Hello folks. I’ll talk more about my role at VentureBeat soon. In my transition to this new job, I haven’t weighed in on Electronic Arts‘ $2 billion bid for Take-Two Interactive. Bear with me as I draw a connection between this and Facebook gaming. The issue is whether EA should grow organically or by acquisition. I don’t think it’s easy to do both well.
Maybe EA is trying to score Take-Two on the cheap before its anticipated big hit, Grand Theft Auto IV, debuts on April 29. I hardly ever play that kind of game — the violence gets a little too over the top, even for me. But I’ve seen Grand Theft Auto IV, and it rocks. It looks so realistic that I really can’t wait to give it a whirl.
If video gamers feel the same way, then maybe Take-Two’s stock is worth even more than what EA wants to pay, which is a 64 percent premium on Take-Two’s Feb. 15 closing price.
The New York Times correctly points out that EA could bankroll 100 new $20 million games for that amount of money. Analysts say the value of GTA IV is baked into the Take-Two price. But Take-Two has been hitting bigger homers than EA lately. Read the rest of this entry »
