Analysts sound off: What does EA do next?
by Alexander Sliwinski 
on Dec 5th 2007 7:00PM
Long after
Gerstmanngate ends, we'll still be dealing with the ramifications of
Activision Blizzard and what Electronic Arts plans to do against them. GameDaily put out some juice boxes, a tub of buttery popcorn, a few sleeping bags and had a good
old-fashioned analyst slumber party. The usual suspects chimed in with their predictions of what EA is going to do next against Actizzard (no, that doesn't click either, still working on it).
- Mike Hickey, Janco Partners: Believes EA will continue to focus on improving game quality, developing the Asian market, cutting operating costs ... and might be making an acquisition. Who do they suggest? Take-Two. EA would gain the Grand Theft Auto franchise, along with BioShock, Midnight Club and Civilization, and would also take control of EA Sport's only adversary worth mentioning -- 2K Sports.
- Michael Pachter, Wedbush Morgan Securities: Doesn't think EA will do anything and that buying Ubisoft would be too expensive. He also believes EA has no interest in Take-Two, as it would require too much work and there's no guarantee in keeping the talent. He further notes that Rockstar becomes a free agent in 14 months, so rather than fear it pulling a Bungie, it's better to pick the developer up when that happens.
- Colin Sebastian, Lazard Capital Markets: Says that EA has enough on its plate right now. Acquiring a majority stake in Ubisoft could be an option.
- David Cole, DFC Intelligence: Thinks EA needs to take a deep breath and plan, since it's still too focused on the American market and needs to think globally -- that'll take some time and the right connections.
Four men, four different views. Who are you putting your money on?
