First EA tried to play nice with Take-Two but since that obviously didn’t work, they may have to gear up for a hostile takeover to get their grubby little hands on the GTA and BioShock publisher.

EA could take a different approach at trying to acquire Take-Two by making a tender offer directly to the company’s shareholders, the New York Post reports sources saying.

Or by courting Take-Two’s institutional investors. This move probably wouldn’t come as a surprise to Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick, considering he did the same exact thing in March 2007, gaining control after approaching the company’s largest shareholders about a management shake-up.

EA’s Chief Financial Officer Warren Jensen commented: “We’re keeping our options open,” and that was as much as he would talk about the situation. Although what he probably means is: “Resistance is futile.”