NOOOOOO!!! "EA Proposes to Acquire Take-Two Interactive"

[Icy]

ELECTRONIC ARTS PROPOSES TO ACQUIRE
TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE FOR $26 PER SHARE
IN CASH, OR APPROXIMATELY $2.0 BILLION

Proposal Represents 64 Percent Premium to
Take-Two’s February 15th Closing Price and 63 Percent
Premium to Take-Two’s Closing Price Over the Previous 30 Days

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 24, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (“EA”) (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that it has proposed to acquire Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (“Take-Two”) (NASDAQ: TTWO) in an all-cash merger valued at approximately $2.0 billion.

EA’s proposal of $26 per share in cash represents a premium of 64 percent over Take-Two’s closing stock price on Feb. 15th, the last trading day before EA sent its revised proposal to Take-Two, and a 63 percent premium over Take-Two’s 30-day trailing average price over the thirty trading days ending on that date.

EA’s proposal was contained in a letter sent on Feb. 19th by EA Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello to Strauss Zelnick, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Take-Two. The Take-Two Board’s subsequent rejection of the EA proposal led to EA’s decision to release the letter and bring its proposal to the attention of all Take-Two shareholders.

Mr. Riccitiello said today: “Our all-cash proposal is a unique opportunity for Take-Two shareholders to realize immediate value at a substantial premium, while creating long-term value for EA shareholders. Take-Two’s game designers would also benefit from EA’s financial resources, stable, game-focused management team, and strong global publishing capabilities.”

The EA letter warned that further Take-Two delay in accepting EA’s proposal could prevent Take-Two’s shareholders and other constituents from realizing its benefits. “There can be no certainty that in the future EA or any other buyer would pay the same high premium we are offering today,” Mr. Riccitiello wrote. The letter added that timely completion of the proposed transaction would allow EA’s strong publishing and distribution network to positively impact the ongoing post-launch sales of GTA IV and support the new Take-Two titles scheduled for launch later in the year and during the holiday selling season.

As noted in EA’s Feb. 19th letter, EA’s proposal is not conditioned on any financing requirement. It is, however, subject to certain customary conditions as set forth in the letter. EA’s $26 per share proposal is based on the current equity capitalization of Take-Two. Although EA indicated in the letter that its proposal was subject to negotiations commencing by Feb. 22nd, EA intends to keep its proposal open for the present to give Take-Two’s shareholders and Board of Directors further time to consider it.

The full text of EA’s letter to Take-Two follows:

February 19, 2008

Mr. Strauss Zelnick
Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
622 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Dear Strauss:

Thank you for your letter of February 15, 2008. While I appreciate its courteous tone and value our ongoing dialogue, I am disappointed that you have rejected Electronic Arts Inc.’s (“EA’s”) $25 per share cash offer to acquire Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (“Take-Two”) and declined to engage in the friendly negotiations we proposed. We continue to believe that an acquisition of Take-Two by EA is in the best interests of your shareholders, employees and other constituents, and we remain interested in acquiring Take-Two. So, to further demonstrate our seriousness and encourage you to move forward now, I am writing to increase EA’s offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Take-Two to $26 per share in cash. This offer is subject to Take-Two agreeing by February 22, 2008 to commence negotiation of a definitive merger agreement and to permit EA to commence a limited due diligence review of Take-Two.

Our revised all-cash offer represents a 64% premium over Take-Two’s most recent closing price and a 63% premium over Take-Two’s 30-day trailing average price (based on prices as of market close on Friday, February 15th). We believe our offer represents a unique and compelling opportunity for Take-Two shareholders to maximize the value of their investment in the company, with materially lower risk than if Take-Two proceeds on a stand-alone basis.

We also believe that the transaction we are proposing represents a uniquely attractive opportunity for Take-Two’s creative teams and key employees. EA is a diversified leader with well-established franchises and proven intellectual properties, global reach, and significant financial resources. I know we both agree that Take-Two’s talented creative teams deserve a permanent home within a stable and growing publisher that provides these teams an environment to do what they do best – create great games. EA is organized in a four-label model that provides our creative teams the autonomy they need to fully realize their creative ambitions, while also providing a stable and supportive corporate and publishing infrastructure which allows them to best address the global marketplace. We have the resources to make the significant investments in technology and infrastructure needed for the most creative and innovative games in the industry. In short, a combination with EA would provide Take-Two’s studios and employees a combination of the right resources for investment and global reach, and the right environment to do their best work.

We believe that Take-Two’s shareholders would not be well-served by any further delay in negotiating and completing the proposed merger. While the videogame industry remains an attractive, high-growth business, the challenges and risks in the business are escalating, and the need for scale is becoming more pronounced. Despite steps taken since March 2007, Take-Two remains dependent on a limited number of titles, and has limited capital resources. In addition, Take-Two faces ongoing financial, legal and operating issues and a very intense competitive environment. Given these factors, we believe it will be increasingly difficult for Take-Two to create sustainable shareholder value and that Take-Two remains exposed to considerable risk of value loss.

We also believe that any delay in this proposed transaction works against the interest of Take-Two’s shareholders, because:

• There can be no certainty that in the future EA or any other buyer would pay the same high premium we are offering today. We place significant value on the ability to close the transaction relatively quickly so that EA’s strong publishing and distribution network, including our global packaged goods, online and wireless publishing organizations, can positively impact the catalogue sales of GTA IV and also the launch and sale of titles released later this year. We want to work with you and your team to complete the transaction in time to begin realizing its significant marketplace benefits in advance of this year’s holiday selling season.

• We believe Take-Two’s current share price already reflects investor expectations for a strong release of GTA IV as well as the longer-term issues that Take-Two faces. Once GTA IV ships, Take-Two will again be dependent on less-popular titles and face increasing challenges to compete with larger and better-capitalized competitors.

• With GTA IV shipping on April 29, development on this important title must now be essentially complete. We believe now is the right time to complete a transaction with minimal disruption for Take-Two.

We also believe the transaction we are proposing will create value for EA’s shareholders. In addition to the top-line benefits noted above, we can achieve bottom-line benefits by combining Take-Two’s and EA’s corporate and publishing infrastructures and by optimally supporting Take-Two’s creative teams and intellectual properties in EA’s decentralized label structure.

Considerable thought, time and resources have been put forth in developing this offer, and our Board of Directors unanimously supports it. Our offer is not conditioned on any financing requirement. It is subject to the satisfactory completion of a due diligence review of Take-Two, the negotiation and execution of mutually acceptable definitive transaction agreements, and the satisfaction of customary conditions to be set forth in such agreements. We are prepared to move forward immediately with formal due diligence and the negotiation and execution of a definitive merger agreement and believe that with adequate access to the necessary information and people, we can complete both in approximately two weeks. We believe that our due diligence review can be completed with minimal disruption, requiring only limited access to a small number of senior executives of Take-Two and its legal, accounting and financial advisors. We also have prepared a draft merger agreement that we can forward to you immediately.

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.

I am available to meet and discuss any and all aspects of this proposal with you and your Board. Again, we believe this proposal represents a unique opportunity to maximize value for Take-Two’s shareholders, and that the combined enterprise would be extraordinarily well positioned to build value for our respective customers, employees, developers and other business partners. We hope that you and your Board share our enthusiasm, and we look forward to hearing back from you by February 22.

Sincerely,
John Riccitiello
Chief Executive Officer
* * *

Conference Call

Electronic Arts will host a conference call on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 5:00 am PT (8:00 am ET) to discuss its proposal to acquire Take-Two Interactive and may disclose other material developments affecting its business and/or financial performance. Listeners may access the conference call live through the following dial-in number: (877) 795-3647, access code 220497, or via webcast at http://www.eatake2.com.

A dial-in replay of the conference call will be provided shortly after the call ends and remain available until March 3, 2008 at (719) 457-0820, access code 220497. A webcast archive of the conference call will be available shortly after the call ends at http://www.eatake2.com.

[Icy]

The end of sport gamming?

With take-two owning the MLB license... no more "the show"? (i doubt EA will allow Sony to develop baseball games as take-two did)

The end of NBA2k? (why to develop it and NBA live?)

The end of NHL2k? (why to develop it and NHL?)

[Izulde]

News like this makes me less and less interested in console gaming.

[Eaglesfan27]

The MLB License currently only is exclusive to 3rd party games which is why Sony can do the Show. Of course, EA could come up with the money to expand it if they decided they wanted to increase the profit margin of MLB 2k.

Unfortunately, if this goes through, I think it is the end of NBA 2k as you said because LIVE is their main brand

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

The MLB License currently only is exclusive to 3rd party games which is why Sony can do the Show. Of course, EA could come up with the money to expand it if they decided they wanted to increase the profit margin of MLB 2k.

Unfortunately, if this goes through, I think it is the end of NBA 2k as you said because LIVE is their main brand

Perfect chance for EA to lock the MLB license as exclusive, Sony can't enter a bid war as Sony only develops for their own console, while EA does for all them, getting way more potential customers.

[RedKingGold]

Smart business move by EA.

Bad for anyone who's still a fan of console gaming.

[MizzouRah]

I can see a "EA Console" in the works.

F'n EA!!!!!!!!

[Galaxy]

Microsoft and Sony must be getting pissed at EA. They should reject any games they put out.

[Calis]

Man, we're going to be down to just Activision, or Activision Blizzard whatever it's called now and EA, with nobody else even in the running.

Too bad though, but Take Two has just had problem after problem lately so probably a good deal for them, and a good deal for EA.

We can only hope that they incorporate a large amount of people from the teams working on the 2k basketball games into their own series...I won't be holding my breath though. We were losing College Hoops regardless, so maybe this is a good thing in the long run for that...for the NBA game it's a little harder to spin in a positive light.

[DaddyTorgo]

ugh.

GTA under the EA umbrella *vomit* I can see that now. It would make a horrible sanitized game

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Calis

Man, we're going to be down to just Activision, or Activision Blizzard whatever it's called now and EA, with nobody else even in the running.

Too bad though, but Take Two has just had problem after problem lately so probably a good deal for them, and a good deal for EA.

We can only hope that they incorporate a large amount of people from the teams working on the 2k basketball games into their own series...I won't be holding my breath though. We were losing College Hoops regardless, so maybe this is a good thing in the long run for that...for the NBA game it's a little harder to spin in a positive light.

I don't know about that. Best case scenario would be EA taking onboard 2K's sports development teams and combining it with EA's cash and making some pretty awesome sports titles.

Worst case, and the more likely case IMO, is that the 2K guys get absorbed in to the EA machine and we don't notice a single difference. Well, outside of the fact that we won't get an NBA 2Kx either.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

ugh.

GTA under the EA umbrella *vomit* I can see that now. It would make a horrible sanitized game

with college hoops already dead this is what upsets/worries me the most about all of this. ugh

[Eaglesfan27]

I just read this article on OS in which Take Two has apparently already rejected EA's offer:


NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO - News) today confirmed that it has received an unsolicited proposal from Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS - News) to acquire Take-Two for $26.00 per share in cash. Take-Two’s Board of Directors has thoroughly reviewed EA’s unsolicited proposal with the assistance of its independent financial and legal advisors and concluded that the proposal is inadequate in multiple respects and not in the best interests of Take-Two’s stockholders.

After careful evaluation, the Board has determined that EA's proposal substantially undervalues Take-Two’s robust and enviable stable of game franchises, exceptional creative talent and strong consumer loyalty. We believe EA's unsolicited offer is highly opportunistic and is attempting to take advantage of our upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV, one of the most valuable and durable franchises in the industry. Furthermore, the offer values the Company at a significant discount to its public peers and does not compensate Take-Two for its intrinsic value and the substantial synergies that the proposed combination would create.

Strauss Zelnick, Executive Chairman of the Board of Take-Two commented, “Electronic Arts’ proposal provides insufficient value to our shareholders and comes at absolutely the wrong time given the crucial initiatives underway at the Company. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our creative and business teams, Take-Two has made enormous strides in the past 10 months toward our common goal of being the most creative, innovative and efficient company in our industry. We're extremely proud of our unique portfolio of game franchises, exceptional creative talent and loyal consumer following. Our Board believes that we will build greater value for our stakeholders by remaining relentlessly focused on our strategy and delivering on our mission of making the highest quality interactive entertainment."

Mr. Zelnick continued, “In addition to undervaluing key elements of our business, EA’s proposal fails to recognize the value we are building through our ongoing turnaround efforts, which will further revitalize Take-Two. While we have made substantial progress already, the turnaround of our business which we initiated in June is not yet complete, and we believe its benefits have not been recognized in either our current stock price or in the value of EA’s proposal."

Mr. Zelnick added, “While the Board believes that entering into discussions with EA at this time is not in the best interests of shareholders, we had offered to enter into a good-faith dialogue with EA to determine if our companies can reach common ground on the appropriate value of Take-Two as a first step to realizing a mutually beneficially transaction. However, given the great importance of the Grand Theft Auto IV launch to the value of Take-Two, the Board has determined that the only prudent and responsible course for our Company and its stockholders is to defer these discussions until immediately after Grand Theft Auto IV is released. Therefore, we offered to initiate discussions with EA on April 30th, 2008 (the day after Grand Theft Auto IV is scheduled to release). We believe this offer demonstrated our commitment to pursuing all avenues to maximize stockholder value, while we believe that EA’s refusal to entertain this path is evidence of their desire to acquire Take-Two at a significant discount, whereas we believe this value rightly belongs to our stockholders.”

Take-Two has a proven track record of creating and acquiring ownership of valuable new intellectual property. Grand Theft Auto is one of the industry’s top franchises, having sold more than 65 million units to date. Over the past year, Take-Two has continued to expand its owned intellectual property portfolio, with two new franchises established – BioShock, one of the highest rated games of all time and winner of numerous “Game of the Year” awards, which has sold over 2 million units to date – and Carnival Games, a casual game for the Wii™, which has sold over 1 million units to date. Take-Two’s other proven million-unit selling video game franchises include Midnight Club, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Bully, Red Dead Revolver, Max Payne, Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis, Manhunt, Red Dead Revolver, Mafia, The Darkness, Spec Ops, Sid Meier's Railroads! and Sid Meier's Pirates! Take-Two also has powerful and growing sports franchises, with licenses for leading brands, including Major League Baseball® 2K, NBA® 2K and NHL® 2K, and proprietary sports brands, such as Top Spin, All Pro Football and Don King Presents: Prizefighter. Additionally, Take-Two has a partnership with Nickelodeon to publish video games based on top rated Nick Jr. titles such as Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go!

Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two, commented, “The revitalization of Take-Two is well underway. In the last year, we have accomplished a great deal in terms of restructuring our cost base to improve margins, addressing the legacy issues that have weighed on our business, and enhancing our creative output through organic and external initiatives. We believe stockholders will reap the benefits of these actions both in the near and long term and that our efforts will create greater value for stockholders than what is being offered by EA at this time.”

As part of its turnaround plan, Take-Two has implemented a more streamlined and efficient operating structure, put in place a $25 million cost cutting initiative, instituted a disciplined Product Investment Review Process, restructured international operations to create a more efficient and responsive international organization, consolidated the majority of 2K Games and 2K Sports operations on the West Coast to increase efficiency and better support the growth of these labels, and sold its non-core Joytech business.

To continue to position itself for the future, the Company has begun to more aggressively leverage potential growth opportunities, with the acquisition of Illusion Softworks development studio and the formation of the 2K Play label to focus on the family and casual games market.

In addition, current management has secured a $140 million line of credit, announced a preliminary settlement of the “Hot Coffee” class action and made significant progress in resolving the New York District Attorney and SEC actions that have been pending against Take-Two since June 2006 and July 2006, respectively.

Mr. Feder concluded, "We remain committed to executing our existing business strategy and turnaround plans and to building value for all of our stockholders. We intend to vigorously resist any attempt by EA to acquire Take-Two at a price that does not adequately value our Company and its growth opportunities."

Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers are acting as financial advisors to Take-Two and Proskauer Rose LLP is acting as a legal advisor.

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval.

For more information, please visit http://www.transactioninfo.com/taketwo/.

[Calis]

I wonder if they're trying to setup a sale for after GTA4 comes out. That'd be a great time to push for a good price.

[bhlloy]

Good news for now, but EA has shown they do not mind paying over the odds to eliminate competition. I think if they really want 2k, they will pay whatever it takes to get them.

[Raiders Army]

What next, Solecismic is going to put out a card game under EA's banner?

[Mota]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I can see a "EA Console" in the works.

F'n EA!!!!!!!!

That's exactly what I was thinking. Once they have Take Two in their wings and complete the purchase of Ubisoft at a later date, all of a sudden the new "EA Console" becomes very attractive and they could very likely shut the 1st Party console makers out of the business.

I view this much like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. One day one of your friends (Bioware) disapears and you don't really notice. Then a couple more friends come by with this emotionless vacant stare in their eyes. Then next thing you know it's just you left playing your PS3 or 360 and everybody else has been brainwashed into the only console where you can play Mass Effect 4 & GTA8 (yes because there will be a new version every 6-12 months), and NBA Live 010 (because the 2K series was cancelled). All of which will suck, because EA is a homogenized corporate entity, not a game maker. And you're sitting there wondering "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?".

They've proven to us that if you treat your workers like a factory line, they will produce product that is void of any inspiration. The prospect of them taking an even bigger portion of the market is quite frightening and very unhealthy.

[Schmidty]

Yet another reason proving how much consoles suck balls.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

Yet another reason proving how much consoles suck balls.

I wouldn't mind PC games coming back, but I don't regret any of my console purchases.. present or past.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mota

That's exactly what I was thinking. Once they have Take Two in their wings and complete the purchase of Ubisoft at a later date, all of a sudden the new "EA Console" becomes very attractive and they could very likely shut the 1st Party console makers out of the business.

I view this much like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. One day one of your friends (Bioware) disapears and you don't really notice. Then a couple more friends come by with this emotionless vacant stare in their eyes. Then next thing you know it's just you left playing your PS3 or 360 and everybody else has been brainwashed into the only console where you can play Mass Effect 4 & GTA8 (yes because there will be a new version every 6-12 months), and NBA Live 010 (because the 2K series was cancelled). All of which will suck, because EA is a homogenized corporate entity, not a game maker. And you're sitting there wondering "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?".

They've proven to us that if you treat your workers like a factory line, they will produce product that is void of any inspiration. The prospect of them taking an even bigger portion of the market is quite frightening and very unhealthy.

World Console Domination!

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I wouldn't mind PC games coming back, but I don't regret any of my console purchases.. present or past.

I don't begrudge anyone their consoles, it's just that consoles are killing PC gaming, and to me, PC gaming is much better because it isn't so limited.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I don't begrudge anyone their consoles, it's just that consoles are killing PC gaming, and to me, PC gaming is much better because it isn't so limited.

I think piracy is a bigger reason than the growth of the console market. And also PC gaming isn't dying.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I don't begrudge anyone their consoles, it's just that consoles are killing PC gaming, and to me, PC gaming is much better because it isn't so limited.

Yeah, and it's really great how you can have five different PC owners and five different quality-of-play experiences with the same game, isn't it?

[Groundhog]

Yeah, much worse than 3 console owners, with each owner having several titles that none of the other two can play.

[Buccaneer]

Yeah, it's great how you can avoid pirating games but are locked into a limited gameplay with minimal controls.

[sooner333]

I used to love PC gaming. Then I realized that I needed to buy a new graphics chip all of the time...then a new computer, and then I realized that I was a teenager and didn't have money to do all of that and I gave up and got an Xbox. Now I'm a 360 owner and won't go back.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I just read this article on OS in which Take Two has apparently already rejected EA's offer:

The sale is still expected to happen, one way or another.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6186640...stnews;title;3

Earlier today, Electronic Arts went public with the news that it had offered to acquire Take-Two Interactive for nearly $2 billion--and that Take-Two management had turned the offer down. EA's offer broke down to $26 per share for Take-Two, a 64 percent premium over the stock's price of $15.83 at the time the offer was made.

Speaking with GameSpot today, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter questioned Take-Two's judgment in turning down the deal.

"The share price on Friday tells you that investors think the share price is $17. So an offer of $26 by definition is more than adequate," Pachter said. "And if the only argument management makes is that they have a turnaround plan and to give them time...It could take two or three years for them to get [the stock price] to that same $26. Who in their right mind thinks $26 three years from now is better than $26 today? This is a bird in the hand."

Despite the rebuff, Pachter predicted the acquisition will happen one way or the other. If the board of directors won't sell the company, he said EA can perform a hostile takeover, buying up enough shares on the open market to gain control of the company and show the current management team the door.

"By going public, EA is telling you, 'This deal is happening.' The only way you can credibly reject the deal is if there's a better one behind it," Pachter said. "I don't see how anyone can afford to pay this much or more for the stock."

More so than Take-Two's hit properties like Grand Theft Auto IV and BioShock, Pachter believe sports are the driving motivation behind the deal, and a main reason he doesn't expect other acquiring suitors to come calling. The economic advantages of eliminating 2K Sports--EA Sports' primary competitor in the market--are so great that they could pay for the $2 billion deal on their own, Pachter said.

"There's only one company that can make sense out of an acquisition of Take-Two, and that's EA," Pachter said. "For anyone else to buy Take-Two, they'd have to decide either to bloody themselves competing in sports against EA, or shut down the sports business and give up. Either way, there aren't many people who are going to pay a premium for the right to engage with EA or shut down that business."

One question mark about an acquisition of Take-Two is how much of the company can actually be transferred to EA. Pachter said key development personal like Firaxis' Sid Meier, 2K Boston's Ken Levine, and Rockstar's Sam and Dan Houser likely have change-of-control clauses in their contracts that would allow them to jump ship if ownership of the business changes hands.

"If any of the people under employment contracts with Take-Two have lawyers who are worth anything, there are change-of-control provisions," Pachter said. "They all should have that, but I don't think this deal is about retention of employees. With the [possible] exception of the Rockstar North guys, I think all of the [contracted] employees at Take-Two would actually welcome working for EA. I think Sid Meier would love to see Civilization have broader distribution and more focused marketing, and EA is really good at both."

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Yeah, much worse than 3 console owners, with each owner having several titles that none of the other two can play.

And that's different from PC gaming how? Gosh, you have a Windows 98 user, a Windows XP user, and a Windows Vista user. Each of them have games that won't run on the other's OS! Difference is? The Win98 and WinXP users could upgrade to the OS above what they've got, and *still* have difficulty running the games.

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Yeah, it's great how you can avoid pirating games but are locked into a limited gameplay with minimal controls.

See, I know you're being snarky there, but depending on the segment of the market you're talking about, those actually *are* selling points. Do you want to fool with PC licenses, CD keys or "Find the 7th word on page 29" style copy-protection, or would you prefer to just drop the disc in the tray?

Do you want to spend 30 minutes installing a game, or would you prefer to be playing it within minutes of opening the package?

Now, like I say, different markets...but the publishers are going to follow the money, and the money pretty overwhelmingly disagrees with a fractured architecture and encumbersome copy protection, if the ubiquitous "Console Numbers" threads are any indication.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Yeah, and it's really great how you can have five different PC owners and five different quality-of-play experiences with the same game, isn't it?

If you're speaking of cost issues and people being "left behind" technology-wise, the point rings hollow, especially with the price of modern consoles.

In order to play modern PC games at the level of consoles, you would have to spend (approx) $200 on a video card and $300 on a motherboard and processor. And that's assuming your comuter is 2-3 years behind. That's about the same as the cost of a current console (with accesories), but PC's are MUCH more customizable, tweakable, and useful for more than just games.

The cost is similar if you build your own PC (which is like putting together Legos). AND you get MUCH more of your moneys worth.

In essence - There is no excuse, other than laziness and stupidity, to assume that consoles are better than PCs. Of course the Wii is different, but that's it.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

If you're speaking of cost issues and people being "left behind" technology-wise, the point rings hollow, especially with the price of modern consoles.

In order to play modern PC games at the level of consoles, you would have to spend (approx) $200 on a video card and $300 on a motherboard and processor. And that's assuming your comuter is 2-3 years behind. That's about the same as the cost of a current console (with accesories), but PC's are MUCH more customizable, tweakable, and useful for more than just games.

I wonder how much it would cost to play Crysis on a PC 2-3 years behind the times? Hm.

Say, look, the Xbox 360 just turned 2. I wonder how much it would cost to upgrade it to play BioSho--oh, what's that? You don't have to?

That's the fundamental difference I'm pointing to. Any Xbox 360 game that comes out, any Xbox 360 owner can play.

On the other hand, any given PC game doesn't necessarily share the same accessibility for the entire market. Some people are obsessive enough about their rigs that minimal upgrading is necessary, while others will upgrade only for very specific titles.

The point being, anybody who's getting "left behind" is probably not the kind of person who's going to be on the bleeding edge in the PC market to begin with. It might cost them essentially the same to upgrade their computer as to buy a console, but it might also cost them much more - particularly if they go the "good enough" route on upgrades and find themselves upgrading again in 18-24 months.

Originally Posted by Schmidty

The cost is similar if you build your own PC (which is like putting together Legos). AND you get MUCH more of your moneys worth.

In essence - There is no excuse, other than laziness and stupidity, to assume that consoles are better than PCs. Of course the Wii is different, but that's it.

Shrug. I dunno. I don't have to worry about my Xbox 360 controller being compatible with Mass Effect but not Overlord.

I have reasonable means of trying new games before I splash the cash on them - rental or borrowing - that wouldn't necessarily be available to me on the PC.

I don't have to worry about driver issues with video cards preventing my games from displaying.

Is that stupid, Schmidty, or is it practical? Is seeking the most consistent gaming experience laziness, Schmidty, or judicious use of limited entertainment resources?

I know where I stand.

[darkenigma510]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

The MLB License currently only is exclusive to 3rd party games which is why Sony can do the Show. Of course, EA could come up with the money to expand it if they decided they wanted to increase the profit margin of MLB 2k.

Unfortunately, if this goes through, I think it is the end of NBA 2k as you said because LIVE is their main brand

Couldn't Sony just say, sorry EA, no EA baseball game for the PS3?

[Cringer]

This sucks.

[kingnebwsu]

EA will own all and will have even more control over everything that all the console manufacturers do.

Madden 2009 coming out in August for $70 on all systems?
All of the EA sports games having zero competition and continuing their downward spiral into mediocrity?
EA-Activision-Blizzard-Ford merger in 2013?

Seriously, this sucks.

[RainMaker]

Just crappy news for the gaming community.

[Northwood_DK]

Not sure if this have already been posted.

Take Two also sent GamePolitics the text of a series of letters between Zelnick and EA CEO John Riccitiello

http://gamepolitics.com/2008/02/24/b...es-back-at-ea/

[RedKingGold]

One quick note:

I'm not sure if MLB's license would transfer over from Take Two. I'm sure there would be something in the licensing agreement which would void the deal upon ownership transfer (or at least trigger renegotiations).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

One quick note:

I'm not sure if MLB's license would transfer over from Take Two. I'm sure there would be something in the licensing agreement which would void the deal upon ownership transfer (or at least trigger renegotiations).

That's correct. There's a pretty likely scenario where the entire 2K group would be able to jump ship as well as mentioned in the previously posted article. I'm sure that Sid Meier would also jump ship as he wants nothing to do with EA.

[Marc Vaughan]

An interesting aside to the debate for people who like corporate scandals ..

http://seekingalpha.com/article/6591...-love-triangle

from the article:

This is where it gets good, and I’m somewhat paraphrasing from the filings:

The shares won’t vest immediately if, prior to the company’s annual meeting, which is expected to be before April 1, the Company received a bona fide indication of interest in, or offer to enter into, a business combination (which it did); the offer specifies, with some degree of particularity, the material terms (which it may have) and (my favorite) the offer’s existence hasn’t been publicly disclosed or confirmed by either company before Take-Two’s annual meeting. (Oops, definitely happened.)

That’s right: Take-Two received a rich and serious offer from a substantial company. It didn’t disclose the offer, and hoped to keep it secret until at least after the annual meeting, when investors might have challenged the compensation package and attempts by the company to block the deal. Then, in a public filing, Take-Two in effect threatened EA not to make the offer public by giving ZelnickMedia a chance to enrich itself, at the expense of shareholders, by granting restricted stock that will vest immediately if EA made the deal public.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

An interesting aside to the debate for people who like corporate scandals ..

http://seekingalpha.com/article/6591...-love-triangle

from the article:

Heh, I sense some litigation a-foot.

Quick legal lesson: Once another company makes a "hostile" takeover bid (i.e., public offer from a company to purchase shareholder stock at a price well above market value), that company attempted to be taken over has a duty to do what's best for its stockholders (these are known as "Revlon" duties) by finding the best deal (aka, putting up the company for auction).

If this is proven to be true, then Take Two is in for a world of hurt for not doing what's best for its stockholders.

[Marc Vaughan]

If this is proven to be true, then Take Two is in for a world of hurt for not doing what's best for its stockholders.

Thats what I thought would be the case - also from a 'takeover' perspective it adds pressure for them to accept any future offer by EA ...

(as getting an improved offer might get them off the hook by 'proving' the shareholders benefitted from their earlier decision?)

[Kodos]

Ping: PC game lovers

PC gaming suxxxx!

[wade moore]

I'm one of those that sees the purpose behind both. There are games (Sports for instance) that I don't really like playing on the PC and games (FPS's for instance) that I don't like playing on the console.

Sadly, the PC market appears to be dying a slow, painful death.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Ping: PC game lovers

PC gaming suxxxx!

Ping - some genre's are more suited to PC gaming than others.

For example heavy strategy games such as FM work best on the PC because of the complexity of the control system and the myriad of options available.

Similarly MMO's haven't successfully transferred from PC to console as yet ...

I agree certain genre's are now almost defunct upon the PC platform, but as a platform itself (in the UK at least) its effectively STILL the second biggest platform around - despite constant reports of its demise.

[Buccaneer]

Do you want to fool with PC licenses, CD keys or "Find the 7th word on page 29" style copy-protection, or would you prefer to just drop the disc in the tray?

In order to discourage piracy, that is a very willing trade-off.

Do you want to spend 30 minutes installing a game, or would you prefer to be playing it within minutes of opening the package?

I have a longer attention span and also have lots of patience. Getting a PC game installed will be worth it, esp. when a single game of Civ4 can last 20-40 hours for me. Or a single FBCB or OOTP career can last for months.

For example heavy strategy games such as FM work best on the PC because of the complexity of the control system and the myriad of options available.

I would also add that a mouse-keyboard control for FPS action games is far superior in terms of controls, precision and flexibility.

[Icy]

For myself, that own a PC, a PS2, a PS3 and a PSP, i can't see any advantage of console gaming over PC, as because my job (and i'll admit it, because i'm a geek), i have always a top end PC and renew it every 6 months or so.

By now, i haven't sen any "next gen" game with better graphics than a PC one using the max visual settings, in fact i'm really disappointed with 99% of the so called "next gen graphics" in new console games. Also i really miss a mouse in the consoles to navigate menus, and a keyboard to type text.

Of course we better don't talk about mods/customization where PC games shine and it's non existent at all in consoles.

What is the real advantage of a console over a PC? not the graphics (in a top PC) and not the controller (you can use console controllers in PC's), the main advantage is the "turn on, insert disc and play" without having to upgrade your pc every year, without stupid crashes to desktop, hardware incompatibilities, etc. Advanced PC users don't care about it, but the average gamer cares a lot and that is why consoles are taking over PC gaming.

Give me a customizable game in a top end PC over any "next gen console", and it applies for FPS, RPG, sport games, strategic games etc. Sadly i'm not the average gamer.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I would also add that a mouse-keyboard control for FPS action games is far superior in terms of controls, precision and flexibility.

Totally agree, i can't stand playing FPS without a keyboard and mouse, i suck at right gamepad joystick aiming.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Ping - some genre's are more suited to PC gaming than others.

For example heavy strategy games such as FM work best on the PC because of the complexity of the control system and the myriad of options available.

Similarly MMO's haven't successfully transferred from PC to console as yet ...

I agree certain genre's are now almost defunct upon the PC platform, but as a platform itself (in the UK at least) its effectively STILL the second biggest platform around - despite constant reports of its demise.

I was just providing a counterpoint to Bucc and Schmidty.

[Kodos]

As a console gamer, I can't imagine playing an action game with a mouse and keyboard. It sounds awful.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

That's correct. There's a pretty likely scenario where the entire 2K group would be able to jump ship as well as mentioned in the previously posted article. I'm sure that Sid Meier would also jump ship as he wants nothing to do with EA.

Some analysts are predicting that Sid would love to work with EA's marketing as he has always wanted more exposure for the Civ series. Hard to say what he would do.

[lordscarlet]

I have it solved. I just don't play PC or Console games. I'm fine with the occasional web-based game (which is only a step above a text game in most cases)