off the most, and the thing is I am not even a big NFL fan.
But, I do however, enjoy a football video game every now and then.
The demise of the NFL2K series kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
I still buy EA published games if I feel they are good, such as Command and Conquer 3, and Burnout Paradise.
It’s just that despite being successful EA don’t seem to command the same kind of respect they used too back in the day. (In my opinion)
February 25th, 2008 at 1:03 am
From the sounds of it, this deal might actually take place sometime in the future, but I really don’t want it to! I can’t stand EA taking over everything! T2 should kill the sports genre and stop battling it out with EA!
February 25th, 2008 at 1:45 am
I’m not entirely thrilled with the notion of T2 being taken over by EA. EA is an incredibly corporate company. Corporate in the harshest sense of the word. While they do put out some good games, the experience comes at the cost of grotesque amounts of product placement and advertising. I’ve always found that to be one of EA’s weakest points. The offer to acquire T2 seems to be a hasty tactic to get back into the #1 third-party publisher spot. Let’s put it this way: Vivendi was bought for $18 billion dollars. If EA wanted T2 so badly, they wouldn’t have put such a pittance on the table. Come on, they must wanna ride the the GTA pony more than that.
February 25th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Swallow your pride.
You will not die, it’s not poison.
February 25th, 2008 at 2:16 am
yea this is interesting, i wrote a little about it on my blog. it seems like a natural occurance to me really, the big company wants the big there - no shock there.
February 25th, 2008 at 2:29 am
Coming soon to a store near you:
GTA5 - 2009
GTA6 - 1010
GTA7 - 1011
GTA8 - 1012
GTA9 - 1013
GTAnniversary - 1014
Each one getting progressively more stale.
February 25th, 2008 at 3:54 am
GTAIV is just harder to read. Especially if there’s no space!
February 25th, 2008 at 4:15 am
It seems that EA are attemtpting to absorb the entire gaming world! So long as their T2 bid is a step in the right direction for the end user, then it gets my vote. I can only hope that it doesn’t dilute the industry and relegate it to mediocrity.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:48 am
Jeff, I lost a lot of respect for you after reading this post. Your analysis was so shallow that I have to wonder whether you were either drunk or in EA’s pay when you wrote it. Head over to Kotaku for a more intelligent consideration of the issue. As the authors point out, an EA-T2 merger would mean the death of the industry’s finest sports games, the perversion of the GTA franchise, and the general undermining of the creative freedom of all of T2’s studios. I only hope that, if the buyout goes through, all of T2’s talented designers, engineers, and artists leave the company, thus making EA’s purchase valueless.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:54 am
i really wouldnt mind this so much as long as they dont mess with the GTA franchise. As long as they let rockstar be and dont fuck around with them and have 100% no say in the GTA franchise then it will be all good. As long as rockstar has control and is allowed to do what they want them im fine with this. So EA NO YEARLY ITERATIONS OF GTA.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:42 am
EA buying T2 doesn’t bother me as long as it doesn’t effect the quality of the GTA series.
February 25th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Monopolies are never good. I don’t know how those guys resisted that cash but let’s all hope they keep doing it.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:23 am
EA would ruin GTA.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:49 am
You’re way off base with this article, Jeff. Maybe you feel Burnout Paradise is indicative of the type of games EA puts out? You’re wrong. EA sucks. Mega-corporations are destroying the industry (I include Nintendo here). Gosh, it’s just like Hollywood now, nobody will take a chance on anything innovative or weird because the budgets are getting out of control. The more centralized the industry gets, the worse this problem will become until there’s no point playing (new) games anymore. Wake Up!!!
February 25th, 2008 at 9:33 am
My worst fears were realized when I read a report from that possibly the main reason behind this buyout is so EA can monopolize on the sports arm of gaming. Apparently if they can succeed, the profits will more than make up for the buyout price. What I am getting to is this is going to really suck because Madden will never get out of it’s rut, unless EA actually takes some pointers from the Visual Concepts guys. But the chances of that happening is like Bush admitting the war was a bad idea. Everyone knows it, but somehow the people that make the difference don’t.
February 25th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Oh please. People reacting negatively to this stuff are assuming that…
A) EA is automatically evil and ruins anything they touch. (They sure have that track record over a handful of bad buyouts in the past, but it sounds like they’ve learned from those mistakes, too.)
B) Take-Two/Rockstar is a well-run company/division that has absolutely no problems that would be cured by a change in management. (It’s my understanding that this is very much not the case.)
The only people with a very valid gripe here are sports fans, who would be getting fewer choices after such a merger.
February 25th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Speaking as a hard-core basketball and hockey gamer I say this deal sucks! The 2k series blows everything EA has ever done in the field right out of the water! What can I do to stop this ugly deal from happening? Anybody got any ideas?
February 25th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I know you aren’t a big sports fan Jeff but the merger would mean the end of 2K Sports. This would not be a good thing.
I believe EA is concerned that NBA Live 2008 did so poorly compared to NBA2K8 and they would like to put the nail in the coffin on this issue.
Can you imagine only one football, basketball, and hockey title? No competition means “we can put out anything”
Since they can’t purchase the NBA license, do next best thing, purchase the company who makes the games.
Lastly, I believe EA is running out of ideas for games. Thus they would love to cash in on the GTA series and glean from Take-Two’s development teams.
Hopefully this won’t happen but money talks…
February 25th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Hey Jeff,
Please check out Kotaku’s piece on Michael Pachter’s analysis, he feels the EA offer was about creating a sports monopoloy and GTAIV is just icing on the cake, I find this a very credible theory:
http://kotaku.com/360452/pachter-ea-wants-take+two-for-sports-gtaiv-is-gravy
February 28th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
yea there’s nothing wrong with marginalizing every market you finally dominate by means of buyouts (cough*NFL*license*cough*). there’s is no telling what money transpired with EA/Sony when the Dreamcast was squashed. btw, Peter Moore - the very person they waged war against then - is leading the war for EA now.
you see the parallels. temporary alliances formed while weakening &/or destroying competition, then pillage their resources.
hmm……..
The Art of War by Sun-Tzu (one of the oldest books on war strategy) seems to be their bible.
align with what company serves there purpose at the time sony (during ps2 = dreamcast failure) then microsoft (during xbox 360 launch = better versions then PS3 for first 2 years). doesn’t always mean they’re out to eliminate competition, but anyone they don’t plan to eliminate means they aren’t competition to them.
my writing is all over the place, but this pattern has been with EA as soon as there’s been potential for competition (sega devs when dreamcast came out).
history serves a purpose & someone with time to make a timeline with EA’s involvement from madden on sega genesis to present would show how they really do business.
kill competition by whatever means & if you can’t kill them, buy them out & phase them out. pretty much what EA is. gotta’ love conglomerates.