There’s going to be a lot of buying and selling in the coming months, but here’s one deal that’s not happening: Contrary to market-moving rumors, Microsoft isn’t acquiring videogame giant Electronic Arts. Anyone else want to take a shot?
iPods with cameras? Maybe. iTunes with new features? For sure. iTunes with Beatles? Nope.
I’m sure that Apple will indeed sell the Fab Four’s music via its digital music store one day. But it’s not happening at Apple’s keynote presentation tomorrow.
Want to play your favorite Beatles song in a videogame? If you want to do it with the official Fab Four-endorsed version of Rock Band, you’re going to have to wait until Sept. 9 and pay up to $250 for the privilege. Or you can head to JamLegend and play along with any song you like, for free.
When videogame sales tank, what happens to sales at the world’s biggest videogame retailer? The answer shouldn’t be a surprise, but somehow the performance that Gamestop put in this morning managed to catch Wall Street off guard anyway.
The promise of “virtual goods”–pretend things you buy with real money in cyberspace–has lured entrepreneurs and venture capitalists for years. Same goes for mobile payments–using your iPhone instead of your Amex to buy stuff. But what if you combined the two? You’d have a market that barely exists yet is worth fighting over. At least that’s what Zong and Boku are doing.
Viacom hauled Google into court over copyright violations at YouTube two years ago. So what’s happened since then? Not much, says Philippe Dauman. But he does say that his son continues enjoy working at the company he’s suing.
Here’s yet another twist to the long, sad saga of Electronic Arts’ failed bid for Take-Two Interactive: The SEC says day traders who were tipped off about EA’s interest in the videogame company ended up making $250,000 on the deal. Long-term shareholders in Take-Two, meanwhile, have gotten creamed.
Turns out videogames aren’t immune to the miserable economy, after all. But Take-Two Interactive does have some good news: It has signed the team behind its ultraviolent, ultrasuccessful Grand Theft Auto franchise to a new contract.
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
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