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Everybody has been talking about EA's bid to takeover Take-Two Interactive, and that includes the industry's most prominent analysts. These analysts have concluded that the deal might go through in time for EA to have their name on the box for Grand Theft Auto IV and Manhunt 2, according to MCVUK. That's right, GTAIV might be published by Electronic Arts.

"I do believe GTA IV will be an EA game," said GameShadow and Lodestar freelance analyst Nicholas Lovell. "Whether it is the same game that it would have been under Take Two remains to be seen. I could also imagine EA trying to keep the Rockstar brand as an edgier label, in the same way that wholesome, family-friendly Disney released films like Pulp Fiction or Gangs of New York under the Miramax label."

Obviously, one of the biggest reasons EA wants to acquire Take-Two is so they can take advantage of the massively popular GTA franchise, but they'll need to move quickly if they want to cash in on GTAIV. Parker Consulting's Nick Parker had this to say in regards to the timing of the potential purchase:

"The timing is crucial – hostile bids can take a long time to resolve and who knows T2 may be successful in defending it. If EA succeeds, it should benefit from some of the GTAIV revenues although the reason to buy T2 should be based on longer term potential of all IPs, not just on this year’s results."

On the other hand, some analysts don't agree that this deal will go through in time for EA to publish GTAIV. Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter is one of them, as he believes this takeover won't be officially completed for "two or three months." DFC Intelligence's president David Cole sided with Pachter and said a "takeover like this will take some time." Even so, it goes without saying that EA would like to tap as much of the GTAIV honey pot as humanly possible, so it'll be a race to see if EA gets their name on the box. Could it really happen...?