Tag Archives: Take-Two

Two studios under the 2K Czech brand have been the target of a redundancy program that trimmed their staff by more than 40 developers.
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Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has addressed rumours of any impending acquisition offers following the company’s recent massive success, saying it likes being independent.

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Update: An Activision rep, unsurprisingly, replied to us with a quick, no frills “Activision doesn’t comment on industry rumor and speculation.” As always, we’ll fall back on an old cliche: that’s not a “no.”

Original Story: “Saw it coming.”

Said the man who got blindsided by a speeding train.

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Digital distribution may be a growing part of Take-Two’s business, but company head Strauss Zelnick doesn’t think the days of shiny boxes on store shelves are over just yet.

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Duke came here to finish development and chew gum. And he’s finally all out of gum.

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After failing to win over Take-Two back in 2008, EA CEO John Ricitiello called the whole courtship a “waste of ink.”

3D Realms’ Scott Miller, however, thinks he should give it another shot.

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The ESRB seems to have sprung a leak the size of Sony, yet game publishers keep letting it in on all their darkest secrets. And hoo boy, does this one look dark. According to an ESRB listing, Rockstar’s set to release an AO version of Manhunt 2 on the PC.

So, what makes this new version so rough and tough that even the extreme maturity of a 17 year-old can’t handle it? “Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs” — you know, the usual suspects, but probably without that weird strobe thing that used to happen when you killed people.

Thanks, Joystiq.

With BioShock 2, Red Dead Redemption, and Max Payne all banished to the far off temporal land of 2010, Take-Two isn’t expecting much in the way of profitability this year. The company stated as much during today’s conference call.

However, the publisher repeatedly noted that 2010 has become a promised land of sorts, with the above major games and many “unannounced titles” slated for release next year.

Analyst Jesse Divnich of EEDAR, especially, thinks there are good things in store for Take-Two. He gave Joystiq his two cents.

“The news of BioShock 2 being delayed into fiscal 2010 has drastically changed my view on the Take-Two. I originally anticipated that Take-Two would outperform the industry in fiscal 2010. Now, I expect them to dominate fiscal 2010.”

Roll with the punches, Take-Two. Never back down.

Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick, during today’s Take-Two conference call, noted that BioShock 2′s delay can’t be blamed on any single platform.

“[The delay is] not related to any specific platform or any specific element of it. I would say generally there are some development issues.”

The game’s been pushed into the first half of 2010, much to gamers’ dismay.

During today’s Take-Two conference call discussing the delay of BioShock 2, Take-Two’s Ben Feder and Strauss Zelnick said the move was taken due to Take-Two’s “emphasis on quality.”

“We’re paying the price for that emphasis with today’s delay,” they added.

Even so, Take-Two ensured that it continues to focus on quality, in spite of a potential loss of money.

“There’s no shortage of incentive for everyone who’s part of Take-Two to deliver quality, timely results.”

So there you have it.

Update: During today’s Take-Two conference call, the publisher clarified BioShock 2′s new release date slightly, saying that the game will launch within the first half of 2010.

BioShock 2, originally scheduled for an early November release, has been delayed. As a result, Take-Two has announced that it’s significantly reducing its fiscal guidance.

Now floating in the nebulous purgatory of Take-Two’s fiscal 2010, a concrete release date for BioShock 2 has not been set. Fiscal 2010 begins in November, though, so the delay’s probably nothing to sneeze at.

“We recognize that our revised outlook for the balance of fiscal year 2009, due to both internal and external factors, is a disappointment. That said, we concluded that moving the release of BioShock 2 into fiscal year 2010 was the right decision for the product. We believe the result will be a more compelling consumer experience and a better performing product in the marketplace,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.

See the full press release after the break.

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Last week, select members of the press received an actual, physical, gramophone-not-included BioShock 2 record from Take-Two. After scouring the MP3-ridden wasteland that is earth for a gramophone, Kotaku listened to the thing.

Its two sides contain what Kotaku describes as a “Rapture anthem,” interrupted only once by the sounds of a Little Sister wondering if Big Daddy will come and find her. Guess our dreams of Big Daddy starting an East vs. West coast rap feud will have to wait.

Apparently, this continues a story started in the first BioShock 2 promotional item, in which someone was searching for his “daughter.” Are these hints at the plot structure of BioShock 2? Probably.

Game’s out this fall. Click through the link if you fancy a look at the song’s lyrics.

Gather ’round, kids. It’s story time. Shacknews recently couldn’t avoid stumbling over new documents pertaining to the Take-Two and 3D Realms’ Duke Nukem Forever feud because — hoo boy — within those documents lies one tall tale.

In essence, Take-Two claims that 3D Realms/Apogee wouldn’t agree to develop an Xbox 360 version of the now debatably deceased game, so Take-Two began searching for another developer to get Duke ready for his Xbox 360 close-up. This, of course, meant that 3D Realms would have to provide source code for the outsourced port.

However, that assured screaming match between Take-Two and 3D Realms never even had a chance to occur, because 3D Realms then imploded, taking DNF’s source code with it. Thus, Take-Two sued 3D Realms, since — according to the “agreement” Take-Two hasn’t been seen without since this whole thing began — 3D Realms was obligated to provide source code for the project.

Here’s where things take a turn for the outlandish, though. Take-Two believes 3D Realms has more money than it’s been letting on, claiming said secret mattress stuffed with cash is hidden in an “off-shore account.”

“Upon information and belief, Apogee has title to a substantial amount of funds deposited in an off-shore account, which Take-Two believes Apogee can use to fund its outstanding obligations,” reads the suit.

The Duke developer, of course, says the allegation is rubbish.

“3DR has been in nearly a dozen lawsuits (including against Warner and Fox). We’re always innocent, and we always win. This one is no exception. Give it a year, then the truth will come out,” said 3D Realms/Apogee founder Scott Miller.

More through the link, if you can believe it.

You owe it to yourselves to sit down for a couple of minutes and watch some new footage of 2K’s stunning looking action sequel, Mafia II.

We’re saying no more.

Game’s out in 2010.

OK, we lied.

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GameQuarry is back, and instead of using Metacritic data to figure out consistency in publishers this time around, developers are under the microscope.

Scores were given a letter rating. A: 90 percent or higher (2 points), B: 80-89 percent (1 point), C:70-79 percent (0 points), D: 60-69 (-1 point) and F: 59 percent or lower (-2 points). Just like school.

At the top of the list of 1,700 companies? Visual Concepts, the Take-Two studio responsible for loads of 2K Sports titles, with grand total of 45 points. Ten of it’s games got an A, 40 were ranked B, 11 got C’s, 7 were given D’s and 4 were given an F.

The top twenty list is as follows:

1. Visual Concepts
2. EA Tiburon
3. Nintendo
4. EA Sports
5. Neversoft Entertainment
6. Konami Tokyo
7. Harmonix
8. Sports Interactive
9. Intelligent Systems
10. Valve
11. Rockstar North
12. BioWare
13. EA Canada
14. Criterion
15. Bethesda Softworks
16. Raven Software
17. Firaxis
18. Insomniac Games
19. Infinity Ward
20. Epic Games

Shame, that. We were hoping for something exciting. Instead, however, EA and Take-Two have both issued statements confirming that EA has put the kibosh on any further talks with Take-Two.

“After careful consideration, including a management presentation and review of other due diligence materials provided by Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, EA has decided not to make a proposal to acquire Take-Two and has terminated discussions with Take-Two,” reads EA’s side of the story.

Quite the unsatisfying conclusion, huh? It’s kind of like cutting off the report right here and not posting EA and Take-Two’s full sta–

Kidding. They’re after the break.

By Nathan Grayson

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This Reuters report, quoting a source, has said that this story rumouring a £23 per share offer from Viacom to Take-Two is incorrect.

“Media conglomerate Viacom Inc is not in talks to buy video game maker Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, disputing reports of an offer.”

The piece continued, “Reports on the Web and a video games trade publication Web site said Viacom had offered $1.5 billion for the maker of the popular ‘Grand Theft Auto’ games franchise, citing unnamed sources. Shares of Take-Two rose as much as 12 percent on Thursday on the rumor.”

Viacom has refused to comment on the situation.

“This is very unlikely,” Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson said of the speculation. “Video games are a hot space and media companies are interested in participating in the growth, but for Viacom, they are pursuing a completely separate strategy.”

“I don’t think any of those media companies has the appetite to get into a new business,” added super-analyst Michael Pachter.

According to this, Viacom boss Sumner Redstone has expressed an interest in buying Take-Two. The author of the report goes to lengths to assure readers this is a rumour.

“Viacom wants a piece of the game publishing pie,” said the piece. “They have been buying some gaming assets over the past couple of years and recently struck an interesting deal with Microsoft that included a gaming component. Not to mention Redstone’s personal investment in Midway Games.”

The author reckons Take-Two market fortunes are about to turn, and those shorting the stock should be wary.

“By the way, I’m showing a close to 40% short interest in TTWO,” said the writer. “With buyout rumors starting to swirl, I suspect at least some of the shorts will start feeling uncomfortable.”

Rockstar boss has pointed towards a more mature iteration of Grand Theft Auto in GTA IV in a demo here, saying the upcoming title’s plotline generation is to be a step beyond that seen in previous games in the series.

“We wanted to make the storytelling more sophisticated and more organic,” said Houser. “We give you choices to really recreate the experience of an immigrant moving to New York in the present time and emulate walking down the street and meeting the freaks that you meet. It’s largely streamlining and adding to the ideas that were there before.”

“If the graphics are slightly cartoony, we make sure the writing is slightly cartoony to match that,” he added. “Obviously, the graphics have gone closer to realism, so we wanted everything else to be closer to realism as well.”

GTA IV will release for both PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 29, and is expected to sell over six million units in six months. Even the confirmation of the game’s release date was enough to heavily boost Take-Two’s shares earlier this week.

According to this AP report about positive trading on Take-Two’s stock today, “the company’s contract with Sam and Dan Houser, the heads of its Rockstar Games studio, expires in early 2008, and has yet to be renewed.”

The news will certainly raise eyebrows considering the proximity to the launch of GTA IV, now confirmed for release on April 29. The Houser’s are the notorious drivers of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, renowned by those in the know for keeping a very tight hold on Rockstar’s reins and being fiercely protective of the brand and its properties. And their mother was in Get Carter. They told us so 10 years ago.

Maybe the big men are looking for a change? Sam and Dan were original Rockstar founders in 1998, along with Terry Donovan and Jamie King. Back then the Housers were touting the top-down GTA2 (we interviewed them at E3 that year) and everything was very bed-of-roses compared to the megalithic creation we see today in the 3D GTA. Is enough enough, chaps?

Don’t expect official comment any time soon.