Sam Houser signals that he's cool with EA

It can't be a coincidence that Sam Houser is talking to the Wall Street Journal today about Electronic Arts.

With EA's bid for Take-Two expiring on Friday, Houser is making it pretty clear -- as far as he could  given the circumstances and his reputation -- that he'd have no problem with the deal going through. This is the key part of the story, as far as I can tell:

If EA succeeds in acquiring Take-Two, some analysts believe EA's star developers might demand a bigger share of game proceeds.

Another possible kink: Rockstar's history of autonomy. If EA ends up with Take-Two, Mr. Houser says it's unlikely that he would go so far as to seek EA's approval for game content. Still, he calls Mr. Riccitiello "the real deal" and sees some appeal in an EA alliance, which he says would make Rockstar a "much smaller fish in much bigger pond."

"I'm not someone who has any kind of problem with that," says Mr. Houser, who says EA turned him down for a job in the late 1990s.

As any reporter knows, business executives only talk when they have a good reason (or at least a reason they think is good). Sometimes it's as simple as wanting to publicize a product or themselves. Sometimes they're trying to raise their own profile or that of their company. Sometimes they're looking to push ongoing negotiations in a certain direction. I certainly know most sources don't talk to me out of the kindness of their hearts.

So when Rockstar chief Sam Houser goes on the record several weeks after "GTA IV" launches, but just a few days before Take-Two shareholders have to decide whether to accept EA's $26 per-share offer, and has nice things to say about John Riccitiello, he's telling the world that he's cool with this deal, if not outright endorsing it.

His actual quote may be very mild, but it's his decision to talk right now that speaks volumes. He also speaks about Rockstar's reputation for independence, and the story goes into the label's "bad boy" reputation, which to me is a symbol to investors that Rockstar doesn't intend to change one iota under EA, which is to say they intend to keep making hugely successful "GTA" games just like they always have.

The only question is, what does Strauss Zelnick think of it? The fact that Take-Two COO Gary Dale (who formerly worked with Rockstar) was allowed to talk on the record means that Zelnick must have not fought against the story, at a minimum (Rockstar does have its own very independent PR strategy).

So is Zelnick signaling that he's softening on his resistance to the deal at all now that "GTA IV" is out and a big hit? Will Houser's signal that he and his Rockstar team will be just fine under EA motivate any more Take-Two shareholders to sell? We'll find out by Friday.

PS Too bad the Housers remain so resistant to having images of themselves in public. I would have loved to see one of those classic WSJ sketches of Sam the way he's described: "[sporting] a scruffy beard that stretches to the top of his chest."

Comments

[Courvosier Cade]

Dear Mr. Houser or who this may apply to my name is Courvosier Cade i have always been a fan of video games sience i could remeber i have experienced many games and love many that you have created and i had some ideas for some games if you would like to hear them please please give me the change to give to you thank for you time
Sincerly,
Courvosier M Cade