STOP IT: EA wants to acquire TakeTwo :(

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MER
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STOP IT: EA wants to acquire TakeTwo :(

Unread postby MER » 27 Feb 2008, 10:23

EA have stated their intentions to buy TakeTwo. If this should happen the gaming world will be one step closer to losing creativity and quality games.
EA kills all genuine ideas in all it acquires. The only thing they care about is quick games that sale quick and on a regular basis and not quality/creativity. They buy popular franchises and eventually turn them from fan-favorites to mediocre (or worse) games. They also virtually killed many developers they acquired like Westwood and Bullfrog.

TakeTwo owns great one-of-a-kind titles like GTA and Sid Mayer's Civilization. And imagine what will happen to 2K Sports when EA becomes monopolist in the sports games market. Don't let all of them fall into the EA chasm.

If you disagree with EA's monopolistic policy and care about the future of the gaming world please sign this petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/t2ea000/petition.html
and check out the anti EA union at facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12630916116

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Jolly Joker
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Unread postby Jolly Joker » 27 Feb 2008, 11:30

Umm, isn't this a highly political issue? Just curious.
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Ethric
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Unread postby Ethric » 27 Feb 2008, 14:10

Jolly Joker wrote:Umm, isn't this a highly political issue? Just curious.
No, it is not, it's is a business and games-related issue. And for the future, if you think a thread might need moderating (I assume that is what you were getting at) or have any other questions regarding moderating, send a PM to a moderator, instead of trying to derail random threads.
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Unread postby Panda Tar » 27 Feb 2008, 14:24

Isn't that just what that guy on the CH news was talking about? That they 'screwed it up'? Got too big for their own good.
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Ethric
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Unread postby Ethric » 27 Feb 2008, 15:00

I seem to recall that being about stifling creativity in the name of profit. Hopefully, they'll do something to better their reputation, though I guess it might just have been a PR-stunt with little real content.

This is not the place to air grievances unrelated to the topic at hand.
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Veldrynus
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Unread postby Veldrynus » 27 Feb 2008, 15:54

About EA: let them do it. Who cares? The game industry is almost dead anyway.
Veldryn 15:15 And Vel found a dirty old jawbone of a walrus and put forth his hand, and took it, and in his unholy rage, he slew thirty four thousand men and children therewith.

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Unread postby PhoenixReborn » 27 Feb 2008, 16:29

Veldrynus wrote:About EA: let them do it. Who cares? The game industry is almost dead anyway.
Just like the record industry right? You can argue quality but video games aren't going anywhere.

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Unread postby Infiltrator » 27 Feb 2008, 16:30

I doubt we can do anything about it, EA don't care about bigger things, let alone people signing petitions.

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Kristo
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Unread postby Kristo » 27 Feb 2008, 18:00

Vote with your dollars. It's all you can do.

As an aside, I find it somewhat humorous that people cry foul when a smaller game publisher "sells out" to a larger one. It's not as though they sign an agreement to never develop games again. If the small company is truly motivated by "the love of the games," then they'll start up another company with the fat stacks of cash they received from the deal. It'll be a new franchise, but good game developers make good games no matter the genre.

It's far more likely in this situation that Take Two is motivated by profit, just like most businesses. Having EA buy your company is about as much profit as you could ever hope to receive. Good job guys, you've earned it.
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MER
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Unread postby MER » 27 Feb 2008, 18:16

Kristo wrote: It's far more likely in this situation that Take Two is motivated by profit, just like most businesses. Having EA buy your company is about as much profit as you could ever hope to receive. Good job guys, you've earned it.
The problem is great titles die away this way :S . Gaming is not only an industry but a passion to many ppl. And it's in the industry's interest to keep that passion alive.

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Unread postby Zamolxis » 27 Feb 2008, 19:55

Veldrynus wrote:About EA: let them do it. Who cares? The game industry is almost dead anyway.
...with some of us being quite addicted sometimes, maybe that's not a bad thing afterall: gives us a chance to get a life. :P
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Veldrynus
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Unread postby Veldrynus » 27 Feb 2008, 21:08

That's the right attitude!
You can also replay some older games. Those can bring some nice memories back. :)
Veldryn 15:15 And Vel found a dirty old jawbone of a walrus and put forth his hand, and took it, and in his unholy rage, he slew thirty four thousand men and children therewith.

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Kristo
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Unread postby Kristo » 27 Feb 2008, 21:19

MER wrote:The problem is great titles die away this way :S . Gaming is not only an industry but a passion to many ppl. And it's in the industry's interest to keep that passion alive.
Great titles only die off if people stop playing them. Heroes 2 does not cease to be a great game because Ubisoft owns the rights to it instead of 3DO. I will continue to play Heroes 2 regardless of what happens to the franchise. The passion is up to you, not the people who make the games.
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Unread postby Kalah » 27 Feb 2008, 21:26

Master of Orion 2 kicks butt :-D

But seriously... game building has become the sort of thing you need a huge company to do. Gamers expect incredible graphics and playability, something which requires resources to make. Sure, there might be the odd game out there, made by a few people who spends lots of time on a single project, having lots of knowledge of scripting, story building and such, and it's not like you need a supercomputer to make a game; but with the time frames most games are made within these days, you'll need lots of people working on it daily. That's why the big companies are required.

I'm hoping EA does what Mr. Riccitiello said; that they'll own lots of companies, but allow them to be relatively independent in the game-making process.
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Unread postby Muszka » 27 Feb 2008, 22:54

I don't think monopoliums can be an issue, at least not in the near future, just take a look at the biggest example: Windows. If someone dislikes or have anything against it, he still can use Linux, though he'll have some headaches, but after a whole day of configurating and some afterworks he'll have a stable program. Another example is the one with PCs and Macs, real headaches come only when you use a Mac. And the solution is easy in both cases, choose the side you are most comfortable with.
As for games, let's say I would care for those games what are made by "TakeTwo", and the company would be bought by EA, I think whatever crap they would throw out, I would play it. Just like with Heroes of MM, I hate Ubi, I hate them for real, and there is no place for them in my fantasy, but I do like HoMM and I don't really care the sh!t they make I will play H6, I know it, because i don't play for graphics, neither for game itself, I play for the fantasy world it gives me, and for those moments when I can get free of my troubles and when my headache is diminishing. And until even H1 can give me that feeling, I don't care, even if the tomorrow brings news like all the game industry died, or H6 is out but it's worst than ever and I was mistaken and I won't like it, there still be H1, and H2 H3, H4 and even H5,and when I want change I play Diablo, and Tekken, those are enough.
For those who fear monopoliums, and the gaming apocalypse, I understand you, but that's all.
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Unread postby gravyluvr » 28 Feb 2008, 19:11

MER wrote:The problem is great titles die away this way :S . Gaming is not only an industry but a passion to many ppl. And it's in the industry's interest to keep that passion alive.
I would tend to argue the opposite. Great titles stay alive this way - though I'm sure with each sequal there are several "improvements" which people will argue. But small gaming companies and programmers are usually the inovators that introduce the new concepts but the streamlined big businesses are the companies that can keep puting out the next versions. They have the staff to handle better bug fixing and other aspects that are needed to support games after they launch.

Obviously there are great exceptions to the rule but for the most part, titles will eventually die anyway. Grand Theft Auto has about run it's course. When a company starts saying that it's game is "one of the most valuable and durable franchises in the industry" that company too has jumped the shark. The best thing for Take-Two may be to be swallowed up by EA. The idealists will quit and join a new company where they can thrive, the establishment staff can continue working on the games and enjoy some stability for a while, the burnouts can get the fat check and develop a gambling habit in Vegas and the gamers can bitch about their lost love and find another future sellout to blog about.
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Unread postby asandir » 28 Feb 2008, 22:07

I'm not happy about it, but I don't know that I'll stir myself to even bother to do anything about it (not that EA'd care in the slightest)
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Kristo
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Unread postby Kristo » 01 Oct 2008, 15:39

So I'm two weeks late with this news, but EA officially dropped its bid to acquire Take Two. Wall Street clearly wasn't happy about it - TTWO's share price is $6 lower, currently hovering around $16 per share.
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Unread postby Asheera » 01 Oct 2008, 21:48

I hate it when companies with so high funds (like EA) want to buy another "poorer" company, just because their products suck and want improvement from the other one (quite ironic, isn't it :P)
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Unread postby Kristo » 02 Oct 2008, 03:15

Do you really dislike it every time a bigger game company buys a smaller one, or do you just not like EA? ;) It's OK if that's the case - lots of people don't like them. The thing is, it's really hard to be the little guy in the gaming industry. There's only so much shelf space at Wal-Mart and Best Buy, and the big guys command most of it. When one of the big guys comes along and wants to pay a premium for your company, it's your golden opportunity to make a lot of money.

That said, Take-Two isn't what I'd call "little." Google Finance puts their market capitalization at $1.24 billion. The Grand Theft Auto series has been wildly successful. It remains to be seen whether the choice to defeat EA's takeover bid was a good idea.
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