WebProNews

EA Acquires Playfish For (Maybe) $400 Million

Social network games - and by extension, social networks themselves - received a strong endorsement this morning as a major acquisition was announced.  Electronic Arts has bought Playfish, a maker of said games, for at least $300 million. Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Interactive, explained in a statement, "Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our participation in this space."

Karaoke Gets the Internet Radio Treatment

Internet radio sites aren't the only ones facing recording industry woes. Even Karaoke performances are coming under fire. Users of "The Sims On Stage" (a site owned by Electronic Arts) were recently greeted with the following message:

EA Estimates Put PS3 Ahead Of Xbox

Onlookers have to wonder whether Microsoft will succeed in its attempted takeover of Yahoo.  There are also the market shares of Vista and Internet Explorer to consider.  Still, the latest news involves game consoles, and on that front, Electronic Arts predicts that the Playstation 3, and not Microsoft's Xbox 360, will win in 2008.