Tag Archives: Ben Feder

Let the wink-winking and nudge-nudgery begin. Speaking during yesterday’s Take-Two conference call, CEO Ben Feder opened his big mouth – and then closed it, giving us some juicy info during the interim.

When asked about a possible Wii version of GTA, Feder replied, “We’ve spent an enormous amount of time and effort working with Nintendo. We’re very proud of the partnership. GTA: Chinatown Wars is an important step [in that partnership]…and we intend to continue to grow that relationship.”

Obviously not a confirmation, but the door’s still wide open for Rockstar’s murder sim/life-saver to appear on the Wii.

MyGTA, anyone?

Thanks, Shacknews.

By Nathan Grayson

Speaking to Kotaku at E3 yesterday, Take-Two chief Ben Feder has defended the company’s policy of keeping GTA-maker Rockstar firmly behind a media-resistant iron gate.

“We need to protect our creative folks,” he said. “We need to make sure that the outside world doesn’t interfere with their creative process. We then need to provide the resources, and finally, we cant get in their way… [by] putting something in a box whether it’s ready or not.”

And giving games enough time to cook is just as important as giving Rockstar breathing space from the press, he said.

“We serve no wine before its time. We respect their work and their creativity, and that’s not a strategy that everybody takes in this business.”

More through the link.

Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two’s chairman, has responded to EA’s offer extension to July 18 with the same line he’s always stuck to – the price isn’t high enough.

“The latest extension of EA’s unsolicited, highly conditional tender offer does not alter the fact that their proposal still significantly undervalues Take-Two, a fact that is reflected in the overwhelming number of stockholders who still have not tendered their shares,” he said.

“Our Board of Directors remains in unanimous agreement that the proposal is contrary to the best interests of Take-Two stockholders, and the Board continues to recommend that stockholders not tender their shares to EA. The Board remains focused on the strategic process that began formally on April 30 to consider all alternatives to maximize value. We believe that these alternatives, which may include a business combination or remaining independent, will deliver greater value to stockholders than the current EA offer.”

CEO Ben Feder added: “Take-Two’s vast potential to create and enhance stockholder value has become even more evident in recent weeks, with the runaway success of Grand Theft Auto IV, a product pipeline that is one of the strongest and most creative in our history, and continued operational and financial progress. We believe that any alternative we consider must fully reflect the value we are creating and capture that value for the benefit of our stockholders.”

Press release after the link.

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What a night. Following the release of the first in-game footage of Duke Nukem Forever, Take-Two issued second quarter financials and a mass of news on Grand Theft Auto, Bioshock, a GTA IV DLC delay and much more. You missed the release and the conference call because you’re not hardcore enough to do nothing but videogames news for your entire waking life. Luckily, we are. All the links below. Alternatively, hit this.

• Take-Two may enter rhythm-action space
• EA offer costs Take-Two $5.3 million in legal fees
  Bioshock movie may come alongside third game, says Zelnick
• GTA IV DLC: Same team and studio making content, delay nothing to do with dev issues
• GTA accounted for 78% of Take-Two’s revenues for Q2
• Take-Two has 33 games in development, sports business to make loss this year
• Take-Two actively in discussions with a number a companies over buyout
• Rumour confirmed: Gore Verbinski to direct Bioshock movie
• GTA IV DLC delayed until Q1 FY 09
• GTA IV sells 8.5 million units out of 11 million shipped, Bioshock hits 2.2 million
• Take-Two profits beats expectations on strong GTA IV

Take-Two boss Bed Feder just confirmed that the GTA IV DLC team is the same that created the original game.

Feder refused to offer any information on consumer pricing for the content, but said that the now-confirmed move into Q1 fiscal 2009 had nothing to do with development problems.

“The [move] is not about development issues,” said Feder. “It’s about [portfolio] balancing issues.”

The comments came as part of a conference call related to the release of Q2 Take-Two financials.

Speaking to Reuters, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder said that he felt analysts had been conservative in their estimates of how well GTA IV will sell this year.

“Our expectations are very high, higher than analysts give the game credit for,” he said “All the analysts had a (sales) number, give or take, and I think we will be on the upside of that rather than the downside.”

Webush Morgan’s Michael Pachter estimated that the game would sell 5.8 million units in its first week, while Hudson Square analyst Daniel Ernst reckons 13 million copies this year is a goer.