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Picture it, it’s nearing October and the Red Sox and Yankees are meeting at Fenway for a final showdown.  The pennant is potentially on the line (or at least a playoff appearance).  Tensions are high.  Mariano Rivera is on the mound.  David Ortiz is at the plate. Tie game. Bottom of the 9th.  Bases loaded.  Full count. Two outs.   Rivera just got off the disabled list and his shoulder may be troubled.  Ortiz has had his number all season but he’s been slumping lately too; fatigued from the season and a lingering wrist injury.  One pitch will set the teams fates.  Win or lose.  Here it comes.

Now adjust your screen. The same scenario is actually playing out in a video game on your PS3 or Xbox 360.  The video game is mirroring reality.  You’re playing a friend for bragging rights and beer.  Same playoff race. Same scenario, right down to the injuries and fatigue.  

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The gloves came off today in Electronic Arts protracted hostile takeover effort to acquire Take Two but in a surprise twist, it wasn’t an escalation but rather a move toward a possible handshake and reconciliation.

EA announced they will allow their Tender Offer to expire tonight at midnight as planned.  Take Two, in turn, will include EA in their discussions about “Strategic Alternatives.”    As part of that dialogue, Take Two will provide EA with a formal presentation that includes non public product pipeline and financial projections.

The two companies talking amicably opens the door to the prospect of a possible friendly acquisition.

Timing is everything.

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Summer is a time for BBQ’s and beaches.  The weather is good and people tend to enjoy it.  Not surprisingly, as a result, it’s a slower period for indoor entertainment products like video games.  Still, “slower” is a relative term.  According to newly released NPD sales data for July, even in a month of measured expectations, the industry delivered double digit year over year growth.

For the month of July,  the US gaming industry rose 28% over last year in total sales with revenue of $1.19b for the month.  Software was up the most with a 41% year over year gain.  Hardware and accessories were up 17%  and 19% respectively.

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From market research firms and trade groups, there are so many projections, forecasts and numbers thrown to the airwaves that it can become really difficult to keep track. To ease the burden, we periodically consolidate the info to one report. We’ve done comparative stats that put numbers in a context , and we’ve industry specific data dumps. This latest editionof the occasional "Metue: By The Numbers" report is a buffet from across the media, entertainment and technology sector. There’s a little on publishing, a little on web usage, some gaming data, TV… something for all interests. Metue By the Numbers:

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There are indexes tracking just about any business metric you can think of.  For 4.5 a half years, University of San Francisco professor Mark Cannice has been tracking venture capitalist confidence.  In early July he reported the second quarter result for his index was down to 3.07 on a 5 point scale.  It was the third consecutive new low in the Index’ history.   Still, despite VC’s concerns about the economy and the state of their investments,  there’s no shortage of companies getting funded.  In the media world,  Heat Wave, Clickable, Crowd Fusion and NGMoco have all recently closed new rounds.  Here are the details in  the Metue Venture Wrap Up:

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Revenues are climbing consistently across the video game industry but in the seasonal business, some publishers are struggling more than others to wring profits from the windfall this summer.  Activision Blizzard, the newly minted combination of Activision and Vivendi Games, isn’t having as much of a problem.  With franchises like Guitar Hero pushing sales, the company announced strong earnings result Thursday for Activision’s last quarter of independence.  They also revealed a joint venture with Logitech to create new controllers for the next installment of the music game franchise.

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Mention in-game advertising to video game fanatics and you’re likely to get one of two responses. The first will be bitter complaints that lament the scourge cluttering their virtual worlds.  The other will be an uneasy acceptance that harbors hope the included ads will somehow make future games more affordable or more realistic.  Love ‘em or hate ‘em, however, in-game ads are here to stay.

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