EA has just offered to buy me for $1000

Over the weekend, mega-giant publisher Electronic Arts offered to buy Take-Two Interactive for $2 billion dollars. Scary, isn’t it?

This is the same Electronic Arts that just bought up BioWare and Pandemic Studios for their individual intelectual properties. EA has completely gone off of the deep end.

Let’s look at some of the creative property Take-Two has under their belt: 2K Sports (EA Sports’ only rival and current exclusive owner of the MLB liscence), Bioshock, and Rockstar Games, makers of multi-billion dollar franchise Grand Theft Auto.

Grand Theft Auto IV, one of the most anticipated games of 2008, is coming at the end of April. That game alone could make Take-Two half a billion dollars. EA was looking to purchase, essentially at a bargain rate, all the profits from Grand Theft Auto IV. That is literally how cocky EA has become: they think they can buy anything.

I personally have no problem with the purchases of BioWare and Pandemic. If EA stays out of their way when it comes to the developement of the games, and becomes the publishing and advertising monsters that they are for those brands, it’s best for both parties. However, Take-Two can and would handle themselves just fine without EA’s help.

What worries me more than the offer (which Take-Two essentially told EA to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine), is the fact that Take-Two would “be interested in negotiations on April 30th.” April 30th is the day after GTA IV releases worldwide.

I truly hope this is a joke. Take-Two is perfectly capable of staying independent. Rockstar Games and 2K Studios pump out plenty of quality titles by themselves. In fact, it’s safe to assume Take-Two has enough intellectual property that they can compete with Ubisoft as the third largest 3rd party publisher.

Hell, they would likely gain sales momentum from telling EA to step off all together.

So what does this all lead to:
1. EA should be reenvisioning their own brands, not buying new ones to bury.
2. Take-Two, you’re just fine all by yourselves. Let Grand Theft Auto IV rake in the millions to show EA you don’t need them.
3. Competition from 2K Sports is what made EA Sports improve their brands every year, and for some sports (NBA, NHL) still does. There is nothing better to improve the quality of a game than healthy competition. EA should embrace it, not acquire it.

- Drew Quandt | Online Editor