If Electronic Arts’ unsolicited bid for Take-Two Interactive sounds a lot like Microsoft’s unsolicited play for Yahoo–complete with both EA and Microsoft ultimately walking away–think again.
It’s only a little bit surprising that EA walked, mostly because Take-Two was in a far stronger negotiating position than Yahoo.
Behold the Power of Potter. Time Warner (TWX) yesterday disclosed it won’t put out the new Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” this November as originally planned, and instead will make it a Summer 2009, release–specifically, for July 17 of next year.
With the influx of fresh new gamers, thanks in large part to the popularity of mass-market game machines, the DS and the Wii, more game companies than ever are jumping on the girl gamer bandwagon. Practically every booth at this year’s E3 Media and Business Summit this year had something to offer for female gamers of various demographics.
While we’ve written several times recently about the progress of next-generation, camera-based game control technologies, including the hefty funding received by Prime Sense and an earlier update on several competing companies, there’s one detail we’ve edged around: When you’ll get to use them yourself.
The potential union of two of the biggest companies in the video game industry remains stuck in neutral. Electronic Arts said Monday morning that it has extended its tender offer to purchase Take Two Interactive, maker of Grand Theft Auto IV. This is the second time Electronic Arts has extended its $2 billion offer, which it first made public in February.
Blame the launch of Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto IV for long lines at videogame hawkers today. It’s expected to bring in some $400 million this week alone. The company has held Electronic Arts, its hostile suitor, at arm’s length since February, awaiting the game’ s debut. That now looks smart. Big anticipated revenues from the virtual testosterone-fueled rampage should give it an edge in negotiations.
Shortly after Will Wright released yet another version of his SimCity in the mid 1990s, I was visiting Maxis’ studios and chatting with Will about evolutionary system and self-generating software. SimCity was a city that built itself according to a few rules — which the player tweaked and tried to maximize. It was the ultimate nerd god-game, the nerd playing god. Will offered to give me a peek preview of his next project. SimCity was so cool, I was expecting something even more generative, more ambitious, more god-like–something like Spore.
Electronic Arts made its offer for rival Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two declined.
Now the market will have its say–and both companies are anxious for the investor reaction to financial terms that can be viewed from vastly different perspectives.
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