Electonic Arts Signs Confidentiality Agreement With Take 2

Gaming Industry giant Electronic Arts Inc have signed confidentiality agreements with another Game maker Take Two Interactive Software Inc.They did so after agreeing on holding private talks for a potential stake transaction.

EA, publishers of the popular "Madden" and "Need for Speed" games, dropped its hostile pursuit last week of Take-Two, the maker of the hot "Grand Theft Auto" games, after Take-Two agreed to spell out its three-year product plans, but only in private.

"As a result, EA does not intend to make any further announcements regarding the status of any discussions or negotiations with Take-Two unless and until discussions between EA and Take-Two have been terminated or such parties have entered into a transaction," EA said in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

EA offered to buy Take-Two for $25.74 a share, or about $2 billion, in April. The bid was promptly rejected as too low.

Shortly after EA dropped its bid, U.S. antitrust regulators said they would approve a combination of the two companies.

FCC Approves New PlayStation 3 Console

A new PlayStation 3 console was approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission last week, according to the agency's online filings database.No information on the new model, number CECHL01, is available at present from the filing because Sony was granted short-term confidentiality on the papers but it is likely the 80G-byte version announced earlier this month during the E3 games show in Los Angeles. The console is due on sale in the next couple of months and will replace the current 40G-byte model.

Sony's filing to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission was made because the FCC is the radio regulator in the U.S. and as such all new products that use radio must be submitted to the organization for approval before they can be sold.

The PlayStation 3 includes both 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 model price

Microsoft said on Sunday it is cutting the price of its 20-gigabyte Xbox 360 video game consoles and rolling out a model with three times the memory space to take its place.

The US technology giant's announcement comes two days before the official start of a major Electronic Entertainment Expo at which videogame console makers will be striving to portray their hardware as superior.

Microsoft said it will trim 50 dollars (US) from Xbox 360 models with 20 gigabytes in the United States or Canada, cutting prices to 299 dollars.

An upgraded Xbox 360 Pro model with 60 gigabytes of memory will hit markets in those same two countries in August with 349-dollar price tags, according to the Redmond, Washington-based firm.

The reasoning for the boost in memory capacity is people's interest in storing digital photos, video, music and other data on gaming consoles which are essentially entertainment computers connected to television sets.

"We know consumers need more and more space to store the amazing digital content Xbox 360 offers, and we're giving it to them at no extra charge,' said Albert Penello, Xbox director of product management Albert Penello.

Sony maintains it has no intention of cutting prices on PlayStation 3 models, which sell in the United States for 400 0r 500 dollars depending on memory capacity.

Nintendo will be defending Wii's crown as the world's most popular videogame console, which is priced at 250 dollars and is snatched from shelves as soon as it arrives in stores.

The big three console makers along with videogame software makers large and small will be showing off their newest creations at the Expo in Los Angeles during the coming wee