EA/Take-Two Merger – Sports Gaming Monopoly
Justin Blankenship, a former FTC lawyer, expresses concern regarding the potential EA and Take-Two merger. Specifically, he believes that the merger may violate antitrust laws due to the hold the company would have on the videogame sports sector. Justin states:
I wouldn’t consider this [EA/Take-Two deal] inevitable quite yet,” … “Although you’ve yet to see antitrust law rear its head in a videogame merger, this is the best case I’ve seen where it could happen. Don’t be surprised if this gets more interesting than anyone expects.”
EA already holds several exclusive licenses across the professional and collegiate levels and a merger with Take-Two would mean the end of 2K Sports, the largest competitor for EA when it comes to sports related videogame content. It doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to figure this one out.
The main argument regarding this merger has been one focused on price, however the bigger picture that we believe concerns gamers even more, is choice and quality of product. We would love to hear your thoughts on this.
