Take Two downgraded. EA seeks 2K sports?

by Richard Mitchell { Feb 19th 2007 at 9:35AM }

Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities recently downgraded his assessment of Take Two Interactive stock from "hold" to "sell." While Grand Theft Auto IV is a guaranteed smash, WMS is wary of the lackluster performance of 2K Sports and "everything else." Naturally, Take Two's recent "hot coffee" scandal add to the decision, which Pachter chalks up to management decisions. Essentially, Take Two allows great freedoms to its creators, which results in groundbreaking games like GTA, but also results in sexual content making it onto a retail disc.

Pachter discussed the possibility of the company being bought, divided, and sold in pieces. It's "unlikely" according to Pachter, but he does note that EA would be the most likely candidate to purchase 2K, as it would give the company a monopoly on nearly all major sports products. Pachter said such a monopoly could be worth as much as $1 billion, though he believes 2K Sports itself could probably be had for $200 million.

[Thanks, dpcough]

See Also:
NFL2K rises from the ashes
Reduced 360 target causes VG stock dip

Tags: 2k sports, 2kSports, business, ea, electronic arts, ElectronicArts, take two, take two interactive, TakeTwo, TakeTwoInteractive

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

DjDATZ @ Feb 19th 2007 9:38AM

ea monopoly of sports gaming = not good.

they make garbage games right now as it is with some competition...imagine how horrible the games would be if they had no competition...

GEORGE @ Feb 19th 2007 9:46AM

This would be horrible news, 2k sports is the only company to make good sports games anymore.

Jcarpio @ Feb 19th 2007 10:02AM

Please don't EA buy it up. This monopoly would be horrible.

I can only wish that MS just buys up 2k and make it a 1st party developer.

Jcarpio @ Feb 19th 2007 10:12AM

[edit] grammar fix

Please don't let EA buy it up. This monopoly would be horrible for gamers.

I can only wish that MS buys up 2k and make it a 1st party developer.

Gunner43 @ Feb 19th 2007 10:29AM

If EA buys up 2k, I will never buy another sports game unless there arises another competitor. EA is the blackhole of gaming. Horrible games and horrible quality.

When EA was questioned about the quality of their games consistently dropping, all they said was that they were making record profits. Also, they did criticize GOW saying it was a crappy game.

Come on, seriously?

Daryl @ Feb 19th 2007 10:45AM

Hope this doesn't happen. Competition pushes everyone to try harded to make a better final product.

Tim @ Feb 19th 2007 10:54AM

Competition doesn't push EA to do anything. Play NBA Live 07 and you'll understand. That game is a piece of garbage. NBA 2k7 is a million times better, and if they bought up 2k sports you can say goodbye to it, because they'd move forward with the more recognizable "Live" brand.