Back before Square Enix rescinded its friendly Tecmo takeover bid, we first broke the news that RPG maker was baffled. Tecmo rejected its offer in favor of merging with Dynasty Warriors company Koei. Most curious. Square Enix had three questions for Tecmo:
1. Please confirm that the decision on the start of discussions with KOEI toward integration of management is the reason for rejection of the Proposal.
2. If that is the case, please clarify concretely that major terms of integration of management with KOEI (form of the integration, stock prices assumption, integration ratio and so forth) are favorable for TECMO's shareholders than the Proposal.
3. If not, please clarify that TECMO has an alternative plan, which is favorable for TECMO's shareholders than the Proposal.
Tecmo didn't answer these questions until today. We've translated that, after the jump.
Facing tough competition from a red-hot console market, developers are looking online in a bid to keep computer-based gaming alive.
There was a time when personal computers were the tools of choice for hard-core gamers. But four years ago, on the brink of the release of the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360, analysts were proclaiming the death of PC gaming.
These new consoles – well, Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox – were more powerful than the computers at the time, and were integrating with home entertainment systems to provide high definition experiences beyond just gaming. Nintendo, meanwhile, offered a completely new approach to gaming with its Wiimote controllers.
And this year, Electronic Arts decided to kill the PC versions of many of its popular sports titles, including Madden NFL 09, Tiger Woods PGA Tour and NBA Live. LucasArts is releasing The Force Unleashed, its new Star Wars title, on every platform except PC.
Yesterday's session featured some strange exchanging of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) shares, just one day before the company is set to release earnings.
There was no news released, though Barron's later said that the price decline was due to rumors about Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) walking away from merger talks. ERTS had an executive speak at a conference right around noon.
Below is a graph of TTWO's trades between about 11:15 and 12:05, when shares declined sharply, rebounded sharply, and then settled roughly 5% lower than where they opened.
As the stock crossed $24 about eight minutes into the graph, the first pickup in volume can be seen, possibly by stop-limit orders being triggered. The price continued to slide on light volume until shares broke through $23, when volume accelerated to over 50,000 shares per minute.
As the shares dropped below $22, volume topped 150,000 shares per minute, which is impressive, consid... More »
It's unclear if the FTC's now closed investigation was the only thing holding Electronic Arts and Take-Two back from entering into negotiations, but regardless of that, an SEC filing made yesterday by EA has confirmed that the two companies have entered into a confidentiality agreement where Take-Two will reveal their three-year product plans, according to Reuters.
As a result, no further details on the negotiations will be revealed publicly unless the two decide to either end their discussions or formalize a deal.
From the filing: "The terms of the confidentiality agreement prohibit each of EA and Take-Two from, among other things, publicly disclosing the status or terms of any discussions or negotiations between EA and Take-Two unless EA or Take-Two notifies the other that it is terminating discussions.
As a result, EA does not intend to make any further announcements regarding the status of any discussions or negotiations with Take-Two unless... More »
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.
The average gamer knows this to be true. It was a sad day when EA acquired BioWare, and that’s just one developer. Take Two represents one of the four legs (along with EA, Ubisoft, and ActiBlizzion) that holds up the bed of videogames that we all sleep in. Combining two of those legs into one will certainly make the bed unstable, and we will most likely not have... More »
A Harvard University dropout who ushered in the home computer age and made billions of dollars along the way will have his last official day of work at Microsoft on 27 June.
Three people will essentially fill the void left behind when Bill Gates retires from the company he and friend Paul Allen co-founded in 1975.
Since Gates began his transition from leading Microsoft to heading his personally-bankrolled charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, his job as chief software architect has been handled by Ray Ozzie.
Craig Mundie inherited Gates' chief research and strategy officer duties, while former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer became chief executive officer at the Seattle-based software colossus.
Gates left Harvard after two years to found the firm that became global powerhouse Microsoft. He later received honorary degrees from Harvard and other universities.
After retiring, Gates will remain chairman o... More »
Back in June 2006 American gaming magazine Game Informer’s Loose Talk column mentioned System Shock 3 was in development at Electronic Arts, who in January 2006 had renewed the System Shock series trademarks. The creators of the original two games at Irrational Games, who now worked for Take Two after a takeover, weren’t developing it but instead the team who made The Godfather game.
In August 2006 the PC Gamer UK magazine also revealed the project has been assigned to EA Redwood Shores (The Godfather), since the series creators were working on a spiritual successor of their own called BioShock. This reveal was made all the more controversial when as part of the magazine’s interview Irrational Games’ Ken Levine (designer of the original games) said:
“One of the reasons I wasn’t interested [in System Shock 3] is EA just didn’t give a darn about that game... I think if EA were to do it, it would’ve been just a regular first-person shooter... More »
It’s no secret that when SEGA fell out of the hardware market, most of the devout fans of ‘home of the hedgehog’ pledged allegiance to the Xbox brand.
In part due to the early launch titles for the original Xbox - the classics ‘Panzer Dragoon Orta’ and ‘Jet Grind Radio’. Both niche titles brought the SEGA faithful over to Microsoft’s house for a party.
Much has changed over recent years though, with SEGA upping their release schedule across not just the Xbox brand, but also the Playstation and to a lesser extent, Nintendo consoles. This rather bulky release schedule helped SEGA rise from the ashes to become a once more successful part of the gaming front.
So it’s no surprise that rumors are once again circulating that Microsoft may be about to make a move for SEGA (now SEGA Sammy Corp). It’s certainly not the first time we’ve heard about such a move - the last mention of it being back in early 2004 when it was speculated upo... More »
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