Electronic Arts said its interest in the deal had eroded in part because it would be unable to absorb Take-Two in time for the holiday season.

Electronic Arts said that it has withdrawn its $2 billion tender offer to purchase its smaller rival, ending a five-month long hostile takeover bid.

Electronic Arts said that it has withdrawn its $2 billion tender offer to purchase its smaller rival, ending a five-month long hostile takeover bid. Take-Two is asking Electronic Arts to reconsider.

The video game publisher Electronic Arts posted a smaller net loss for its fiscal first quarter Tuesday and more than doubled its revenue thanks to soaring sales of games like Rock Band.

In a significant shift, Microsoft unveiled a strategy for its gaming unit that is meant to help the company’s Xbox 360 console appeal to the mainstream.

Take-Two has been asked by a federal court to show why it is not in compliance with a subpoena and civil investigative demand by regulators reviewing a takeover bid by Electronic Arts.

Starting in June, people who play The Sims 2 will be able to buy a “stuff pack” that lets them decorate their simulated families’ homes with Ikea furniture.

The video game publisher said that its fourth-quarter net loss widened on restructuring charges, though its adjusted revenue beat Wall Street’s expectations.

The sales exceed projections of industry analysts who were estimating that some five million consumers would purchase the game in the first two weeks.

William B. Gordon, a dean of video games who was one of Electronic Arts’ first employees, in 1982, is leaving E.A. for the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers.