Long story short, folks, Electronic Arts had taken its $2 billion buyout offer directly to the shareholders of Take-Two Interactive, but after today’s rejection of said offer by Take Two’s board of directors, it appears as though any hostile takeover of the firm will be ever more difficult to accomplish.

While Take-Two reiterated what everyone was thinking, that they wanted to wait until after the 29th April release of Grand Theft Auto IV before considering any major deals, the company went a few steps further what appear to be preventative measures against any future hostile takeover attempts. Take-Two shareholders, as a result of these measures, now have more time to contemplate new members of the board of directors, as well as a "poison pill" agreement that will come into affect if a new shareholder buys twenty percent of the company stock or if an existing shareholder purchases another two percent of stock in addition to their current holdings.

For now, at least, it appears as though EA’s attempts to stave off the juggernaut that the Activision/Vivendi merger created have failed.