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EA first went public with their offer to buy Take Two Interactive in February.  In March,  they escalated things to hostile.   In the months following it’s been much of the same back and forth: EA spokespeople say their price is “fair” and a “substantial premium.”  Take Two says the offer “significantly undervalues” the company.  Both sides created websites.  EA issues ultimatums and sets deadlines, Take Two fires back.  The dialog is mostly the same, as are the terms.  Only the deadlines change.  Most recently it was June 3rd. Then that deadline was extended to June 16th.  June 16th passed uneventfully.  Now, on Tuesday, Electronic Arts announced a fourth extension.  Now, the new deadline on EA’s tender offer to buy Take Two Interactive will lapse July 18th.   

Will this new date be final?  Or will the scheduling snafus continue?  The answers may hinge partly on regulatory issues.   Click to Read More

Among the console makers, Sony and Microsoft have Nintendo beat when it comes to graphic and performance capabilities but Nintendo’s Wii is winning with playability.  Month after month, the sales gap between the companies is clear in the retail data.   But now, Sony may be nearing release on a new controller aimed at narrowing that gap; a product aimed at mixing playability (ease of use) with performance.

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Into spring and summer of 2007, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming platform was plagued with an occasional problem: some consoles were freezing up.  Alternatively, heat sinks, design and chips were blamed in the media.  At the source, nobody at Microsoft would give an official diagnosis.  The issue, named after the tell-tale LED light pattern that indicated your console had gone to pasture, became known as the “Red Ring of Death.”   Now, nearly a  year later, the mystery of what caused it may finally be solved. .. and it wasn’t Colonel Mustard in the living room with the screw driver.

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Last month the debut of Grand Theft Auto IV was virtually guaranteed to influence gaming sales results and despite its late in the month release, with just a few days of sales, that’s exactly what it did.   Now another month has passed and a more detailed GTA IV sales picture is starting to appear along with the rest of the NPD North American retail numbers that were released this week.

For the month of May, GTA IV remained at the top of the gaming charts.   The Xbox 360 Version moved  871k units to finish in the top slot.  The PS3 installment finished fourth.  Cumulatively, across platforms, GTA IV moved 1.314million units.  That’s a sizable drop from April’s 2.85m total units but still an extremely high volume of sales; a number appropriate to its blockbuster status. 

The questions are: how will these numbers match up to projections?  Is GTA IV going to be the all time best seller? If so, by how much?  And perhaps even more importantly, were pre-sales forecasts that used Halo data spread from one to two platforms accurate?  

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Usually when a company makes a positive announcement about their product pipeline, it is with a glitzy PR campaign, or at the least, a press release.  Bucking tradition, Activision went the modest route this week and (intentionally or inadvertently) slipped news into an SEC filing.

According to the regulatory document, one of the next titles planned for their popular and lucrative Guitar Hero franchise will be built around heavy metal rockers, Metallica.

The Metallica Hero edition will be the 2nd installment built around the career and songbook of a single band.  Earlier this year the company revealed Guitar Hero: Aerosmith as the first version. That game is due in stores later this month.

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In a year where gaming companies seem to be shattering records at every turn, another stellar result no longer comes as a surprise but is instead, an expectation.  French game publisher Ubisoft didn’t disappoint Thursday.  Even after upping expectations several times in the past year (most recently in March) the company reported fiscal yearend earnings that raised the bar even higher.

By the numbers: Click to Read More

The debut of Grand Theft Auto IV was one of those rare releases guaranteed to influence sales results; not that the gaming industry needs any help these days.  And even with a late in the month debut, even with just a few days to wield influence, that’s exactly what GTA IV did.   NPD North American retail numbers were released this week.  As has become common, the results were strong.

In total, April saw $1.23b in retail sales, up from $836.6m last year, a 47 percent increase.   Month to month, things were a little more measured:  April sales showed some seasonal slowdown compared to March.  The effect of Easter falling early also likely had some influence.   Still, year over year, impressive trends are continue.  Year to date, the industry is tracking 31% ahead of last year’s record setting pace. 

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