The stint between Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive is the stuff of anticlimactic legends in video gaming.

EA's CEO John Riccitiello explains that the whole sad episode was "a waste of ink, primarily in the New York Post." Now that the short-lived love affair's over, EA explains that their attempt to acquire T2 was only an attempt to help them out with holiday sales of Grand Theft Auto IV. Riccitiello remarks:

Time was of the essence, because we wanted to impact holiday 2008 sales of Grand Theft Auto IV. to help that company get through what has been an uneven profit experience.

Take-Two told us to wait and that they wanted more money. We waited. We went through a variety of steps. The gap [in price] remained.

So no hard feelings? Maybe not on EA's part, but who got the short end of the stick when acquisition talks fell apart? Investors in T2 stocks who were hoping that the merger will happen. Writes BMO Capital Markets:

We do not believe that EA’s long-term goals will be affected by the decision to not go forward with an acquisition of Take-Two.

We believe that shares of TTWO are widely held by speculators who were looking for a sale to occur. We do not believe there is another serious bidder for Take-Two in the short term.

Rockstar president Sam Houser actually expressed once that he was for the merger. T2 might have more on its plate than it can handle when the contract of the Houser brothers comes to an end in a few months.

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