And the story continues...from EATakeTwo.com

EA COMMENCES ALL CASH TENDER OFFER TO PURCHASE
TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SHARES FOR $26.00 PER SHARE
Price Offers 64% Premium Over Closing Price on Feb. 15

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 13, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (“EA”) (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that a wholly owned subsidiary of EA commenced a tender offer for all of the currently outstanding shares of common stock of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (“Take-Two”) (NASDAQ: TTWO) for $26.00 per share in cash.

The offer is valued at approximately $2 billion and represents a 64% premium over Take-Two’s closing stock price on February 15, the last trading day before EA sent its revised proposal to Take-Two.

EA Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello: “This is a great opportunity for Take-Two shareholders.  We believe Take-Two investors will see our tender offer as the best way to maximize the value of their investment in Take-Two. This tender offer provides a clear process to complete the proposed transaction. For EA shareholders, the combination would add additional intellectual properties to our already strong portfolio and welcome Take-Two’s talented creative teams to the great development organization we’ve built at EA.”
The tender offer is scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on Friday, April 11, 2008, unless the tender offer is extended.

The tender offer is not conditioned upon financing. The tender offer is conditioned upon, among other things,

1. EA being able to acquire a majority of the outstanding shares (fully-diluted) of Take-Two in the tender offer;
   
   
2. the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law not being applied to the tender offer or any subsequent merger with EA;
   
   
3. the expiration or termination of any applicable Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period and;
   
   
4. Take-Two entering into a merger agreement on terms satisfactory to EA in its reasonable judgment.
   

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated is acting as the Dealer Manager for the tender offer and Georgeson Inc. is acting as Information Agent for the tender offer.

This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell securities of Take-Two. The description of the tender offer contained in this press release is not intended to be a full or detailed description of the terms or conditions of the tender offer. Take-Two shareholders are urged to read the disclosure documents that will be filed later today with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the tender offer statement, regarding the tender offer because they contain important information. The disclosure documents (when they are available), and any other documents relating to the tender offer that are filed with the SEC, may be obtained at no charge by directing a request by mail to Georgeson, Inc., 199 Water Street, 26^th Floor, New York, NY 10038, or by calling toll-free at (800) 213-0473, and may also be obtained at no charge at http://investor.ea.com or the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

This release does not constitute a solicitation of proxies in connection with any matter to be considered at Take-Two’s 2008 annual meeting of stockholders. Neither EA nor its subsidiary making the tender offer is soliciting, or intends to solicit, proxies in respect of any matter to be considered at Take-Two’s 2008 annual meeting.

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EA Sports President Peter Moore posted a new entry to his blog today in the EA Sports Forums, including a nice little tidbit about the future of PC gaming ....

"Been yet another busy week, as we finalize budgets for FY09. EA’s fiscal year begins April 1st, and as with any business, we have to go through the process of determining forecasted income and expenditures so that we can build a budget. Game development and publishing is a little more complicated than many other businesses, as you have a portion of your costs (game development expenditures) that do not necessarily deliver revenue in the same year. Not my favorite process, but very necessary. I think we in the sports label are close to getting everything to balance out, so that we can get back to working with the teams as we get close to alpha milestones on a number of our titles.

Many of you have posed questions about a wide range of subjects, some of which I can’t respond to (yes, as much as you ask about Take-Two, there is really nothing I can say at this juncture), and others that request confidential information (sorry – it’s a competitive business and I can’t provide information ahead of its formal announcement). Few topics I will tackle, though:  "

Read full story HERE 

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1up has the breaking story:

Madden Lead Producer Leaves EA Tiburon

We've confirmed that David Ortiz (no, not the Red Sox slugger), the lead producer on the Madden series for the PS3/360 platforms, has left development house EA Tiburon (which makes all of the company's pigskin titles). Our inside sources tell us that Ortiz cited family reasons for his leaving, but we've also heard rumblings that he grew frustrated with the inner workings of the studio. An EA spokesperson sent us this statement concerning the departure: "David's been a valuable part of our team at EA Tiburon, and we wish him the best. Dale Jackson, an EA veteran for more than a decade, continues to lead the Madden NFL development team."

We've also learned that longtime EA Tiburon producer Phil Frazier will take over Ortiz's role and head up development on the prettier versions of Madden. Frazier was a major player in making the series successful during the PS2/XB/GC days, and more recently was involved in NFL Tour's development. Speaking for all football fans, here's to Madden NFL 09 ending up looking more like Frazier's earlier works.

Full story HERE from 1up.com 

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More news is coming in regarding EA's new "FaceBreaker" boxing game today.  EA just launched the official "FaceBreaker" site, found at http://www.easports.com/facebreaker/

There's also a posting on the official website from EA's Matt Tripepi about the focus of the game:

"Boxing fans have been hungry for a game that combines the heavy-hitting ringside action of Fight Night with the craziness of old-school arcade boxing. Well, we're working on it. And that's why I'm pumped to tell you about a game we've got coming out later in 2008.."

Here's the official marketing post about the game on the site:

"FaceBreaker is under development at EA Canada and will be released for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360™ video game system from Microsoft and the Wii™ in 2008.  Created by the same team that developed the award-winning Fight Night Round 3, FaceBreaker is an over-the-top, arcade boxing world full of new characters and game modes. FaceBreaker promises fun, addictive gameplay and graphic quality, with a flair of in-your-face attitude. Laugh out loud as you pummel your opponent with a barrage of blows to the mug and watch in satisfaction as your progress is illustrated by real-time facial deformation. In FaceBreaker, it feels good to kick your opponent into next week and buy him a front row ticket to the opera where the fat lady can sing to him personally."

We'll have more updates on "FaceBreaker" as more is revealed about the game.

Now- if only BackBreaker will have the same between-rounds corner girl that Ring King had...

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