PS3 Fanboy

It's a well documented fact that Electronic Arts has eagerly desired to acquire Take-Two Interactive for some time now. Our comrades over at Joystiq have been thinking deeply about the implications of such a merger -- if such a merger were to happen. Delving further into this, they examine Take-Two's development portfolio, showcasing what an extensively large acquisition Take-Two really is and laying out exactly what EA would be gaining in the deal.

Many of the games made at Take-Two's various studios could very well be games you've been impatiently anticipating. Could any of you see these future titles with EA's stamp all over them? What are these games and the studios that make them, you ask? Check out Joystiq's Take-Two family album to find out.

Take a look at Joystiq's Take Two family album

Coming from a recent interview with Phil Harrison, 1up was curious why Sony was letting exclusive downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV slip through their fingers. It seems that, perhaps, the PS3 will get their own content for the upcoming classic sandbox game. Phil responded thus: " ... we have a great relationship with Rockstar and we're actually working closely with them on a number of initiatives, so I do know some things that are going on, but I'm not able to share those with you now." Insert theories here.

If we can think of anything, we'd imagine that Sony is trying to get the content for the 360 version over to the PS3 version either as standard Blu-ray extras on the game disc (so they aren't technically breaking the "exclusive downloadable content" clause or whatever), or that there is some more original material planned for the PS3 version down the road. What are your thoughts?

[Thanks, Ciaran!]

We could blab about the single-player mode of Grand Theft Auto IV, but we've been kept in the dark about the multiplayer options for the game and finally found something. We're going to go ahead and detail them below, so enjoy.

One multiplayer mode will require you to seek out your opponent and eliminate him. How would you find him in such a big city? He's got to get his crime ranking thing up to seven stars, then he'll pop up on your radar. After that, seek him out and destroy him. Like the Terminator.

There are more modes to come, but that's all we were enlightened to for now. As for the single player mode, an in-game internet and cell phone will be integral to the game. Think ... Front Mission 3 with the pseudo-internet. You use the phone to order up more weapons, et cetera, so don't worry about running to a weapon shop while being chased. Call on the run! More details to come, we're sure.

While Bully was a slight departure from the established GTA franchise that Take Two Interactive are known for, it was received very well. By critics, by consumers, even by analyst Michael Pachter. He will be the topic for this post. See, initially, he was quoted as saying that sales of Bully won't merit a sequel. How would you like those words cooked, Pachter, before we force them back into your mouth? Nah, we won't do that, because you apologized like a human being.

"Please make sure you print my apology to Take Two - I have been consistently wrong about this title. I thought it would be stupid, and it was fun; I thought it would get poor reviews, and it got solid 90s; and I thought it would bomb, while it now appears to be a million unit seller. As a result, I did not expect a sequel, while now I have to acknowledge that a sequel is a possibility."

Pachter makes mention of the GTA4 engine as a base for Bully 2 (should there be one), so we have to wonder if that would be a good engine to use for a more, er, localized non-linear game (a school as opposed to a city). What do you guys think? Sequel or no? Would you like to see more Bully action on the PS3?