Take Two Selling???

[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

If developer's are shopped, as I've said before UBISOFT would probably bid on Visual Concepts/Kush Games(2K Sports), the $69,000 question is if EA also bid, would UBI be willing to get into a bidding war with EA.

UBI has been on record saying they would like to jump into the Sports Gaming market if the price is right.

BTW, as much as I don't like the sports titles EA Publishes, for me it's not about the emblem EA. For me it's about the developer's EA uses for their sports titles. If EA did purchase 2K Sports, I'm not sure how this would be bad. They would be getting Visual Concepts/Kush Games (developer's) who are probably the BEST Sport Game developer's on the market, which in turn would make EA Sports a better product IMO.

Just my .2

[grunt]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

Here is my question. Why would EA buy less than 50% stake for just under a billion dollars.

[quietcool72]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

Also- if by some miracle EA sees "non-destructive" value in 2K, there's a degree of chance that it could be a good pairing.

Here's my current problems with EA...
1.) Tiburon. They are STAGNANT football developers, but EA stands by them. But then again, what's been their options? Drop Tiburon's folks and go with what developer of gridiron sims? There aren't any options. Sure, we wish EA would pressure their Tiburon studio to get off of their arses- but what's the alternative? Ditch Tiburon for....someone who's never done football? About the only people out there (other than 2K) with the current experience would be remnants of the NFL Fever team from MS. Do we really want them?

2.) NBA Live/MM: The complete "do over" of next gen basketball from flawed hoops on XBOX/PS2. Its been costly in time and "undercooked" basketball for next gen...and its been going on two years and counting. Basketball for EA is like Baseball for 2K. Its just taken way too long to get it right and full-featured.

So, for me personally- my annoyance with EA has to do with stagnant Tiburon football issues and ongoing poor basketball game issues.

As a company, I don't "hate" them like many do. I'm a big fan of their "LOTR-Battle For Middle Earth" series, Command & Conquer series, and Battlefield series. I also really enjoyed NHL 07.

I guess if by some bad luck EA does get 2K, the best we can hope for is EA handling the studio like they did when they acquired Westwood Studios (The Command & Conquer folks.) They were left fairly intact and given creative license to do some great games- such as C&C Generals series, and LOTR:BFME (which uses the "Generals" engine.)

EA also bought Mythic Entertainment (who's making Warhammer Online..which will be a more PVP focused WoW styled fantasy game)- and they didn't "dissolve" the devs, or stop production. If anything, EA probably saved Warhammer Online from being what would have been an underfunded flop under Mythic's last investors. So there's some measure of non-destructive precedent to leave some room for hope- however small- if EA gets 2K Sports.)

Of course, there's always that "worst case" scenario in dealing with EA, but the "takeover/dismantling" pattern is more Microsoft's style than EA's. EA's recent studio purchases haven't been as grim as one might expect.

However, they were all non-sports studios. So who knows.

[DaveDQ]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

If developer's are shopped, as I've said before UBISOFT would probably bid on Visual Concepts/Kush Games(2K Sports), the $69,000 question is if EA also bid, would UBI be willing to get into a bidding war with EA.

UBI has been on record saying they would like to jump into the Sports Gaming market if the price is right.

BTW, as much as I don't like the sports titles EA Publishes, for me it's not about the emblem EA. For me it's about the developer's EA uses for their sports titles. If EA did purchase 2K Sports, I'm not sure how this would be bad. They would be getting Visual Concepts/Kush Games (developer's) who are probably the BEST Sport Game developer's on the market, which in turn would make EA Sports a better product IMO.

Just my .2

If EA bought 2K Sports and used that purchase to help better their product, sure I'm ok with that. However, EA seems to makes sure they have everything first and not worry about incorporating better development.

That's just their history. Look at what they did with ESPN.

[bigfnjoe96]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

If EA bought 2K Sports and used that purchase to help better their product, sure I'm ok with that. However, EA seems to makes sure they have everything first and not worry about incorporating better development.

That's just their history. Look at what they did with ESPN.

IMO that's a totally different story. ESPN is not a Video Game publisher. I highly doubt that if EA brought 2K Sports, they would be treated like step-children & if EA did buy them & treat them like step-children, then EA is dumber than I thought.

[Methlab]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

Cmon guys, it's EA Sports. When have they cared about anything more then the bottom line since 2000? Not once. It won't change and you know it.

[quietcool72]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

IMO that's a totally different story. ESPN is not a Video Game publisher. I highly doubt that if EA brought 2K Sports, they would be treated like step-children & if EA did buy them & treat them like step-children, then EA is dumber than I thought.

I don't want to excuse EA's lack of use of the ESPN license (as anything other than a ticker), but I've heard from an EA source -who I don't have the right to name- that there's pressure from ESPN to use the ESPN license quite differently than 2K used it. They would not elaborate beyond that.

This was followed by the curiously lame use of the ESPN license in NBA Live 07, where you can download the PTI program to view in a window through the interface.

Most of us gamers want ESPN's license to add authenticity and a TV like experience to our games. (Like ESPN NFL 2K5 did) But I think ESPN may desire to have its license holder push it shows (like PTI) moreso than what we want the ESPN license to be. I theorize that ESPN might want targeted, show specific advertising for ESPN programs... like what NBA Live had.

But if that's the case- that doesn't really jive with what we want/expect. I think we want ESPN authenticity to our franchises, half-times, etc...covering our virtual games.

(If I wanted to watch real episodes of PTI, I'd turn off my game system and turn on ESPN)

[spankdatazz22]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

However, they were all non-sports studios. So who knows.

I think that was likely the key. If EA did aquire VC, imo it would seem more like a takeover than a mutual merger. So where you try to take the best of both entities and put them together for something that's that much stronger, I doubt that would occur. From the outside looking in, it would seem their corporate cultures are really different. And it's not like people hate EA just for the fact they're EA. People hate on them because they haven't shown a willingness to push their titles - whether it's a conscious business decision, whether it's an issue of them not having the talent or vision, or both.

Back in 2001/2002, EA earned the top football spot with Madden 2002/2003. Then they took a left turn and haven't recovered from it since. It seems all their titles have that sort of track, where they were legitimately #1 then took some development turn and got lapped by the competition. I think the facts that EA didn't even bother to release NBA Live on the PS3, why there are still [a lot of] innovations in NFL2K5 Tiburon hasn't sniffed at yet, the fact we're looking forward to a GENERIC football title - are just a few of the reasons EA deserves the negative view I have of them. Imo there's just no way, given the resources they have at their disposal and the position they're in, that we should be talking about incomplete next gen titles two years in - just no way.

I do agree w/your point about Tiburon; I think there's something going on there that's even more maddening (no pun intended)

[mercalnd]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

Cmon guys, it's EA Sports. When have they cared about anything more then the bottom line since 2000? Not once. It won't change and you know it.

That's true. It's also true of all other gaming companies. "Caring" about the gamer is nothing more than a means to improve the bottom line.

Now, I think you were hinting that since only the bottom line matters it means EA would definitely kill off the 2K line if they bought it. However, isn't it pretty bad for the bottom line to spend a few hundred millions and not do anything with what you've bought? It's not like EA doesn't control the sports market firmly already so eliminating 2K won't really increase EA's market share.

[jmood88]

Re: Take Two Selling???

Like I mentioned above, the more I think about it, the more it seems like it could be. EA has money, but they also have shareholders to answer to. I can't fathom the majority of shareholders endorsing for the company to get into a bidding war (EA won't be the only player) to buy a developer to kill it off.

It would make no sense for them to put money into releasing two nfl games.

[sroz39]

Re: Take Two Selling???

It would make no sense for them to put money into releasing two nfl games.

It would also make no sense in them paying the kind of money it's going to take to buy 2K Sports and then do nothing with it. It also makes no sense to release an NFL Head Coach title, but they did it. Before you say that Head Coach is a different genre, understand it's a game that could have been released inside of the current Madden game. But they decided to try to appease that crowd with a seperate game entirely.

What would be so different about releasing a seperate NFL game that appeases the hardcore sim player? They're already planning on releasing an NFL game for kids a la Backyard Football. This would be no different.

[jmood88]

Re: Take Two Selling???

It would also make no sense in them paying the kind of money it's going to take to buy 2K Sports and then do nothing with it. It also makes no sense to release an NFL Head Coach title, but they did it. Before you say that Head Coach is a different genre, understand it's a game that could have been released inside of the current Madden game. But they decided to try to appease that crowd with a seperate game entirely.

What would be so different about releasing a seperate NFL game that appeases the hardcore sim player? They're already planning on releasing an NFL game for kids a la Backyard Football. This would be no different.

2k Sports doesn't only make football games. If they bought them they would be getting nba 2k7 and the exclusive mlb license. EA is about making money using any avenue. They could've integrated the head coach stuff into madden but it can be released as a seperate game and make them money. Releasing two NFL games and saying that one is supposed to be the "sim" compared to Madden makes no sense. You really think that they would tell everyone that Madden isn't good enough for every football fan?

[burgan]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

if this happens it is all over. ea will simply fire all of take 2 employees that are in duplicate projects, like football and basketball. we'll have to switch to conventional video games.

[sroz39]

Re: Take Two Selling???

... You really think that they would tell everyone that Madden isn't good enough for every football fan?

You really think they wouldn't explore the possibility of double-dipping? How many of the "casuals" would also buy the "sim" version if it had EA Sports logo on it? I am only speaking on the NFL as far as getting a "2K" version as well as the EA version because the sport is popular enough to support it.

All the other sports would be the EA version with former 2K guys working on the dev teams. In the end, they would need more than just to kill off their competitor as a reason to justify the purchase to shareholders. They have enough people working on the games, rumoured to be too many, what they need is a return on their investment.

[LBzrule]

Re: Take Two's pending sale

I don't want to excuse EA's lack of use of the ESPN license (as anything other than a ticker), but I've heard from an EA source -who I don't have the right to name- that there's pressure from ESPN to use the ESPN license quite differently than 2K used it. They would not elaborate beyond that.

This was followed by the curiously lame use of the ESPN license in NBA Live 07, where you can download the PTI program to view in a window through the interface.

Most of us gamers want ESPN's license to add authenticity and a TV like experience to our games. (Like ESPN NFL 2K5 did) But I think ESPN may desire to have its license holder push it shows (like PTI) moreso than what we want the ESPN license to be. I theorize that ESPN might want targeted, show specific advertising for ESPN programs... like what NBA Live had.

But if that's the case- that doesn't really jive with what we want/expect. I think we want ESPN authenticity to our franchises, half-times, etc...covering our virtual games.

(If I wanted to watch real episodes of PTI, I'd turn off my game system and turn on ESPN)

I heard a completely different story about the lack of ESPN in their football games and it had to do with a conflict of interest between ESPN and the NFL Network as to the reason why ESPN presentation is not beefed up in their football games in particular Madden. NCAA I don't know.