Rumor: Apple "Eyeing" EA Takeover

[Andy Chalk]

Rumor: Apple "Eyeing" EA Takeover

Investor Guy Adami says there's "chatter" that Electronic Arts [http://www.ea.com], sparking what may be the most interesting rumor of the day.

The comment appeared in a report on TheStreet.com [http://www.thestreet.com/story/10495815/3/fast-money-recap-does-the-rally-have-legs.html], which wrote, "Adami noted that there is chatter that Apple is eyeing Electronic Arts as a takeover target." Not a lot of meat on that bone until you consider as well that Apple has also recently picked up executives from other companies who have noteworthy backgrounds in videogames.

Richard Teversham, formerly the senior director for insights and strategy at Microsoft's Xbox Business (who comes up with these titles?), left the company to join Apple this week and prior to that Apple hired Bob Drebin, the chief technologist at Nintendo GameCube [http://www.amd.com/].

iPod Touch [http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/01/apple-gaming-iphone-technology-enteprise-tech-apple.html]. But if the Electronic Arts rumor is true then Apple's gaming ambitions would appear to go far beyond just the handheld market; assuming control of the second-largest independent videogame publisher in the world would give Apple an immediate and major presence in the game industry that it has never been able to establish on its own.

Source: Edge [http://www.edge-online.com/news/apple-signals-gaming-ambitions]


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[Random Argument Man]

Mmmm, Apple taking over EA...I wonder what the hell that Steve Jobs is thinking.

 

[oliveira8]

Mmmm, Apple taking over EA...I wonder what the hell that Steve Jobs is thinking.

Probably realising that he doesn't understand gaming, so its easier to bring in people who do.

This is, odd to say the least. This could very well mean that Mac gaming becomes stronger than PC.

Or not.

 

[pdgeorge]

You know... With apple in charge, EA might start to make some better games.

and thats saying something.

 

[Undead Dragon King]

Oh God... does this mean that games will now be released for Mac before Windows?!?

 

[Seekster]

Dont even joke about that! I dont even want to think about having to buy a Mac just to play Sims...

 

[KDR_11k]

How much would that actually cost? Nasdaq lists a "market value" of roughly 7 billion dollars but how much would the whole company cost? Can Apple just spend that kind of money nilly-willy?

This could very well mean that Mac gaming becomes stronger than PC.

I think if they just bought EA and made all their games Mac exclusives that would just annihilate EA rather than move gaming to the Mac.

 

[Sergeant M. Fudgey]

Interesting. Would the EA label just have an apple behind it now, i think apple would bring some very different ideas to EA and some much needed games to Macs. If i didnt dislike macs already i would say great, apple should go for it. Dont be lazy apple, if you want to start developing games get your own studio, its not like theyre broke.

That, and EA has a history of being annoying. In my opinion, Sims games were too time-consuming to play, Spore was for little kids and you KNOW it just plain sucked, and I haven't seen any of their games that I wanted to play. Ever.

 

[Eagle Est1986]

Wow, that could be amazing. Let's hope it's at least a tiny bit more than a rumour.

 

[corporate_gamer]

Isnt the latest rumour 'apple is taking over twitter' They're really going for broke aren't they? Its looks like software wars on again.

 

[RooksEye]

Does this mean that I'll have to spend at least 1500 dollars, just to get a half-decent gaming computer? I got my PC for 800 dollars and I love it.

 

[Frizzle]

How much would that actually cost? Nasdaq lists a "market value" of roughly 7 billion dollars but how much would the whole company cost? Can Apple just spend that kind of money nilly-willy?

This could very well mean that Mac gaming becomes stronger than PC.

I think if they just bought EA and made all their games Mac exclusives that would just annihilate EA rather than move gaming to the Mac.

Yes, yes they can. Do you know how much money they've made from everything since the iPod? I so wish my parents had bought Apple stock 20 years ago....

Also, this could be either the best, or worst thing to happen in the entertainment industry. Apple could do some crazy good things, like make gaming a possibility for Mac users; or it could do a horrible thing, like keeping things even more closed, and forcing us to buy overpriced (no matter how reliable) computers. I hope it's the former, because I used to love apple, and still own a MacBook Pro.

 

[Sevre]

Until they acquire Valve we PC Gamers won't feel the burn. And I'm not giving them ideas there. In fact....

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Nope nothing.

 

[scarbunny]

This is pretty interesting, and would be a huge boost to Apple gaming obviously, but it would also be of benifit to the end user. Seen as Macs are a very fix hardware platform, with few customizations it would make games easier and faster to produce and most games should in theory have good performace and few bugs as the developer would know the exact specs that the game would be running on, at least on the mac side.

Also I just bought my first Macbook so this news couldnt be better for me.

 

[Rhayn]

Not interested in ergonomically designed games, thanks.

I don't mind if the Mac starts getting more games, oh no. I do however mind if this means I cannot play Mass Effect 2 on my PC. I'm not interested in having the console wars coming over the computer gaming.

 

[milomalo]

Does this mean that I'll have to spend at least 1500 dollars, just to get a half-decent gaming computer? I got my PC for 800 dollars and I love it.

nope because unlike "Microsoft" mac its not trying to make things exclusive of the OS ... its just doing business and making it available for all the OS will be a better business for everyone...

also a Macbook its a boys best friend...

 

[edgeofblade]

So not happening. The market would never accept it and EA would take the brunt of the impact. If Apple really wants a viable gaming position, they should let us build our own Macs with our own hardware, and stop being a d*ck about it.

Apple really puzzles me sometimes. And the people who defend them puzzle me even more.

 

[edgeofblade]

Does this mean that I'll have to spend at least 1500 dollars, just to get a half-decent gaming computer? I got my PC for 800 dollars and I love it.

nope because unlike "Microsoft" mac its not trying to make things exclusive of the OS ... its just doing business and making it available for all the OS will be a better business for everyone...

also a Macbook its a boys best friend...

You mean because Apple are the good guys, and Microsoft are the bad guys? Are you saying Apple is only capable of doing good, and Microsoft is only capable of being "evil"? Are you so naive as to believe Apple will do things out of the good in their hearts rather than maximizing their profits, just like Microsoft? No, Apple wishes they were in the same position as Microsoft, and there is positively no guarantee that Apple wouldn't be doing the exact same thing as Microsoft.

It's a business. They both are businesses. Never forget that. There isn't anything intrinsically altruistic about them.