EA Spies

First of all it is kinda strange that after posting my " How to turn 2K Sports into a dominating sports videogame brand in 2008 and beyond " a week later EA decides a take-over bid on Take-Two. Whoa! very strange! maybe there is an EA spy hanging around here?

I guess if they did saw the article, they can see that Take-Two could dominate if they make the RIGHT moves. 

But this is what separates Take-Two and EA. EA is a pro-active company and they attack opportunities that comes to them, or they create their own opportunities, they do not just sit around and wait for the money to come in. This is why they are ahead of the pack. While Take-Two is different, they are not as pro-active as EA.

The Buyout Story

For anyone who does not know the whole story.

EA has issued a buyout of Take-Two Inc, the parent company of 2K Sports for $2billion. But Take-Two rejected the offer and said that the amount is too low, and then offered another chance for EA to make a secondary bid after April 30. If you have missed the news you can go to

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6186637.html

Why EA wants Take-Two

Now most people are thinking that EA is offering a buyout because of GTAIV. But to me this is not so, yes there is a lot of money to be made in GTAIV.

But with Prizefighter and APF2K9 coming out soon these titles will be taking a big bite of that market that EA dominated a while back.

APF2K8 might have only sold 700,000 copies but this is what makes 2K Sports so dangerous against a company like EA. Because they slowly build up their product and market share.

Remember ESPN NFL2K5?

It started out with NFL2K1, everyone bought Madden during this time, but they slowly built up the title until ESPN NFL2K5. And guess what happened? EA had to buy the NFL license just to protect their dominance in this field.

EA knows what Take-Two and 2K Sports are capable off, so they are not going to wait and just stand around because it would be too late if they did.  This is why they offered a bid so early. They do not really want to face the same fate that they did with ESPN NFL2K5 when a lot of their market share was taken away.

The After Bid

Now Take-Two Inc offered a space for EA to make another bid, this will be after April 30. This shows that Take-Two is willing to sell the company.  Even if they turned down the offer, there is a chance in the long run that Take-Two will be bought out by EA.

Why Take-Two should not sell

If Take-Two decide to sell the company to EA. Then the sports gaming community will really suffer. The quality of games will also suffer.  There will be no innovation because there is no competition and EA will just release buggy games and jack up the price. They are already doing it, once they get a hold of the 2K Sports titles. It is over.

If Take-Two actually cares about the industry and the future. Then they should not sell the company.

Yes they will get more money and their stock will go up, but in the long run i think this will result in a disastrous future of gaming for everyone.

EA has bought a lot of gaming companies and guess what has happened to these titles? Destroyed! Teams dismantled and the result is what? crappy buggy games. EA is the creator of Mcvideogames, the junk food of videogames.

"Buy, Create, Develop, We don't care, just sell. "

This is what EA stands for. They are the biggest creators of Mcvideogames. And Take-Two should not allow this to happen.

Will EA get their wish?

As much as I do not want this buyout to happen, I have a strong feeling that it will happen sometime in the near future. EA really wants to protect their interest and that is to remain on top of the food chain and they will do anything to remain there.

They have lost a lot of money this year and by buying out Take-Two, they will regain some of this money and make even more money.

There is nothing to lose for EA in this buyout, they will eliminate their main sports competitor as well as gaining their technology. And then also gain access to GTAIV, Bioshock, Civilizations and other top titles. These titles are huge money makers and EA want's a peice of these.

So I would say that EA will get their wish.

Doomsday

Prepare for Doomsday, this will be the day when EA officially buys Take-Two. Keep a look out after April 30. Will this buyout happen? Yes it will happen sad to say.

I hope it won't happen, It is really up to the Take-Two guys.

The end is near