EA Proposes to Acquire Take-Two Interactive Software

[tmccormi]

This is just a question and a hypothetical one at that... So Tiburon is a separate developer that EA employs to produce the Madden games correct? And 2K sports is just a producer who would be purchased under the pending overtaking of Take Two correct?

What would happen if the cost of having the 2K team develop Madden instead of the Tiburon branch do? If EA is only concerned about money, then hypothetically they would let the cheaper of the two companies produce the game right?

So if it happens and 2K is the cheaper way to produce the football and basketball games, would it be possible that they produce the games for EA just under the names of Madden and Live?

[UNLV_1999]

Looks like EA also registered the domain name EAUbisoft.com on the same day as EATake2.com

http://www.gamecyte.com/?p=12

[jdros13]

Quote: Originally Posted by UNLV_1999

Looks like EA also registered the domain name EAUbisoft.com on the same day as EATake2.com http://www.gamecyte.com/?p=12

This would be even bigger in the gaming industry....and they already control about 20% of the stock in Ubisoft.

[grunt]

Sports gaming as we know it is over. Done. Audi 5000.

Just keep your Inside Drive, Links, NFL 2k5, APF2k8, NBA2k8, NHL 08, Madden 07, and NCAA 2004 in good condition.

I am not even mad anymore and I am more than willing to focus on non sports game. The sad thing is that the money they make off the Madden series is giving them resources to create all these buy outs and Madden in next gen is a dying series. IMO.

[The GIGGAS]

Quote: Originally Posted by grunt

Sports gaming as we know it is over. Done. Audi 5000. Just keep your Inside Drive, Links, NFL 2k5, APF2k8, NBA2k8, NHL 08, Madden 07, and NCAA 2004 in good condition. I am not even mad anymore and I am more than willing to focus on non sports game. The sad thing is that the money they make off the Madden series is giving them resources to create all these buy outs and Madden in next gen is a dying series. IMO.

I think someone gets it.

[rspencer86]

Perhaps the members of OS should just form our own gaming studio. Steve can use the untold millions of dollars from member donations to outbid EA for a couple exclusive licenses, open up a mo-cap lab, and get a few supercomputers.

Seriously, though, I'm not real optimistic about the future of sports video games. And at the rate that EA is gaining control of publishers, perhaps our worries shouldn't be limited to just sports games.

I'm not saying EA is inherently bad... they've made some damn good games in the past. But without competition, it doesn't matter who is in control, the quality of the games are going to suffer.

[bkfount]

Quote: Originally Posted by rspencer86

I'm not saying EA is inherently bad... they've made some damn good games in the past. But without competition, it doesn't matter who is in control, the quality of the games are going to suffer.

they have only slacked off in sports gaming. If you look at their other games, they're pretty solid. Burnout keeps getting better with each release, even though it has no real competition to it's style of play. EA has also delayed Army of Two, when only a year ago, they would have shipped it out broken and just marketed the hell out of it.

EA isn't some evil monster that will destroy gaming, they just killed off the sports genre.

[grunt]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkfount

they have only slacked off in sports gaming. If you look at their other games, they're pretty solid. Burnout keeps getting better with each release, even though it has no real competition to it's style of play. EA has also delayed Army of Two, when only a year ago, they would have shipped it out broken and just marketed the hell out of it. EA isn't some evil monster that will destroy gaming, they just killed off the sports genre.

No, ea isn't evil they are just a gigantic corporation and when businesses cannot innovate they consume their competitors. The next logical step is an EA game console and the monopoly would be complete.

[bkfount]

Quote: Originally Posted by grunt

No, ea isn't evil they are just a gigantic corporation and when businesses cannot innovate they consume their competitors. The next logical step is an EA game console and the monopoly would be complete.

Even if they did put out an EA Box, it still wouldn't be a monopoly.

EA will have more than enough leverage to put out a console when they buy TT and Ubisoft. EA even mentioned the idea of combining the industry on one standard console years ago, and some consumers would actually like it.

I just see them instead using their leverage to make current console makers like Sony and MS cater more to their desires. They basically got MS to shut down their sports developers to come on xbox live for the first xbox, and EA has much more power now.

Why waste money on building a console, when sony and MS are having enough fun doing it?

[spankdatazz22]

"Very few things in America that have gotten big have stayed good"

I heard this quote on The Today Show this morning. It was from the CEO of Starbucks. I found it extremely interesting to parallel Starbucks to what EA may be headed towards. Last night I heard the videogame correspondent from Newsweek (N'gai Croal, or something like that) discussing the proposed takeover and he was talking about how the current head guy at EA is known for takeovers and acquisitions, trying to make EA larger/grow EA out even more. Granted, to my knowledge Starbucks wasn't buying out smaller coffee shops and whatnot, but they did grow to be huge and then started branching out into other endeavors like movie producing, selling books, etc. The interviewer even jokes at Starbucks making airplane parts, or getting involved in homeland security, etc. But extending themselves in that manner hurt their bottom line

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633#

you'll have to navigate to the View Now videos and go to the "tough time for caffeine addicts" video. I just thought it was pretty cool that Starbucks felt it had lost what it should be focusing on - making coffee - and is attempting to re-dedicate itself to doing what they set out to do in the first place, making the best coffee. I kept thinking, "if only EA would dedicate themselves to making the best games they could" instead of taking the approach that they are. It's a tougher road, but consumers appreciate would've appreciated them more for it. Instead if this deal goes through, I want them to choke on it