[Rumor] Microsoft may acquire Electronic Arts

This would be a HUGE blow to Sony & Nintendo everywhere outside Japan. I doubt it will happen, but with MS they would still be selling games on the PC as well.
 
Ya I just caught this on Fox Business News during my lunch break. I had to rewind it a few times just to make sure I heard them right. Is to early to start a "SELL YOU PS3 NOW BEFORE ITS WORTHLESS" thread?
 
Microsoft will have a monopoly in gaming if they did this. That and I would have to buy a new PC to play most of the new EA games. Lets hope this is a rumor and nothing else. :hot:
 
I don't know how it would work, but if M$ did it they better fucking not let EA put their retarded hands on Forza or else we'll have some SERIOUS issues. As for this happening... Whatever.
 
I don't buy any EA games, so I wouldn't be affected. I think Sony would still get plenty of quality games and both EA and MS would lose a ton of money.
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']I don't know how it would work, but if M$ did it they better fucking not let EA put their retarded hands on Forza or else we'll have some SERIOUS issues. As for this happening... Whatever.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps a Forza Underground, or Forza Hot Pursuit
 
Now seeing what EA has developed or published makes you think what would happen if EA did get bought by Microsoft. Almost all these games would be exclusive on 360 or PC. Rock Band, Mirrors Edge, Dead Space, Need for Speed, Brutal Legend, RAGE, The Sims, Battlefield, Crysis, Burnout, Skate, Mass Effect, and all the sports games like Tiger Woods PGA, Madden, Fight Night, and NCAA.
 
[quote name='Brownjohn']If this goes through, I could see Sony buying Activision.[/QUOTE]

if it does go through Sony better buy something quickly...
 
[quote name='Brownjohn']If this goes through, I could see Sony buying Activision.[/QUOTE]


Sony is riding way too much debt right now, there is no way in hell they would ever be able to afford Activision/Blizzard.
 
I don't know what I would do without Skate 3 on my PS3. I might have to put my MS grudge behind me and purchase my 4th 360. :(
 
i doubt this is real but it could have been a released story to put fear into the other 2 companies of what could happen. not to mention after that whole story about how ea was holding back things for sonys xmb because of some of their games it cul dbe a kind of payback. me personally this doest hurt wasnt wowed by deadspaceand thought i do like the tw golf series i only bought 1 of them very cheap and recently traded it in. itd sucks to miss out on mirrors edge but if i really wanted to play it id just get it cheap for the pc. if anything maybe ms is looking to get more exclusive stuff for their consoles ( like how they did with gta4) but to buy ea i would think would constitute a monopoly. then again with bluray being the format of choice now and ms knowing they need it to be able to do more with their games maybe a trade could be made.......that is if the buyout happens.
 
Haha Peter Moore will be back where he was. I guess Microsoft could use some more exclusives on the 360 even if they're just sports games muahaha. Here's to entropy.
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']This would be a good move for MS, but I think it would be a bad move for EA.[/QUOTE]

Why because M$ would get there insane profit and not EA?

[quote name='mac101010']Haha Peter Moore will be back where he was. [/QUOTE]

Oh god... there it is. Moore pulled a Dick Cheney.
 
Considering how much money they both lose on a regular basis, and how much worse off EA would be if limited to fewer rather than more platforms, it would pretty much be a loss for everyone.

I'm for it if this somehow accelerates going back to there being only 2 hardware players in the market, so that both can simultaneously be profitable again.

EA doesnt sell on Nintendo systems anyhow, but poor Sony if they dont have a way to get westerners to buy their console at the same time when the East has already moved to DS
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']I'm for it if this somehow accelerates going back to there being only 2 hardware players in the market, so that both can simultaneously be profitable again.[/QUOTE]

Not gonna make much difference if it's going to be shit games ever year.
 
I don't think this would do much to Nintendo...but Sony would get hurt badly.

Since I have all three systems, and I don't play many EA titles (none of the sports game), I wouldn't really care if it did happen.
 
[quote name='lilboo']But, Henry Hatsworth :(....[/QUOTE]

Mmm. Potentially it could be like Microsoft and Rare, where Rare can still periodically release titles on the DS. So this particular portion might not get affected, until MS really decides to start pushing the Zune as a portable gaming machine to combat the iPhone.

Regardless, I don't think this rumor has much salt.
 
[quote name='lokizz']i doubt this is real but it could have been a released story to put fear into the other 2 companies of what could happen. not to mention after that whole story about how ea was holding back things for sonys xmb because of some of their games it cul dbe a kind of payback. me personally this doest hurt wasnt wowed by deadspaceand thought i do like the tw golf series i only bought 1 of them very cheap and recently traded it in. itd sucks to miss out on mirrors edge but if i really wanted to play it id just get it cheap for the pc. if anything maybe ms is looking to get more exclusive stuff for their consoles ( like how they did with gta4) but to buy ea i would think would constitute a monopoly. then again with bluray being the format of choice now and ms knowing they need it to be able to do more with their games maybe a trade could be made.......that is if the buyout happens.[/QUOTE]

WOW... One big ass wall of text
 
Man, just dreaming of a 2 console reality is great.

We already know that multiplatform between 360 and PS3 is required in most cases to even have a chance at profitability. Without Sony, everyone will finally release the folly of the HD business model as western development collapses entirely.

The destruction would be beautiful to behold.
 
[quote name='FroMann']Now seeing what EA has developed or published makes you think what would happen if EA did get bought by Microsoft. Almost all these games would be exclusive on 360 or PC. Rock Band, Mirrors Edge, Dead Space, Need for Speed, Brutal Legend, RAGE, The Sims, Battlefield, Crysis, Burnout, Skate, Mass Effect, and all the sports games like Tiger Woods PGA, Madden, Fight Night, and NCAA.[/QUOTE]
They don't own Rock Band, RAGE, Crysis, or Brutal Legend, as they're part of the EA Partners program. Those belong to MTV, Id, Crytek, and Double Fine, respectively.
 
The NFL license specifically states that their games must be available on all platforms, so Madden would either have to be released on PS3/Wii, or the license would have to be restructured to allow another developer to create an NFL game for the other consoles.
 
What happens when you don't trust the selling potential of your own games? You buy another gaming studio.

You'd also have a whole bunch of Microsoft games vying for sales at the same time. So in a way, wouldn't Microsoft be cannibalizing their own sales (since EA tends to release so many titles, most throw away though)?

Most analysts don't think this makes sense, as well.

But Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at Global Equities Research, said Electronic Arts was not on Microsoft's "radar screen" based on his industry contacts.

"Our contacts just don't see Microsoft buying Electronic Arts, no synergies whatsoever, and also not Microsoft's corporate primary focus right now," Chowdhry wrote in an e-mailed note.

If true, I'd miss Mirror's Edge and Dead Space.
 
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I want to point something out real quick: Microsoft has long made pretty damn good software for one of Windows' competitors (Apple's Mac OS).

It's a different situation, yeah, but if EA is bought out by or merged into Microsoft, I don't think non-360/PC EA games will go away.

Don't see such a merger happening myself, but something to think about nevertheless.
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']Why because M$ would get there insane profit and not EA?[/QUOTE]

Close. MS needs more exclusive games, but EA would lose the profit from multipile console releases.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']They don't own Rock Band, RAGE, Crysis, or Brutal Legend, as they're part of the EA Partners program. Those belong to MTV, Id, Crytek, and Double Fine, respectively.[/QUOTE]
But if EA was bought by Microsoft wouldn't they then either be published exclusively for PC or 360?
 
Just because MS would own EA doesn't mean that EA couldn't make games for all the systems. There's a lot of jumping to conclusions in this thread.
 
[quote name='FroMann']But if EA was bought by Microsoft wouldn't they then either be published exclusively for PC or 360?[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't think so since those companies aren't a part of the deal, so it would be a contractual obligation to see them through to completion for the platform they're aimed at. I'd liken it to Bioware's deal with MS to keep Mass Effect exclusive to the Xbox 360 and PC, which didn't change when they were purchased by EA. Or Bizarre's purchase by Activision that kept PGR4 as an MS-owned IP and The Club as a Sega-owned IP.
 
I'm using MS' purchase of Rare as the model. If MS pays a premium for EA it would likely be to secure exclusive content rather than as a "profit center."
 
I'm not sure why everyone would say that MS wouldn't release games on multiple platforms if they bought EA.
Every company sells their products to other competing companies as long as it makes a profit. Now, controlling what they do and don't make exclusive is where MS would have the edge.
Madden on all consoles is still a smart move with the huge fanbase it has, making something big a timed exclusive for 360 would make a lot of sense as well. In any case, it makes sense for them to sell as much as possible.
There aren't so many exclusives out there anymore anyway. Just about everything seems to turn up on another system sometime down the line. If I were MS, I'd get all my original Xbox games working on a PS3 emulator and release them all on PSN as well.
Exclusives work for the short term, but in the lnog term, money is money. Who buys a PS3 solely for MGS4 now? Nobody.
 
Just like the Best Buy buying Gamestop rumor thread, this one would make me jump for joy too. Aside from the next Mercenaries(if there is one), I never usually buy any shit that EA puts out anyway, so I'm all for this.

I hope MS can pull this off somehow, since at least then maybe Sony will end up only getting stuff from the better devs. The crap EA puts out most times is barely one step above shovelware.
 
[quote name='FroMann']Microsoft will have a monopoly in gaming if they did this.[/QUOTE]
No, it wouldn't.
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']I hope MS can pull this off somehow, since at least then maybe Sony will end up only getting stuff from the better devs.[/QUOTE]
...
 
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