Apple Reportedly Talked With Electronic Arts About Potential Acquisition

[MacRumors]

Apple is one of several companies that have held talks with Electronic Arts (EA) about a potential purchase, according to a new report from Puck.

EA has spoken to several "potential suitors," including Apple, Amazon, and Disney as it looks for a merger arrangement. Apple and the other companies declined to comment, and the status of the talks is not known at this time, but Apple does have an interest in gaming due to its Apple Arcade service.

Disney was a first pick for EA, and the gaming company approached Disney in March to establish a "more meaningful relationship" than licensing deals, but Disney decided not to pursue a purchase. EA also spoke with NBCUniversal and was close to a deal, but the talks dissolved due to disagreements over pricing and structure. EA CEO Andrew Wilson wants to remain at the head of the company following a merger, which could cause issues should Apple opt to purchase the company.

EA is a major game publisher and is known for gaming franchises that include "The Sims," "Battlefield," "Apex Legends," "SimCity," "DragonAge," "FIFA," and more.

There have been some questionable rumors about Apple aiming to compete in the AAA gaming space, releasing titles that rival those available on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but so far the company has stuck to simpler games designed for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Since 2019, Apple has offered the $4.99 per month Apple Arcade gaming service, which has been steadily growing with new titles on a monthly basis. An EA acquisition could give Apple access to a higher caliber of game and a number of highly popular gaming franchises, but it remains to be seen if Apple is serious about getting into gaming in a bigger way.

There is a notable amount of consolidation going on in the gaming world right now, with Microsoft recently purchasing Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion, and Sony purchasing Bungie for $3.6 billion.

Article Link: Apple Reportedly Talked With Electronic Arts About Potential Acquisition

 

[Think|Different]

Grain. Of. Salt. ? I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[breather]

Buy it, fire everybody in management, make it better.

 

[chumps52]

Tbf, I’d like to hope that, if Apple acquired them, they would treat it like Apple Arcade - ensure no micro-transactions etc.
One can only dream with EA…

 

[Attirex]

Buy EA, roll functionality into Weather app.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Grain. Of. Salt. ? I'll believe it when I see it.

I’m not seeing any claims of an imminent deal in this article. So you don’t believe any talks happened at all?

 

[francjl]

outside of Fifa and madden EA is one of the lamest gaming studios out there.

And Fifa is not even going to be part of them any more.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

EA is on the downfall so I highly doubt Apple is going to want to fix all their issues. Battlefield franchise is a mess, The Sims is irrelevant, and they just lost their FIFA license. Additionally, it would take a long time for Apple to implement or use any of the IP so other than having your name associated with it there's not much else. Last "big" named company Apple bought was Beats by Dre and they were on the upswing then.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

outside of Fifa and madden EA is one of the lamest gaming studios out there.

And Fifa is not even going to be part of them any more.

And like most sports games they are essentially the same year after year with just more micro-transactions.

 

[SoldOnApple]

The Sims being an Apple ip would be huge.

 

[spartan1967]

Dang it! There goes the gibs if Apple takes over.

 

[Shirasaki]

Heh… Apple and EA.
Even if the purchase go through, Apple’s focus on gaming for Mac would still be 0. At best they port EA games to Max and call it a day.
What does apple even gain from EA?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

This needs to happen already. It would be great for the gaming industry.

EA sports will bring alot of attention for incoming Apple's AR/VR headset.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

outside of Fifa and madden EA is one of the lamest gaming studios out there.

And Fifa is not even going to be part of them any more.

Uh. They’re still making fifa. Just calling something else.

 

[KaliYoni]

If Apple released a modern version of Pinball Construction Set (let's close the Apple-Bill Budge-EA loop!), count me as a big supporter.

Second wish: Robosport–an EA acquisition would bring Maxis IP to Apple. Yowsa!
Third wish (I rubbed my stick-of-gum iPod Shuffle and was granted three minimalist wishes): Cyan.

 

[joshwenke]

EA Sports. It's in the microtransactions.

 

[smorrissey]

Bye Bye Swtor bye bye. DED.

 

[rictus007]

EA sports can sell almost the same game every year. Some people will say that is just like apple with the iPhone. But the most important thing here is, If gaming will ever be possible on a Mac - like people will buy macs just for gaming

 

[HorstBockman]

Apple doesn't like messes.

 

[AndreaCicca]

outside of Fifa and madden EA is one of the lamest gaming studios out there.

And Fifa is not even going to be part of them any more.

Best EA games are from Respawn Entertainment

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Uh. They’re still making fifa. Just calling something else.

They lost the licensing so at that point it's a generic sports game. Same happened with other franchises and their games suffered since you can't use anyone's likeness, name, etc. Nobody want's to play that.

 

[Unity451]

Controversial Opinion: NFL Blitz was the greatest football game ever made.

 

[Nautilus007]

Buy EA, roll functionality into Weather app.

epic.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

They lost the licensing so at that point it's a generic sports game. Same happened with other franchises and their games suffered since you can't use anyone's likeness, name, etc. Nobody want's to play that.

You might want to read up on that, bud. The FIFA contract was one of dozens of contracts. All the FIFA contract gave them was the name of the game and the ability to have a world cup branded tournament in game.

They keep all the likenesses, teams, and basically everything that makes the game desirable.

Welcome to the Club - EA SPORTS FC™ is the Future of Interactive Football

A New Era Begins in 2023 - After EA SPORTS Delivers Most Expansive FIFA Ever This Year

www.ea.com

 

[Naraxus]

God no. EA stay as far away from Apple as you can.