Games Industry Wire

It look like EA really wants Take-Two badly. EA has just announced it has extended for a fifth time its unsolicited offer to acquire all of Take-Two’s outstanding shares untill August 18, 2008. The extension comes, as previously rumoured, after approximately 11,741,339 shares of Take-Two had been tendered in by the previous deadline of July 18, accounting for around 15 per cent of the total.
“Take-Two’s Board continues to be 100 per cent committed to maximising stockholder value and remains unanimous in continuing to recommend that our stockholders not tender their shares to EA,” responded Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two’s chairman.\

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2K Games has announced today that it has signed an agreement with Digital Extremes to assist in the development of BioShock for the PS3. Bioshock for the PS3 is scheduled to be shipped to retailers in October 2008 with new features and content. This PPS3 system version of BioShock is being developed by 2K Marin, 2K Boston, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes.
“By partnering with Digital Extremes, 2K Games is delivering a fully optimized experience that takes advantage of the PLAYSTATION 3 system hardware,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Bringing Digital Extremes on board allows us to continue to deliver …read more

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In the middle of Electronic Art’s dreadfully slow takeover dance with Take-Two, it’s been speculated that the affair could ascend into a veritable ménage a trois, with Ubisoft now being marked as a potential future suitor for the Grand Theft Auto publisher if it continues to spurn the Redwood giant.
A Forbes report postulates on a possible partnership between Ubisoft and Take-Two, following Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick’s comments in the company’s second quarter call on Thursday that he’s “had and continues to have formal discussions with interested parties” over any future mergers or sales.

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2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), has just announced that 11-time NBA All-Star and 2008 Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for NBA 2K9. After leading the Boston Celtics to the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA franchise history, Garnett will finally grace the cover of NBA 2k9.
“NBA 2K is where it’s AT! End of story,” said Garnett, who is currently playing in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. “It’s the game I play, the game my friends …read more

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Grand Theft Auto IV Breaks Guinness World Records With Biggest Entertainment Release Of All-Time
London, UK, 13th of May – The famed Grand Theft Auto series has made headlines yet again! As newly-released sales figures show, Grand Theft Auto IV has crushed the competition by selling 3.6 million units and earning $310 million in its first day of release, earning Guinness World Records™ for the Highest Grossing Video Game in 24 Hours and the Highest Revenue Generated by an Entertainment Product in 24 Hours. These records establish GTA IV as the most profitable entertainment release of all-time, far surpassing other video …read more

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The New York Times has reported that Grand Theft Auto IV pulled in more than $500 million in its first week, selling an astounding 6 million copies globally, 3.6 million of them on the first day alone. This morning Take-Two confirmed the report, adding some well-deserved back-patting to the numbers.
To put it in perspective Halo 3, the previous record-holder, earned $300 million in the first week.

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After Electronic Arts lowered its offer to acquire Take-Two from its original offer $26 per share to $25.74, Take-Two still has rejected the offer.
“[EA's proposal] undervalued the company at $26 per share, and it certainly undervalues Take-Two at $25.74,” chairman Strauss Zelnick, said in a statement Friday following the revised offer.

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EA is now turning to Take-Two’s shareholders to divest them of their share at $26 USD, The same amount offered by EA to Take-Two’s board of governors. EA big boss John Riccitiello says:
This is a great opportunity for Take-Two shareholders. We believe Take-Two investors will see our tender offer as the best way to maximize the value of their investment in Take-Two. This tender offer provides a clear process to complete the proposed transaction. For EA shareholders, 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 …read more

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As everyone expected, the merger between Vivendi Games and Activision that led to the birth of Activision-Blizzard, the new no.1 video game publisher in the world, didn’t sit too well with, now second biggest publisher, EA Games. So they’re thinking of solutions to get back in the top spot, and acquiring Take-Two Interactive seems to be their best bet.

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