EA Sets Sights on Take-Two, Take-Two Wants to Wait

Nowadays, acquisitions are almost as popular as beginning a new company. The latest attempt is courtesy of EA, who really, really wants Take-Two Interactive. Who can blame them? Despite Take-Two’s shaky history, they own one of the top franchises in the world, which in turn gives them massive potential. EA even went as far as to offer a staggering $2 billion, but Take-Two remains firm and doesn’t plan to consider any take-over until the day after GTA IV launches.

That’s an interesting move, but it could be a smart one on Take-Two’s behalf. The chances of GTA IV being unsuccessful are about as likely as Nintendo closing shop. So once the game drops, chances are good that Take-Two’s stock will rise, in turn increasing their worth.

Kotaku has published a nice write-up about the pros and cons of what such an acquisition would deliver. It goes without saying that EA would be gaining a lot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean gamers would be the beneficiaries as well. The biggest issue would be 2K Sports… it would no doubt cease to exist, because it makes no sense for a company to compete with themselves. Not to mention that future Take-Two DLC would in no way be free. So in the end… this deal looks to be great for EA, and very bad for consumers.

Remember that nice chuck of free DLC Take-Two released for BioShock at the end of last year? How much do you think EA would have charged for it? My guess? More than free. I’m imagining new car packs for Grand Theft Auto for 500 points a shot here. Maybe even some costly DLC that makes some of those EA Sports titles play like their often superior 2K counterparts! That would just be completely awesome.

Source: Kotaku