Earlier today, I was forced to wait in line to see one of my professors. Well, actually, it was hardly a line, but I still spent a veritable eternity standing in place, gazing through an open office door as people passed me by. All the while, I pondered about the other things I could be doing -- eating to satisfy my clamoring stomach, starting into Metal Gear Solid, or even simply sitting down. Soon, I was frustrated. "What's taking him so long? There's only so much entertainment one can derive from re-reading the same clipped-out Peanuts comic over and over again," I thought to myself. Standing there, stagnating, was not my idea of a well-spent afternoon.

Between Electronic Arts and me, there's enough pent-up, suspended frustration to go around, but without a doubt, EA's current situation is far more deserving of impatience than my incredibly bogus journey. As you well know, Take-Two refuses to join everyone's favorite third-party behemoth, and EA's finally getting tired of ramming their collective head into an unflinching brick wall.

"Any delay that we get, whether that's from regulatory or management [issues], is going to affect the value in the certainty of our offer," said EA's senior VP of Corporate Development, Owen Mahoney.

Hear that, Take-Two? There's a reason your delay tactics aren't netting you a higher price tag. And remember, EA can't play this game forever; as with my little anecdote, stagnation is not ideal.

Ok, say Take-Two does hop in bed with EA. Will EA use its much maligned vampire tactics and suck Take-Two dry, absorbing and integrating each and every unique Take-Two entity into a whole that disparages creativity? Corporate Communications VP Jeff Brown finds such an idea ridiculous.

"That was ten years ago," he said. "Granted, since then, we've done Pandemic, BioWare, we've done DICE, Criterion and Mythic and I would encourage you to call those guys. They're pretty happy. If you want to go back to Westwood back in nineteen-ninety-frickin'-seven, then yeah. We blew it. The point is, we've done Maxis and we've just celebrated 100 million units sold of The Sims. Ask those guys if they're happy working for EA."

For all the flack EA still takes for being a soulless corporate giant with no appreciation for anything outside of the almighty dollar, it's surprising how much of it is undeserved. As Brown pointed out, EA has been encouraging creative freedom for years.

Even considering all that EA offers, however, Take-Two stands resolute in their claim that EA undervalues them as a company. Take-Two will resume discussions with potential buyers on April 30, but unless a seismic shift occurs in either company's approach to this situation, I wouldn't count on an end to the stalemate. So, to EA, I offer this advice: Snoopy is hilarious, no doubt, but bring a crossword puzzle or something.