Back in mid August, we reported that Take-Two had opened its boardroom doors to EA with the intent to jointly evaluate “strategic” *cough*buyout*cough* options.

It appears now that those talks have concluded and that the two sides could not see eye to eye — or more importantly, wallet to wallet.

Hit the jump for the full press release and some optimistic “the glass is half full” quotes from Take-Two execs. Read more…

Spoiler Alert: Your plane crashes.

After only having to wait a year and some change, PlayStation 3 owners will soon be able to experience the Rapture that is BioShock (see what I did there?).  Featuring all-new content and all of the DLC from the Xbox 360 version, BioShock is set to sweep PS3 owners up in its cheery narrative about the joys of life in only a few short weeks. Read more…

The Internet age has lifted humanity up to a fast-paced, easily accessible society. When it comes to console videogames, online gaming has become an essential part of the overall experience.

Ten years ago when a gamer would complete a twelve-hour single player game, the experience was all but over, and the only way to enjoy the game further was to play it all over again, running through the same occurrences with little to no fresh experiences. Flash forward ten years later, and gamers can now rejoice as their short-lived single player experience may now be expanded through the infinite realms of online gaming and downloadable content. Read more…

As reported earlier, Take-Two has allowed EA to join the company for some “alternative strategic planning” sessions. In short, Take-Two believes that EA’s initial offer was not lucrative enough, and has shifted focus in an effort to convince EA that they should sweeten the deal.

Could a SackBoy PowerPoint type presentation change the minds of EA executives? The two emails featured after the jump showcase yesterday’s email from Take-Two to EA, and today’s response from EA to Take-Two. Read more…

On October 30, 2008, the land of the rising sun will be treated to a fictional Bosnian with a blazing gun. In other words, the localized version of Rockstar’s GTA 4 will be released in Japan just before Halloween, or as the Japanese call it, “Bad American Cosplay Day”.

Full press release after the jump. Read more…

Conservative Michael Medved, best known for his movie reviews and appearances on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, launched a scathing attack on Grand Theft Auto IV on Townhall.com.

“The fact that so many middle income homes managed to find the money to buy the game (having already purchased the expensive hardware to drive it) indicates that the middle class is in no imminent danger of disappearance,” Medved wrote. “But the decision by so many consumers of every age and income group to invest countless hours of time in the dark world of Grand Theft Auto IV nonetheless demonstrates a threat to American values.”

Medved continues to relate the game to the decline of western civilization on GTA IV specifically, if not in general.

Townhall.com is the same conservative site that hosted Kevin McCullough’s similarly misinformed and poorly executed opinion on Mass Effect which garnered the attention of FOX News.

Let the rolling of the eyes begin.

Medved comes a tad late to the GTA IV auto de fe as the title has already been lambasted by the usual suspects. However, Medved’s insinuations border on the hallucinatory as he accuses GTA of America’s moral decline. In that vein GTA is also responsible for the African AIDS pandemic, global warming and the shrinking of the polar ice-caps, and political repression in China.

I can’t help but wonder where is vaunted conservatism was when he was staring at my girlfriend’s chest at the Seattle preview of Spider Man in 2002.

Source: Townhall.com

Industry giant and evil overlord Electronic Arts reported this morning that it had finished its wheeling and dealing with the Federal Trade Commission concerning the takeover of Take Two Interactive.

In its regulatory filing, EA said it would not go through with the previously offered $2 billion deal (because Take Two rejected it), and would instead return to the table, presumably with hired goons, no sooner than August 21 of this year.  The news apparently convinced some people that this deal will happen, as stock prices rose for both companies.  We have just experienced the beginning of the end. Read more…

A few days ago, Take-Two announced that the first episode of the Xbox 360 exclusive DLC for GTA 4 was going to be delayed until next year. The following day, a Microsoft spokesman said it was still on track for a Fall 2008 release.
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EA have been taking a few not-so-subtle strides in recent months regarding their desire to take over the world buy Take-Two. After being turned down several times, they don’t appear to be taking no for an answer, instead securing a loan of one billion dollars to help with the takeover.
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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. Read more…

This is it?! This is insulting.

Take-Two Interactive told stockholders at a recent meeting that the buyout offer from Electronic Arts wasn’t good enough. Not that they’re not for sale, it’s just going to cost a potential buyer a bit more than $2 billion. Read more…

It has been confirmed today that Take-Two have refused an offer by Electronic Arts to buy the company. The offer came just a few days after the release date for Take-Two’s most anticipated title, GTA IV was announced, prompting Take-Two to refer to the offer as “highly opportunistic”. Read more…

Niko’s aiming for Spring — brown is supposed to be in this season.

Rockstar’s golden hooker, Grand Theft Auto, was supposed to return last October in the much anticipated fourth installment… wait, sixth installment? Eighth? Okay, let’s just say Grand Theft Auto IV and move on.

October came and went, and obviously the game was not released — if it were, you’d be playing it right now instead of just reading about it. All that’s about to change very soon. Read more…

The origin of this rumor stems from a post on EvilAvatar.com by Dr. Finger, a prominent member of the community. Dr. Finger claims that he spoke to a “contact” of his at his local Target store. Apparently, an internal memo was released stating that all Target stores are to stop selling Manhunt 2, and that any copies the store has are to be returned to Take 2. Read more…

Grand Theft Auto IV delay has everyone pointing fingers

The delay of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV video game for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 has fans and fanboys everywhere in an uproar. You can’t browse a video game website without running into something related to the delay. Whether it has to do with rumors of a refund regarding the exclusive downloadable content deal (which cost Microsoft 50 million) or as we are about to discuss, the many finger pointing articles being published across the web. Read more…

Fans of Major League Baseball will have yet another change up thrown their way this Fall from 2K Sports. Read more…

Take Two has announced the release of an expanded version of award-winning role playing game for PC and Xbox 360 available in September. If you are new to the Oblivion series this will offer a good place to start. Experienced gamers however will be able to access new quests via the expansion and downloadable content. Read more…

“The Waltons Civilization”

2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. announced today Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Gold Edition for PC. Containing 2005’s PC Game of the Year Sid Meier’s Civilization IV and its first expansion set, Civilization IV: Warlords plus an impressive list of bonus items. Read more…

E3, also known as “min-E3″, is being held this year from July 11th to the 13th at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA. Anyone who is familiar with the E3 of old knows that the new “min-E3″ pales in comparison to the event held in years past, that said … it is still better than nothing.

A schedule of events was released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) for the show on the official E3 website.

Getting the ball rolling this year will be Microsoft with a “pre-E3 conference” at 8:30pm on July 10th. Next up will be Nintendo, offering up a tasty batch wii goodness, with a conference at Read more…