It’s D-Day For Take-Two Interactive [Seeking Alpha, via GamePolitics] [Image]

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder was asked that very question during today’s quarterly earnings conference call to which he responded that Chinatown Wars was an important step in its relationship with Nintendo.

“Without commenting specifically on whether GTA is coming to the Wii or not, I will say that Nintendo and Take-Two work very very well together”, Feder explained. “Rockstar and Nintendo work very well together. We intend to continue to grow that relationship.”

Feder also noted that the company has invested “an enormous amount of time and effort working with Nintendo” and while he fell short of announcing a major product during an investor call, it certainly sounds like the door is open.

With over two million Carnival Games shipped on Nintendo platforms, it just makes sense.

While Rockstar has traditionally stuck with PlayStation, Xbox and PC platforms, it has brought Smugglers Run to the Gamecube and Grand Theft Auto to the Game Boy Advance. We’d say think that, given the hooker beating simulating properties of the Wii nunchuk, it’s a no-brainer.

Feder wouldn’t confirm that the title would hit before the holidays, despite requests from callers to clarify.

If rumours are right, Chinatown Wars will hit in the same three month window — November 1 to January 31 — as GTA IV’s Xbox 360 exclusive downloadable episodes. If that GTA three-way does happen, it could make for a very happy group of shareholders. And a lot of virtual bystander corpses.

With the PC release and the localised Japanese version still to come, it’s looking more and more likely that GTA IV can hit that 15 million mark in 2008, as Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst predicted.

A cheaper Xbox 360 and forthcoming episodic content sure won’t hurt GTA IV’s chances this holiday season.

Umm. Do Ninjas wear cloaks? Perhaps the metaphor breaks down a bit at that point.

No matter – the point is that EA has entered into a confidentiality agreement with Take-Two and both parties are now obliged to keep their lips tightly zipped with regard to the companies ongoing discussions.

Following the FTC’s announcement last week that they would not oppose any merger, EA decided not to renew the formal bid and has been having some cosy chats with its new friends at Take-Two.

Cosy chats that from now on we will not be party to. Bah.

EA: We Might Be Talking To Take-Two, We Might Not. But We’re Not Talking About It Publicly Anymore [Sillicon Alley Insider]

Upon further review of this matter, it now appears that no additional action by the Commission is warranted at this time. Accordingly, the investigation has been closed.

So.. essentially EA are free to pursue their merger. Or would be, had they not let their bid expire on Monday.

With the FTC investigation put to bed, though, EA are now able to enter into private negotiations with Take Two. Take Two is now to give EA its three-year financial forecasts and the game will continue…

An EA merger with Take-Two gets U.S. antitrust OK [Reuters via GamePolitics]

EA says they’ve decided to let their latest offer to buy up Take-Two lock stock and, well stock at $US 25.74 a share expire at midnight tonight, but only because they don’t think they would have the time anymore to dress up their new acquisition and parade her around for the holidays. In exchange, Take-Two is promising to stop by Electronic Arts one of these days and show EA just how super awesome they are, but only if they don’t tell anyone.

I expect one of them to get totally drunk come Christmas and spill all of the beans over a ham dinner.

EA Negotiating NDA to Obtain Limited Due Diligence Tender Offer to Expire Monday, August 18, 2008, on its Terms

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Aug. 18, 2008—Electronic Arts Inc. (”EA”) (NASDAQ:ERTS) today issued an update on its offer to acquire Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (”Take-Two”) (NASDAQ:TTWO).

On Friday August 15, John Riccitiello, Chief Executive Officer of EA, called Strauss Zelnick, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Take-Two, to discuss EA’s offer to acquire Take-Two. Following discussions over the weekend between EA and Take-Two, EA accepted Take-Two’s offer to provide a management presentation to EA containing non-public information. The letters between the parties are set forth below.

EA also announced that it will allow its tender offer for all of the currently outstanding shares of common stock (including the associated preferred stock purchase rights) of Take-Two to expire on Monday, August 18, 2008 at 11:59 p.m., New York City time.

As previously reported, the Federal Trade Commission is scheduled to complete its antitrust review of the proposed transaction by August 21. EA remains confident that antitrust issues will not prevent or delay a transaction.

Below is the text of the letter sent today by Mr. Riccitiello to Mr. Zelnick:

August 18, 2008

Mr. Strauss Zelnick
Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
622 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Dear Strauss:

Thank you for taking my call on Friday and for your response letter
on August 17, 2008.

As discussed on Friday, given the passage of time, we have to
validate the assumptions used in the model to support our offer
price of $25.74 per share in cash. In addition, we no longer believe
we can integrate Take-Two ahead of the important holiday season.
Accordingly, we require due diligence to support a transaction and
are therefore letting the tender offer expire tonight. However, we
are pleased to accept your offer to review your management
presentation as outlined in your letter.

We continue to have great respect for Take-Two’s creative teams and
products and are hopeful that we can work together to reach a
mutually agreed transaction.

Sincerely,

/s/ John Riccitiello
John Riccitiello
Chief Executive Officer

Below is the text of the letter sent yesterday by Mr. Zelnick to Mr. Riccitiello:

August 17, 2008

Mr. John S. Riccitiello
Chief Executive Officer
Electronic Arts Inc.
209 Redwood Shores Parkway
Redwood City, CA 94065

Dear John:

Thank you for your recent expression of interest for Electronic Arts
Inc. (”EA”) to participate in Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.’s
(the “Company”) formal process to evaluate the Company’s strategic
alternatives. As you know, we have been willing to have EA
participate in this process following the successful launch of GTA
IV, and we are happy to include EA now.

As I mentioned when we spoke on Friday, our process begins with an
in-depth management presentation. The Company has made significant
strides since EA first expressed interest in the Company and this
presentation includes material non-public information to which you
would not otherwise have access, including information relating to
our three year product release schedule and management’s financial
projections. The presentation also includes information about the
underlying factors that have driven our strong operational and
financial performance. I believe our presentation will enable you to
understand better the value of our Company to EA.

Prior to the management presentation, we will only require EA to
enter into a confidentiality agreement. The agreement would be
limited to provisions required to comply with federal securities
laws and to ensure the Company’s ability to protect the
confidentiality of the information shared with you. I can assure you
that this requirement is the same as or more favourable to EA than
that which we have employed with all other participants in the
process.

We understand that a number of months have passed since you first
expressed interest in the Company and, accordingly, we will act
quickly to assist you in moving through our process. Once we execute
a confidentiality agreement, we are prepared to schedule the
management presentation immediately.

With my best personal regards.

Sincerely,

/s/ Strauss Zelnick
Strauss Zelnick
Executive Chairman of the Board

EA’s tender offer for all of the currently outstanding shares of common stock (including the associated preferred stock purchase rights) of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (”Take-Two”) (NASDAQ:TTWO) will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on August 18, 2008.

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated is acting as the Dealer Manager for the tender offer, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Latham & Watkins are acting as legal counsel, and Georgeson Inc. is acting as Information Agent for the tender offer.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company.

Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA SPORTS Freestyle(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell securities of Take-Two. The offer to purchase or solicitation of offers to sell is being made pursuant to a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO (including the Offer to Purchase, Letter of Transmittal and other related offer documents) filed by EA and EA08 Acquisition Corp. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on March 13, 2008. Before making any decision with respect to the offer, Take-Two stockholders are advised to read these documents, as they may be amended or supplemented from time to time, and any other documents relating to the tender offer that are filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety because they contain important information, including the terms and conditions of the offer. These documents may be obtained at no charge by direc
ting a request by mail to Georgeson, Inc., 199 Water Street, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10038, or by calling toll-free at (800) 213-0473, and may also be obtained at no charge at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

Forward Looking Statements

Some statements set forth in this communication, including those regarding EA’s offer to acquire Take-Two and the expected impact of the acquisition on EA’s strategic and operational plans and financial results, contain forward-looking statements that are subject to change. Statements including words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate” or “expect” and statements in the future tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or actual future results to differ materially from the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors which could cause results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements include the following: the possibility that EA’s offer to acquire Take-Two will not be consummated; the possibility that, even if EA’s offer is consummated, the transaction will not close or that the closing may be delayed; the effect of the announcement of the offer on EA’s and Take-Two’s strategic relationships, operating results and business generally, including the ability to retain key employees; EA’s ability to successfully integrate Take-Two’s operations and employees; general economic conditions; and other factors described in EA’s SEC filings (including EA’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2008). If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, the offer may not be consummated, the acquisition may not be consummated, the potential benefits of the acquisition may not be realised, EA’s and/or Take-Two’s operating results and financial performance could suffer, and actual results could differ materially from the expectations described in these forward-looking statements.

All information in this communication is as of the initial date on which this communication was released. EA undertakes no duty to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Last week we dropped you a Midnight Club: Los Angeles Trailer and this one is definitely as impressive. Having been to E3 I can tell you driving through the streets of LA going 100+ mph would be a blast, not in real life of course.

I can’t comment on it, but obviously we have one of the best selling third -party games on the Wii in Carnival Games from 2K Play, so we know the Wii pretty well. We’re building up assets to develop for the Wii and we’re excited about its growth. I can’t comment on GTA specifically on the Wii…

Read into that what you will, but we read a man saying those words with a smirk on his face and his right hand patting his wallet ever so softly.

Interview: Take-Two’s Ben Feder Talks GTA, Wii, MMOs and More [GameDaily]

In periods of high growth, like where we are now, B titles and C titles can do OK. But as soon as you get to the point where the platform penetration has reached its asymptote, then quality reins supreme. We think that if you focus on quality all along, regardless of where the market peak is, you will do better.

Explaining, perhaps, why T2’s Wii catalogue isn’t quite as robust as some other publisher’s.

E3 perspective: Q&A with Chairman Strauss Zelnick on the future of Take-Two Interactive [VentureBeat]