Although the announcement that Electronic Arts is dropping its $2 billion bid to acquire successful game publisher Take Two led to the latter's shares to drop significantly, it is all for the better that this matter is finally settled. The deal was in limbo for about seven months, with Take Two demanding more money than EA was willing to put on the table. Fortunately for gamers, Take Two will not become another EA puppet.

Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick said on several occasions that his company's board remains "unwavering in its belief" that EA's offer price was too low. Take-Two's Board of Directors thoroughly reviewed and unanimously determined the offer to be inadequate and contrary to the best interests of its stockholders.

The majority of Take-Two’s shareholders were in favor of EA’s offer to take over the company for $25.74 a share in cash, ignoring the board’s belief that the offer rated the company too low.

Take-Two has provided EA its three-year product release schedule, financial projections and other nonpublic information which it says show that the $2 billion Electronic Arts bid was too low, under the shroud of confidentiality agreements. Take-Two claims that EA's evaluation of the company dates back to early 2007.

On the other hand, Electronic Arts alleged that the value of the game company depreciates over time. EA, known for its franchises Need for Speed or The Sims, is said to be a bit out of hand these days, considering its rivals are doing better than ever.

Besides the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, Take-Two’s most important earnings source, the elements which drove EA in its efforts to acquire its smaller rival include the company’s sports business and titles such as "BioShock," which is currently being adapted for the movie screen.

Take Two is the publisher of the controversial, but highly successful game series Grand Theft Auto - selling 8.5 million copies of the latest version in the quarter that ended in June.

That yielded the company's first profit in the highly cyclical industry, but many Take-Two shareholders sided with the company board in rejecting EA's offer of 25.74 dollars a share as too low. The offer valued the company at around 2 billion dollars.

During the latest fiscal year, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. recorded sales of $982 million, while Electronic Arts posted sales earnings of $3.67 billion.