Take-Two Interactive

Report: U.S. Video Game Sales Fell 19% in October

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 13, 2009 - 10:21am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales dropped 19% in October from a year ago, to $1.07 billion, continuing a recent downward trend that will likely lead to slightly lower annual sales figures than 2008, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. Overall sales this year so far are down 13%, to $11.43 billion, and are likely to reach $20-$21 billion, below 2008's $21.3 billion total. "The continued economic turmoil, and in particular the troubling unemployment rate, is undoubtedly impacting industry sales," said NPS analyst Anita Frazier. "If consumers' personal outlook continues to erode, they could very well be much more conservative with their holiday shopping this year."

Take-Two Settles "Hot Coffee" Class Action Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 9:06am.
New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) announced that it will pay $20 million to settle a shareholder class action suit filed against the company over the "Hot Coffee" sexually explicit content contained in its "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" game, and its stock options granting practices.

Rockstar Plans "Grand Theft Auto," "Beaterator" iPhone Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2009 - 10:36am.
New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive's (NASD: TTWO) Rockstar Games on Monday announced plans to release two new iPhone games in the fall, "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars" and "Beaterator." The latter game, also in development for the Sony PSP, is a music-making application that includes thousands of loops and sounds created by hip-hop producer Timbaland.

Take-Two Stock Tumbles as "BioShock 2" Game Delayed

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2009 - 12:01pm.
New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) saw its stock price tumble 10% on Tuesday, a day after the company announced that it would delay the release of a key title, "BioShock 2," from the fall of this year until sometime in 2010. The company also lowered revenue projections for its third and fourth quarter, "to reflect reduced sales of catalog products and lower than anticipated initial retailer orders of new releases, due to a retail environment that is proving even more challenging than the Company's previous expectations."

Judge Allows Gamers' Antitrust Claim Against Electronic Arts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 9, 2009 - 11:05am.
San Francisco - A federal judge in San Francisco has allowed antitrust claims filed by two gamers against "Madden NFL" game publisher Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) to go forward, GamePolitics reports.

Kobe Bryant to Grace Cover of 2K's "NBA 2K10" Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 5, 2009 - 10:46am.
New York - Game publisher Take-Two Interactive's (NASD: TTWO) 2K Sports label said on Friday that it has signed 11-time NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers to be the cover athlete for its "NBA 2K10" game. Spike Lee was also hired to produce a spot for the game featuring Bryant.

"Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony" Coming in Fall

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2009 - 12:45pm.
New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) has announced that one of the next expansion packs for its blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto" franchise will be entitled "Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony." "As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price."

Take-Two Sues 3D Realms, Apogee Over "Duke Nukem" Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 15, 2009 - 8:31am.
New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) has filed suit against developers 3D Realms and Apogee Software, for failure to deliver the long-awaited PC game "Duke Nukem Forever," Bloomberg reports.

Universal Delays "BioShock" Movie Project

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 27, 2009 - 11:40am.
Los Angeles - Universal Pictures (NYSE: GE) has halted pre-production on its planned movie adaptation of Take-Two Interactive's (NASD: TTWO) "BioShock" video game, Variety reported. Universal and director Gore Verbinski are reportedly looking at cheaper alternate locations, after a budget for Los Angeles rose to some $160 million. Verbinski reportedly turned down directing duties for a fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" in order to direct and product a BioShock movie.

Realtime Worlds Names Former Take-Two Exec Dale as CEO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 27, 2009 - 11:33am.
Boulder, Colo. - Video game developer and publisher Realtime Worlds announced on Monday that it has named Gary Dale as its new chief executive. Dale was most recently COO and EVP at Take-Two Interactive, and before that held various executive positions at former major record label BMG. Realtime Worlds' titles include "Crackdown" and the forthcoming "All Points Bulletin."

Take-Two Pays $3M to Settle Stock Options Backdating Probe

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2009 - 9:56am.
Washington - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday said that video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO), makers of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, has paid $3 million to settle SEC charges that it backdated stock options. The SEC said that former Take-Two chairman and CEO Ryan Brant and other former executives took part in a scheme that granted backdates stock options more than 100 times between 1997 and 2003.

iTunes Replaces Amazon MP3 as "Grand Theft Auto" Partner

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 12, 2009 - 1:48pm.
New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) has decided to dump Amazon's (NASD: AMZN) MP3 store in favor of Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store as the digital music retail partner for its forthcoming "Grand Theft Auto IV" expansion, "The Lost and the Damned," Variety reported. Gamers will be able to tag songs they hear during the course of the game for later purchase at iTunes. Variety postulated that the decision stems from Apple's ditching of DRM on the iTunes Store -- previously an advantage for Amazon.

COO Departs Game Publisher Take-Two Interactive

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 16, 2009 - 1:03pm.

New York - The chief operating officer at video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO), Gary Dale, resigned from his post this week. The company did not provide a reason for the departure of Dale, who previously served in the same position at Take-Two's Rockstar Games, developer of the popular "Grand Theft Auto" franchise.

Take-Two Signs Rockstar Games Team Through 2012

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2008 - 2:18pm.

New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) announced that it has signed new employment agreements with the senior creative talent at its Rockstar Games label, which develops the top-selling "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. The new agreements run through 2012. Take-Two added that it has agreed to fund the future development of new titles to be owned by a new company controlled by key Rockstar team members, which will be exclusively published by Take-Two.

After Months of Talks, Take-Two Opts to Remain Independent

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 2, 2008 - 10:30am.

New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) announced on Thursday that, following talks with a number of suitors over the last several months, and in the wake of a failed $2 billion takeover bid from rival Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS), it will remain an independent company.

NFL Retirees Say EA, NFLPA Cheated Them on "Madden" Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 30, 2008 - 11:02am.

Los Angeles - A number of retired NFL players have filed a lawsuit claiming that the NFL Players, Inc. and game publisher Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) conspired to deprive them of fees from the use of their likenesses in the wildly popular "Madden NFL" game franchise, GamePolitics reported.

Controversial Game Lawsuit Attorney Jack Thompson Disbarred

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 26, 2008 - 8:01am.

Miami, Fla. - The Florida Supreme Court this week permanently disbarred Miami attorney Jack Thompson, a vocal critic of violence in video games who had specifically targeted Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) and its "Grand Theft Auto" franchise.

Electronic Arts Ends Discussions With Take-Two Interactive

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 15, 2008 - 7:36am.

Redwood City, Calif. - Video game publisher Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) announced on Sunday that it has terminated its discussions with "Grand Theft Auto" creators Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) on a possible $2 billion takeover of the company. Shares of Take-Two, which had repeatedly rejected EA's bid as undervaluing the company, were down nearly 22% on Monday afternoon from their closing price on Friday.

FTC Approves Potential Merger of Electronic Arts, Take-Two

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 20, 2008 - 8:40am.

Washington - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has indicated that it would not challenge a combination of video game publishers Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) and Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO), Reuters reported.

EA Lets Offer to Buy Take-Two Expire; Companies Still in Talks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 18, 2008 - 6:12am.

Redwood City, Calif. - Video game publisher Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) said on Monday that it will let its offer of $25.74 per share to acquire rival Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) to expire at midnight tonight. "Given the passage of time, we have to validate the assumptions used in the model to support our offer price of $25.74 per share in cash. In addition, we no longer believe we can integrate Take-Two ahead of the important holiday season," EA CEO John Riccitiello wrote in an open letter to Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick.