EA gets aggressive

Thursday, March 13, 2008 | 5:52 p.m. | By Eric Fisher | Comments | Print

EA went hostile today in its heretofore unsuccessful bid to acquire rival video-game developer Take-Two Interactive, parent of 2K Sports, and the potential deal, if consummated, could create some seismic industry impacts with regard to title integration.

EA holds the exclusive third-party game license for the NFL, FIFA, NASCAR and college football, while 2K owns the same rights with Major League Baseball, so overlap issues exist there. But both companies produce titles for the NHL and the NBA, which would force some tough decisions about staffing and investment around game development teams. EA holds a decisive edge among the NHL games, but the company has struggled in recent years, both in sales and critical renown, for "NBA Live."

The main emphasis in the Take-Two bid is EA gaining control of "Grand Theft Auto," one of the few dominant video-game franchises that it doesn't produce and a game arguably even more popular globally than EA stalwarts "Madden NFL" and "FIFA."

The bid to Take-Two shareholders, valued at about $2 billion, expires April 11.

EA Sports President Peter Moore did not address the bid substantively, leaving that to company CEO John Riccitello, who said, "The combination would add additional intellectual properties to our already strong portfolio and welcome Take-Two’s talented creative teams to the great development organization we’ve built at EA.”

But Moore, speaking generally about the industry, said, "It's incumbent upon us who produce sports titles to maintain our relevance to our audience. That's done in different ways. Some want that ultra-realistic experience. Others want something simpler, and lighter, which we're obviously trying to exploit. But we're watching other things like 'Halo,' 'Rock Band' and so forth very carefully."