[NEW]Microsoft vs EA for Vivendi[NEW] Clash of the Titan's !!

**Hitman101** · 01-30-2003

OMG guys Microsoft better act QUICK with Vivendi cause EA may want a piece of them to. Darn you EA !!!!

January 30, 2003
Electronic Arts Posts 89% Earnings Increase
By MATT RICHTEL
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/30/b...nt&position=top

AN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29 — Buoyed by games like Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Madden N.F.L. 2003, Electronic Arts today reported earnings that far exceeded Wall Street's expectations, showing continued dominance in the video game industry.

Electronic Arts said that in its third quarter, which ended in December, 11 of its games sold more than a million copies each, a remarkable result in a business where any game that sells more than 750,000 copies is considered a major hit.

Electronic Arts posted revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared with the $1.13 billion average estimate of Wall Street analysts. The company reported net earnings of $250 million, an 89 percent increase over the year-earlier period. Earnings per share were $1.69, compared with analysts' estimate of $1.57.

But the positive news was tempered by the lower-than-expected performance of the Sims Online, an online cyberworld that Electronic Arts brought out last month. Industry analysts and Electronic Arts pinned big hopes on the game as a growth market and a bellwether of consumer acceptance of online game playing in general.

The game has attracted 82,000 registered players, who pay $9.95 a month, which is "behind where we thought we'd be," said Warren C. Jenson, the company's chief financial and administrative officer. He did not say what the company's expectations had been.

Suggesting that the company has growth plans beyond the Sims, Electronic Arts also announced today that it had filed with the Securities Exchange Commission for a universal shelf registration — a regulatory requirement when a company intends to take out a line of credit, and that is generally intended to pave the way for a company to borrow to make acquisitions. Electronic Arts said it intended to borrow $2 billion.

The sizable amount of the line of credit suggests that Electronic Arts may be seeking to buy a major competitor, like the game unit of Sega or Vivendi Universal Games, said Edward Williams, an analyst with Gerard Klauer Mattison.

Industry analysts have speculated that Electronic Arts is competing with Microsoft to acquire Vivendi's game unit. Jeff Brown, a spokesman for Electronic Arts, declined to comment on that speculation.

"I think they want a piece of Vivendi; I think they want Blizzard," said Mr. Williams, the analyst. Blizzard Entertainment is part of Vivendi Universal Games.

The company had a huge quarter, bolstered by holiday sales, said Shawn Milne, an analyst with the Soundview Technology Corporation. "They blew away the numbers."

The company's profit margins hit 55 percent, compared with 52 percent in the quarter last year.

The success is not a surprise in at least one respect. The video game industry is heavily cyclical, with growth when new video game platforms are released. The market is flush with new platforms, like the Sony PlayStation 2, the Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox, paving the way for big sales.

Electronic Arts closed at $50.97 in regular trading before its earnings announcement, up 20 cents. It fell as low as $48.87 in after-hours trading.

**MerimacHamwich** · 01-30-2003

I hate EA. If they got Vivendi Universal that would mean no more good titles from them. However, seeing as Microsoft could buy out EA with its pocket change I am not too worried that Vivendi would make a bad desicion.

**Kortiz** · 01-30-2003

Man this is funny.

ok i have been posting on a UT2003 forum and man they really hate Xbox/MS.

all are ****ed that MS is going for Vivendi.

kind of funny how 2 forums can be soo diverse.

SEGRAGATION IS DA KEY....well as far as Fanboy game sites go that is.

**carlbme** · 01-30-2003

I personally would rather they stay as they are. But that isn't going to happen. So I would much rather MS get them than EA.

EA has a known track record for taking good titles and messing them up by rushing them and then offering little to no support for them.

**Bravo_2** · 01-30-2003

*pulls out a piece of plywood with a nail jutting out*

Those ****ers at EA better not take it.

**Xbox Owner** · 01-30-2003

wtf.. ea doesn't even have a chance..

**Kortiz** · 01-30-2003

Originally posted by carlbme
I personally would rather they stay as they are. But that isn't going to happen. So I would much rather MS get them than EA.

EA has a known track record for taking good titles and messing them up by rushing them and then offering little to no support for them.

i dunno who to believe anymore. PC Fanboys claim the same thing about MS......all i know is this cant be a bad thing. More exclusivity to Xbox and that is good for Xbox. MS aint dumb, they own the PC market anyway. why not the gaming market too.

*shrug* PC fanboys dont think the way i do though. <i have to keep a low profile over at the INA forums. Just keeping it to UT2k3 talk over there LOL

**carlbme** · 01-30-2003

I actually go to a few PC fanboy sites since I play alot of PC games as well. The ones I know despise EA just as much as MS. Most of them say they would rather have MS get it since they don't mess up the games "as much", LOL.

**hiter101** · 02-01-2003

EA has FUDGED! up every company they owned i mean look at Westwood

*CRYS*

RIP WESTWOOD

**Ninja Scroll** · 02-01-2003

Im sick of dem EA sucka's.

Microsoft has dropped da ball on several things such as getting exclusive rights for various franchises.
All they know is to buy out companies as a whole.
They better not allow this one to slip through da cracks.

props for da link yo!

**Dark Enemy** · 02-01-2003

having games like diablo, starcraft. ext.. will help xbox sell more boxes.

**Stormlord** · 02-02-2003

Originally posted by PublicEnemy2k3
having games like diablo, starcraft. ext.. will help xbox sell more boxes.

Not only that, but it would help make up the lost money from the Xbox.

PC fanboys are just as bad as PS2 fanboys. Just like PS2 they say that when a console can out due their system (although PC has pulled way ahead of consoles on hardware) the console sucks anyways and their games are better. Just like how UC is the same as UT2k3. They were so closed minded that they couldn't face the fact that UC was in development before UT and kept claiming it was a port.

I don't understand why they would hate MS so much. A lot of them are using Windows based products.

They're just Po'ed that they don't know how to use windows or because some new fanboys see that it's trendy to pick on MS.

If anything, GO MICROSOFT! I wouldn't let Vivendi slip into the evil empire of EA. EA dominates alot of Japanese publishers, and that's a hard thing to do. Microsoft should compete with EA.

**thunderkiss2k1** · 02-02-2003

Well, hold on to your hats: Microsoft did it. They purchased Vivendi. For 989 million according to an article posted on TXB. Here is the link:

http://forums.teamxbox.com/showthrea...hreadid=175567

**Bravo_2** · 02-02-2003

Originally posted by thunderkiss2k1
Well, hold on to your hats: Microsoft did it. They purchased Vivendi. For 989 million according to an article posted on TXB. Here is the link:

http://forums.teamxbox.com/showthrea...hreadid=175567

You have to make a whole thread about this

*faints*

**Shadow20002** · 02-02-2003

Ok, a little problem here. It's fake. Check this out:

http://128.211.227.173/2003/TECH/biz...ndi/index.html

and this:

http://128.211.227.173/2003/TECH/biz...osoft.orbital/

There are just making us hype for nothing.

**Hitman101** · 02-02-2003

w000t !!!! Looks like starcraft ghost is going to be xbox exclusive !!!

**xboxman_1** · 02-02-2003

Just like how UC is the same as UT2k3. They were so closed minded that they couldn't face the fact that UC was in development before UT and kept claiming it was a port.

This may be off topic, but UC may have been in development first, but UT2K3 is still better by a thousand miles. (I know, I have both)

**Bravo_2** · 02-02-2003

So what's happening?

**bbchs_trash** · 02-03-2003

Its fake... look at the link included in the thread... well that sucks...

**Stormlord** · 02-03-2003

Originally posted by xboxman_1
This may be off topic, but UC may have been in development first, but UT2K3 is still better by a thousand miles. (I know, I have both)

What makes it better by a thousand miles? They're the same game. And if it's because of the FPS issue then maybe you haven't been keeping up with the news.....