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Microsoft maneuvering to buy Electronic Arts?

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Dryden

Dryden

Sober as Sarkisian
Staff member
Tech Admin
Source 1:
Microsoft Making Eyes At Madden's Maker? - Forbes.com

Source 2:
Tech Rumor: Microsoft Eyeing EA | Technology | Financial Articles & Investing News | TheStreet.com

I really don't know what to say. Rumor on "the street" is that Microsoft is maneuvering to buy Electronic Arts. The impact of this on the gaming world would be like an atomic bomb. If Tiger Woods, Madden, NCAA, NBA, NHL, FIFA, NASCAR etc all ceased to exist on Sony and Nintendo consoles ... well, I don't really want to think of the consequences. It's ironic that this rumor has been kicked up today, as yesterday EA themselves were rumored to be looking at buying THQ, whose UFC rights are coveted by EA.

The sports properties/licenses are just the tip of the iceberg. EA also owns publishing rights to Rock Band, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Hasbro toy & games properties, and Crysis, while wholly owning both the Battlefield & Medal of Honor franchises, Command & Conquer, and the Maxis empire (Sims, Sim City, Spore) ... just a whole lotta stuff.

Sad, sad day if this happens.
 
Wow, this would be an epic power move. I'd think that the NFL wouldn't want to maintain an exclusive license on a single console though, and would likely move to another publisher if MS would refuse to release the game across platforms.
 
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EA has a substantial chunk of other sport & adventure games as well. I don't know if it's still called EA Big, but they had a lot of excellent titles under that banner.
BrutuStrength;1548424; said:
Wow, this would be an epic power move. I'd think that the NFL wouldn't want to maintain an exclusive license on a single console though, and would likely move to another publisher if MS would refuse to release the game across platforms.
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That would be the one benefit of this... ESPN NFL 2k5 absolutely smoked Madden in a few areas, and was a year or two away from overtaking them imo. Not only were collision physics & visuals far better, but they would have forced Madden to step up their game big time. Instead, EA went out and paid for a monopoly.

Doesn't 2K sports have the better basketball & baseball games?
 
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BrutuStrength;1548424; said:
Wow, this would be an epic power move. I'd think that the NFL wouldn't want to maintain an exclusive license on a single console though, and would likely move to another publisher if MS would refuse to release the game across platforms.
Click to expand...

jwinslow;1548428; said:
That would be the one benefit of this... ESPN NFL 2k5 absolutely smoked Madden in a few areas, and was a year or two away from overtaking them imo. Not only were collision physics & visuals far better, but they would have forced Madden to step up their game big time. Instead, EA went out and paid for a monopoly.

Doesn't 2K sports have the better basketball & baseball games?
Click to expand...

That would be my hope too JWin, that it would then allow 2kSports back into NFL. It would really be a boom for sports gamers as the competition would really kick up the development.

But I have a sick feeling Microsoft would really back up the brinks truck to the NFL to keep the exclusive gaming license. If one console would gain the exclusivity of the NFL on their console??? Let alone the other stuff... it would be a large edge in the 'console wars'

Then again I can see a lawsuit filed by Sony in a heartbeat, and we all know how much the government loves beating down Microsoft's monopolies...
 
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False alarm, there's nothing to see here:

Microsoft quashes EA speculation - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

Microsoft quashes EA speculation

A Microsoft Corp. spokesperson Wednesday night reportedly denied a pending takeover of Electronic Arts Inc.

The spokesman told Marketwatch, "We have no plans to acquire EA," after speculation pushed the Redwood City video game maker's stock up 7 percent to $19.83 a share.

Earlier in the day, the stock hit $20.33 ? the first time in more than a month that EA (NASDAQ:ERTS) traded above $20 a share. The stock has lost more than half its value in the past year.

The rise came despite analysts' skepticism that such a deal would make any sense for either company.
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Translation: "Why would we want to buy a failing EA for 6 billion now when we can buy their liquidated assets for pennies two years from now after EA collapses." :p

That makes far more business sense.
 
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