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The drama surrounding Electronic Arts' attempt to buy Take-Two Interactive is, increasingly, playing out like a combination action-adventure and shooter game.

As noted in a story published Friday in The New York Times, Take-Two has become a moving target not only because of maneuvering by the company's officers but because of changes in its shareholder group.

The offer EA presented on Thursday directly to Take-Two shareholders--$26 per share, or about $2 billion--is essentially the same one it offered the video game publisher in February. But as the Times story points out, Take-Two's shareholder population has in … Read more

Every so often media blends itself up in a weirdly inspired way to produce a totally new genre. This might be one of those occasions: Czech artist Jeremiah Palecek has made a name for himself painting fine-art renditions of notable Internet video memes. Yes, he's got the dramatic chipmunk, the raver Viking, and the German kid going nuts. Don't see your favorite? He takes requests, too.

Thanks to Boing Boing for the heads-up: "Oil paintings inspired by Internet memes"

Now that the "Optimus Maximus" has been proven to be more than vaporware, interest is bound to rise for other products by Russian creator Art Lebedev--especially for those who want something a tad more affordable than the uber-keyboard, which can cost up to $1,564 for a fully customizable version. If someone just wants a few programmable buttons, for example, maybe something like the "Optimus Mini 3.0" might make a lot more sense.

Like its predecessor, the new version of the Mini will include three customizable OLED buttons (instead of all 113 keys on the … Read more

A shareholder of Take-Two Interactive Software has sued the company for rejecting Electronic Arts' $2 billion takeover bid, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (subscription required to read entire article).

The suit was filed Friday in a Wilmington, Del., court. According to the Journal, the suit charges that Take-Two executives sought to enrich themselves at the expense of shareholders through a compensation agreement, amended in February after EA made a private offer for the company, that could grant them a big pay-out if Take-Two is acquired.

Two law firms--Prickett, Jones & Elliott, and Schiffrin, Barroway, Topaz & Kessler--filed the suit, … Read more

Samsung is back trying to reinvent the wheel once again, this time with a pair of 3D plasma TVs in 42- and 50-inch screen sizes. The results of a collaboration with Electronics Arts, these new panels are designed to deliver a high-end gaming experience with a staggering 1,000,000:1 contrast, according to Akihabara News--a level claimed by only one other set, Sony's petite OLED TV. Hype aside, these will ship with the usual icings such as HDMI 1.3 and USB terminals, as well as Samsung's proprietary DNIE+ video-processing engine.

(Source: Crave Asia)

Electronic Arts is not alone in its interest in buying Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required to read entire article).

SEC filings show that Take-Two says it has received other offers, but has spurned those as well as the original $2 billion offer EA made last Friday and announced last Sunday, the Journal reports.

EA issued a public statement on Sunday saying it had made an earlier offer to Take-Two that was rejected and that it was boosting the per-share price it was willing to pay to make the deal … Read more

It's not news to anyone that Japan comes out with a vast variety of weirdness and whimsy--it seems to be one of their national cultural specialties. But we'd like to direct your attention to a very specific brand of wacky--what one team of musician-artist-engineers calls "nonsense instruments." It takes a certain kind of lunatic lyrical inspiration to spend your life making carefully engineered objects purely for the sake of mind-breaking entertainment. For this achievement, we award Maywa Denki the coveted Demented Genius Award. Congratulations!

Read more on Maywa Denki on Make's blog: "Made in Japan Vol. 3." … Read more

While I've never seen an actual Gmail commercial on TV, Google continues its grassroots style advertising for the Web service. I'm still surprised when I meet people who don't have a Google account, so clearly these ads might be necessary.

This one, put together by the Russian branch of marketing company Saatchi & Saatchi shows two men putting together a massive reproduction of Gmail's in-box, chat, and mobile features made out of various materials including modeling clay, Lego bricks, paint, and fabrics. Other parts were put together with printed paper and some elbow grease. Keep on … Read more

Hellman & Friedman is acquiring Getty Images for about $2.4 billion in a deal that would make the powerful but financially troubled seller of stock photography into a privately owned company, the companies said Monday.

Getty shareholders will receive $34 per share, and Hellman & Friedman will assume the company's debt under the deal, the companies said. That price is a 29 percent premium over Friday's closing price of $24.45; on Monday, the stock closed at $31.67.

Getty's board has approved the acquisition and resolved to recommend the transaction to shareholders; the deal is … Read more