Microsoft Rumored To Be Eyeing Gaming’s Number Two

Courtesy of TheStreet.com, Microsoft may be shaping up to buy one of gaming’s oldest and most successful publishers, Electronic Arts, Inc. Anyone following the activities of either company for the last couple of years shouldn’t be too surprised. Microsoft has all but completely liquidated their Microsoft Games software division (Rare and Lionhead being the only two developers left standing).

While once home to greats such as Bungie, FASA and Ensemble Studios, Microsoft has a firm history of homogenizing the culture of every studio it acquires which typically ends in the slow death of the creativity and quality of the games produced by each studio. Electronic Arts on the other hand has been trying to rebuild its image as a creative, new IP-supporting mega publisher. Likely a product of Moneygeddon and less than stellar sales of their new IP and existing franchises, EA’s stock price is currently a third of where it was at back in December ’07. They’re now trailing far behind Activision, Inc. who now sits high atop a mountain of Blizzard’s monthly subscriptions and Guitar Hero revenues.

It’s safe to say that Microsoft has enough capitol in their left-hand change pocket to buy EA lock, stock and barrel. They’d be buying a successful publisher, dozens of development studios (Black Box, Visceral Games, EA Montreal, etc.) and existing partnerships (Valve, id Software, MTV Games, etc.) as well as considerable shares of other publishers. EA owns a large volume of shares in both Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive.

If true, this would most likely be a disaster for both companies. EA has been inching towards a more creative and worker-friendly development environment. A takeover by Microsoft would force both companies to go through years of culture clashes, in-fighting and most importantly to us, shitty games. Let’s hope for the sake of the industry as a whole that this is just an unfounded rumor. I’m sure to have nightmares of poorly executed, brilliantly marketed shovelware for the next week, thanks guys!