Hitting you with all the force of a frilly pillow being swung by a little girl on Valium news now, with the shocking revelation that Take-Two shares are rising amidst glowing and gushing reviews of
new best game ever,
Grand Theft Auto IV. The game's critical reception will provide "some leverage" for the publisher, which is still being targeted for acquisition by rival EA. "We would not be surprised if the deal ultimately gets done a couple of bucks higher," Arvind Bhatia, director of research at Sterne Agee, told
Reuters.
Janco Partners analyst, Mike Hickey, suggested that EA shouldn't afraid to boost its
standing $26-per-share offer. "EA should just pay up and just get this deal done and quit being so cheap about it," he said. "You've made a $2 billion bid ... and you're worried about three or four dollars per share."
{ Apr 28th 2008 at 9:45PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Arno @ Apr 28th 2008 10:01PM
Does Take2 own the "Grand Theft Auto" name and brand? EA should not be allowed to buy up every publisher and developer under the sun, when will someone finally get the DOJ involved?
Maverick Saturn @ Apr 29th 2008 5:42AM
And destroy them while they are at it with a rain of half hearted games ¬_¬
Johnny Lasley @ Apr 28th 2008 10:06PM
I hope EA doesn't swallow them up. How much stock, both private and common is up for grabs? Two or three dollars a share might be quite a lot.
Jhongerkong @ Apr 28th 2008 10:09PM
Didnt see this coming
playwhutyalike @ Apr 28th 2008 10:12PM
I know I'll be jacking tomorrow when I finally get to play this game.
Ubiqutous Oxymoron @ Apr 28th 2008 10:14PM
EA can go fuck themselves
DangerMouse @ Apr 28th 2008 10:22PM
If they switched places, Take-Two would do exactly the same thing. That's the risk they take my making their company public. It's a game, and they're just playing it out.
Bleu @ Apr 29th 2008 9:45AM
AMEN!
peteH @ Apr 28th 2008 10:21PM
Let the armchair financial analysis begin.
Foetoid @ Apr 28th 2008 10:31PM
Glowing reviews for an overrated game? What the?
Nah seriously tho, i hated all the other yawn-fests knowing as GTA on the Ps2 but i quite liked Saints Row. I think going HD would probably make me like this game. The older ones were so bland, lifeless and boring.
kagai @ Apr 28th 2008 10:39PM
What's a Volition Employee doing in my Take Two news?
Autopsy15 @ Apr 28th 2008 11:20PM
kagai,...high five man.
klitorisaurus @ Apr 28th 2008 11:29PM
Lifeless?! You can accuse GTA of lots of things, but lifeless is most definitely not one of them.
Maverick Saturn @ Apr 29th 2008 5:43AM
Bah, but you like saints row, I've heard all I need to hear...
Alex @ Apr 29th 2008 11:53AM
Could. Not. Agree. More.
I HATE the GTAs. If you want to play this NOW but it's sold out, go out an get GTA III. It's exactly the same as this but the graphics aren't as good.
No, I'm serious.
+1 Rank to Foetoid.
Rank me low. I dare you.
HB96st @ Apr 28th 2008 11:06PM
Please.. I play NBA2K.. T2 don't do this to us!! I don't wanna play nba live!!
klitorisaurus @ Apr 28th 2008 11:26PM
Man this GTA better be good because if EA gets R* it'll be the last one worth playing.
PyrosNine @ Apr 28th 2008 11:32PM
As I said before on an earlier post:
"Grah! All these stupid mergers and talks about stocks and market! I only care if they're going to butcher something I love because of it, but I hate the unending speculation!
If I wanted to hear about Video games and stocks, it'd better be about Super Market Crash: Rogue Analyst on the Nintendo Wii!
Y'know, the one with the pointy haired guy who uses magic powers to pick stocks and destroys evil Alien companies by buying them out, with a market value reducing laser beam."
J @ Apr 28th 2008 11:34PM
EA should take their money somewhere else.
Everyone knows this deal isn't in the best interest of the gamers. EA making this move disregarding that fact is reason alone for EA's reputation to take a huge hit within the community.
EA, listen to us! We're the ones who buy your games! We give you our money! This is not what we want!
Hey, I tried.
eldee @ Apr 29th 2008 12:37AM
Eat that Pachter.. I swear, he says everything like it's the gospel. "Take Two's shares will not go up due to GTA4, their stock price already reflects the impending launch". Right....
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/26/pachter-take-twos-rejection-of-ea-offer-was-a-mistake/
BigD145 @ Apr 29th 2008 1:30AM
What is this, a done deal? It's certainly being made to seem like it. With the successes in the GTA series alone, Rockstar can just keep doing its thing and ignoring all bids.
zeh @ Apr 29th 2008 3:16AM
I concur with Ubiqutous Oxymoron
EA can go fuck themselves
sOmar @ Apr 29th 2008 6:24AM
That is great news... with EA holding rights over GTA we won't have to wait ages for a new GTA game. In fact I can't wait to play GTA 2009, followed by GTA 2010 and even GTA 2010 winter edition.
On a more serious note while I certainly would not like to see this deal go through but if EA treats Rockstar like they do Maxis it might not be so bad.