Always quick with a comment, Michael Pachter has weighed in on the rumor about Microsoft buying Electronic Arts. As far as the Wedbush Morgan analyst is concerned, the rumor doesn't make any sense at all.

First, a disclaimer: this is just a rumor, so get your saltshakers ready. All set? Okay. Rumor has it that Microsoft is gunning for a takeover of video game publishing giant Electronic Arts.

Any Arsenal fans out there in PSP land? Followers of the English football club may be able to watch replays and check data and stats on their PSPs while watching the game live in the near future. The club is currently doing trial runs for a Sony-developed live-streaming application at the Emirates Stadium.

So why is it, pray tell, that most of the games we see today are either sequels or spin-offs? You've got Gears of War 2, BioShock 2, Resident Evil 5, Patapon 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War III, Fable 2... the list goes on. Yes, from time to time new IPs pop into the picture, but they're few and far between, unfortunately. Maybe an article at Reuters can shed light on this "sequel spammage" scenario, as well as reveal some of the measures that they take to make their sequels more approachable to the general market.

Whether or not you find some of the PSP-3000's "features" bothersome, the fact remains: it's surely making waves in Japan. During its first four days alone, it's already sold some 140,000 units! But how far will these high sales numbers go? Sony Japan expects that they may have to re-calibrate their initial forecasts. From an initial sales target of 15 million units, Sony is now expecting to sell some 16 million units by the end of the fiscal year.

New Era Interactive Media, the distributor of the Grand Theft Auto games in Thailand, has opted to pull GTA from store shelves after a teenager confessed to robbing and killing a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the game series. Learn more after the jump.

Electronic Arts has announced that it will not buy Take-Two just yet. The company has made an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that it will wait until the FTC finishes its probe into the takeover proposal. More in the full article.

Although Sony's overall operating profit increased this year, the company's gaming division saw a huge operating loss of JP¥ 132 billion. Still, it's an incredible improvement from last year's loss. Full story after the "read more" link below.

A lot of talk has been going around regarding the currently pending Activision-Vivendi deal and EA's US$ 2 billion offer for Take-Two Interactive. While it may seem that mergers and acquisitions are the current trend, THQ's Chief Executive Brian Farrell feels that it isn't a necessity for company growth. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. has revealed that it has received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This according to Reuters.

The Wells notice indicates that charges may be filed against Take-Two by the SEC concerning the stock options debacle that hounded the company in the past. According to Reuters, Take-Two revealed in an SEC filing that the company was informed by SEC staff who planned to get authorization from the Commission to file charges as well as go after a civil monetary penalty.

This is the latest blow against Take-Two. Earlier this month, the company announced that it will be delaying the release of Grand Theft Auto IV (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360). The release date for Manhunt 2 (Wii, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2) has also been changed. Take-Two still has one final chance to try and convince the SEC not to file charges.