Pachter: EA will acquire Take-Two

by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 26th 2008 at 6:55PM }

Wedbush Morgan Securities' right-more-often-than-not analyst Michael Pachter believes that in the end EA will acquire Take-Two. Pachter prognosticates that EA will continue working angles for a takeover and is doing so to stop Take-Two's sports franchises, which he estimates will cost EA $150 million in operating profit this year. On Sunday it became public that EA was looking to gobble up Take-Two for $2 billion dollars, Take-Two quickly responded saying it wasn't interested. If EA does not acquire Take-Two then Pachter believes EA will attempt to ~~purchase~~ hire key personnel on teams like Rockstar and make its own version of Grand Theft Auto.

Even if EA were to gain the rights to the GTA franchise and key people like the Housers were to quit, Pachter imagines the GTA series would still make around $150 million every year even without Rockstar North as developer; although he admits if Rockstar North were still in charge of the franchise it would make about $600 million every other year. There's still much more info to pop out of this rabbit hole of acquisition soon -- time to work on our Ferengi post images.

Read: EA could make GTA games without Rockstar - analyst
Read: Pachter: Why EA Will Prevail and Acquire Take-Two

Tags: ea, pachter, take-two, taketwo

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

Anticrawl @ Feb 26th 2008 9:16PM

Ahhh EA. My love for you has grown ten-fold just now. If anyone can put the nail in the coffin of this awful series it is you EA my belovid.

Azrael4h @ Feb 27th 2008 10:39PM

Do Rockstar owns GTA or does Take 2? If Rockstar owns it, I hope they end up in a position (say being privately owned) to ignore EA, and tell them to **** off.

Once again, I wish I was a billionaire. I'd buy T2 (or whoever owns GTA) just to take them private and prevent EA from having them. I'd try to do the same for ID software too. The devs would run the same, maybe with some worthless executive fat hacked off, but without fear of EA screwing the games up.

Inect @ Feb 26th 2008 10:12PM

I'm starting a charity to cure the cancer EA.

Derek Rudolph @ Feb 26th 2008 10:15PM

I really hate what is going on here with all the buying of developers. The thought of them buying actual people out just sickens me. That crap is supposed to happen in professional sports. When individual game developers start getting pushed around like this games will become worse and worse. Game-making unions will have to be formed, and we could eventually have a strike just like the writers guild if the game industry becomes too corporation-like with third party developers.

nick @ Feb 26th 2008 10:22PM

I disagree that Wedbush Morgan Securities' is a "right-more-often-than-not analyst"

As of December he was saying that EA would NOT acquire Take Two. Now he's saying they would. That's being right?!

He also predicted the PS3 would domininate prior to release, then after sales were disappointing, and the Wii took off, he said that the Wii would dominate.

He makes inaccurate predictions, than changes his mind. That's not being right, it's being wishy-washy and an eventual master of obvious.

I say he's a hack, who for some reason is followed too closely by blogs. I'd much rather read about the predictions of any random GameStop employee over anything Pachter has to say.

Donald @ Feb 27th 2008 9:48AM

Looks like someone didn't follow the link in that line to get the reference.

gamernewz.net @ Feb 26th 2008 10:23PM

A bunch of evil bastards are running things at EA.

Can you say MADDEN BOYCOTT!?

Enough is enough!

Trowa @ Feb 26th 2008 10:47PM

Your avatar is perfect for this kind of topic.

Organic_Shadow @ Feb 26th 2008 10:54PM

This Pachter guy surprises me more and more each time he opens his mouth. His understanding of the games industry isn't as shallow as I used to think.

this is me
and this is pachter
WERE MARRIED

embassy @ Feb 26th 2008 11:01PM

jesus effing christ.

if they absorb T2 and kill off the SK sports franchises i will forever boycott anything EA shits out.

i refuse...REFUSE to play the TRASH, Bug-ridden, borderline BROKEN "game" that is NBA live.

god, this just ruined my day.

Squirrel3D @ Feb 26th 2008 11:21PM

I said it before...EA wants the 2nd crash in the game industry.

Microswirl @ Feb 26th 2008 11:18PM

"Take-Two's sports franchises, which he estimates will cost EA $150 million in operating profit this year"

Translation: EA had to spend an extra $150 million making small improvements to Madden, rather than just slapping a "2008" sticker on the 2007 game box.

Iridium @ Feb 26th 2008 11:37PM

EA is to gaming as Nike is to sporting goods. They can't make a quality product so they buy out the competition and plaster thier logo on it. The first few new products are good but quickly turn to garbage. If you don't sell to them they ruin you by taking you supply chain away.

EA never should have been allowed to buy the rights to the NFL or any other league. They want to kill off NHL 2K and NBA 2K. Then they will try to kill of any game that has anything to do with sports and motorsports. Perhaps they will pay off every car company so that no other developer can use real world cars. I can see it now.

Everyone is pretty much saying that EA is taking over Take2 nomatter what. They will just buy out all of Take2's shares becoming the defacto owner.

Mein Bratwurst @ Feb 27th 2008 1:32AM

FFS EA, instead of trying to buy out your competition, how about actually getting up to standards with your craptacular rehashed sports titles. It's frustrating to know that they're really just selling Madden 2001 with updated rosters.

jaybcorreia @ Feb 27th 2008 12:12AM

isn't this a form of an antitrust law being broken if it goes thru? and the only way EA would regret buying up everything is if the general public and not the core gamers boycott or buy less games. those who don't read sites like joystiq need to be educated on whats going on.