Search Results

Banner day for Take-Two and GTA IV fans. Lots of news so I will just state the facts.

• Eurogamer has reported that exclusive DLC for GTA IV should be hitting the Xbox 360 sometime in November.
• Take-Two is reporting that the DLC will hit during the Q4 of their fiscal year 2009 (Nov 08-Jan 09)- so we will keep you posted on that
• The DLC will consist of two 10-hour episodes
• GTA IV had now sold over 10 million units

All of this comes on the heals of Take-Two’s financial report which was released this morning, full of bragging rights. For example,  Q3 revenues are up from $206.4 million to $433.8 million with net income for Q3 totaling at $51.8 million or $0.67 per share. If you pull up numbers for the same time last year, you will notice that they reported a net loss of $58.5 million or $0.81per share.

For the nine months ended July 31, 2008, net revenues were $1,214.1 million, compared to $689.2 million for the same period a year ago. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2008 was $112.1 million or $1.48 per share, compared to a loss of ($131.3) million or ($1.83) for the 2007 period.

No wonder they are not ready to hand the reins over to EA just yet.

For the full press release which includes a slew of boring numbers, hit the jump.

Read the full article

If you found this story interesting, why not subscribe to our RSS feed to get your daily fix of gaming news?

Rumors are flying surrounding EA and Take-Two negotiations. After all the time EA spent stalking T2 in an attempt at a hostile take over, it seems EA has walked out of their secret merger negotiations. According to Seeking Alpha, an investment site, T2 stock took a hit because of the rumor.

Yesterday’s session featured some strange exchanging of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) shares, just one day before the company is set to release earnings.

There was no news released, though Barron’s later said that the price decline was due to rumors about Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) walking away from merger talks. ERTS had an executive speak at a conference right around noon.

GamePolitics finds the rumors believable given the open hostility between the two companies since the beginning of the year.

While Seeking Alpha ultimately discounts the rumor, it’s known that EA management is not especially fond of the Strauss Zelnick team at T2. That has a lot to do with the rich deal Zelnick put in place for himself and his crew in the event of an acquisition. Given that atmosphere, hardball tactics (such as a walkout) would seem to be in the realm of possibility.

I personally find it hard to believe that EA would walk out of negotiations. Playing hardball this late in the game is is fairly useless considering T2 knows just how badly EA wants to buy it out. Succeeding in dropping the value of T2 stock doesn’t change the fact that EA extended its final buyout offer deadline several times over the past year.

It’s unclear if the FTC’s now closed investigation was the only thing holding EA and Take-Two back from entering into negotiations, but regardless of that, an SEC filing made yesterday by EA has confirmed that the two companies have entered into a confidentiality agreement where Take-Two will reveal their three year product plans, according to Reuters. As a result, no further details on the negotiations will be revealed publicly unless the two decide to either end their discussions or formalize a deal.

The terms of the confidentiality agreement prohibit each of EA and Take-Two from, among other things, publicly disclosing the status or terms of any discussions or negotiations between EA and Take-Two unless EA or Take-Two notifies the other that it is terminating discussions. As a result, EA does not intend to make any further announcements regarding the status of any discussions or negotiations with Take-Two unless and until discussions between EA and Take-Two have been terminated or such parties have entered into a transaction. As previously disclosed, EA now requires due diligence to support any proposal to acquire Take-Two and there can be no assurance that any proposal, negotiations or transaction will result.

Once again, this doesn’t mean that an acquisition is imminent, but with EA having dropped its hostile takeover attempts and the two sides seemingly on the same page, the possibility of a buyout is as real as ever.

Earlier this week, Electronic Arts once again extended its offer to acquire Take-Two, this time until August 18 at 11:59PM Eastern time. In other words, you can expect to see another extension around August 19 at about 9AM.

Already three deadlines have come and gone with no sign of Take-Two or EA budging. According to EA, only about 15% of Take-Two’s shares have been tendered as part of the offer, as of July 18, a fact which Take-Two must be quite pleased with.

The AP reports that Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick has offered a statement, saying, “Take-Two’s Board continues to be 100% committed to maximizing stockholder value and remains unanimous in continuing to recommend that our stockholders not tender their shares to EA.”

He continued, “We are fully engaged in a formal process to evaluate strategic alternatives that have the potential to deliver greater value than EA’s inadequate offer. As part of this process, we continue to engage in meaningful discussions with multiple parties, a number of whom have been conducting due diligence. We also remain absolutely focused on executing on our strategic and business objectives.”

By now, you would think EA would just pony up the extra money to convince Take-Two to sell. It’s quite clear that this offer isn’t sufficient and that these deadlines have accomplished nothing.

via videogaming247

During a recent interview with MMORPG.com, Mark Jacobs, VP and General Manager of EA Mythic, dished about the highly anticipated Warhammer Online: AoR. In doing so, he announced that EA Mythic will be dropping the “EA” from its moniker and going back to just plain old Mythic Entertainment.

For those who do not know, or cannot remember, Mythic was originally the company’s name before being purchased by EA. While he emphasized that the change back to the original name had nothing to do with any changes within the company, he explained that it was due to EA’s recent attitude regarding its development studios. EA’s change of heart must have something to do with John Riccitiello because he seems to be much more open and approachable since coming back to EA in 2007 as CEO.

According to Jacobs:

“We’re still part of EA this is a name change and both Mythic Entertainment and EA are well represented in the game[s], on the box[s], etc. but the developer is going to be officially Mythic Entertainment. I’ve always been a believer of separate branding. I think that this is a wonderful example of how things at EA are changing. Both John [Riccitiello] and Frank [Gibeau] have spoken multiple times about city states, more freedom, that sort of thing, and I think this is an obvious example. ”

Great. Now I feel horrible for comparing EA to a bloodthirsty warlord.

For more on MMORPG’s interview with Jacobs, you can hit the link below. They are promising to post part two of the interview later where Jacobs announces three more interesting things concerning WH Online. If you are a fan of the franchise or are just looking forward to this new MMO from Mythic Entertainment, you won’t want to miss it.

Via: MMORPG.com

Analysts have been throwing their two-cents into the wind since EA decided to pursue Take-Two seven months ago, so it is no surprise that Janco Partners’ Mike Hickey would have to have his say in the matter as well. He feels that Activision Blizzard might be considering making a move on Take-Two themselves.

Speaking to the The Deal.com, Hickey explained:

“We absolutely believe Activision will take a look at Take-Two. If a competitor is for sale, you take a look, and if EA is your real rival, why wouldn’t you stir the pot a little bit?”

UBS Securities’ Ben Schachter though, feels that Activision Blizzard is too busy at the moment to consider further acquisitions since they only finalized their merger yesterday and have loads of work stacked on their plates to content with for the time being.

With Electronic Arts still pursuing Take-Two and extending their offer until August 21, it is highly likely that EA will eventually - but unfortunately - acquire the company. If indeed Take-Two were to be bought by a massive publishing/development conglomerate, it would be in the gaming industry’s best interest if Activision Blizzard were to purchase them instead. EA is basically nothing more than a conqueror riding in on horseback to rape and pillage anything of value and then force their heavy hand upon the survivors.

Via: GI.biz

Take-Two’s 2K Play has announced that Carnival Games is now available for the DS. The game is based on Carnival Games for the Wii. However the DS version was designed from the ground up and makes full use of the DS control scheme.

Gamers employ a frenzied combination of tapping, blowing, speaking and stylus-maneuvering to bring the expansive midway to life. Favorites including Alley Ball, Test Your Strength, Balloon Darts, Frog Leap and Nerves of Steel are complemented with all-new games including Bumper Boats, Clown Bonk, Wild West Showdown, Loud Mouth and RC Raceway.

Players can also explore the Carnival Games midway for the first time to discover hidden games and surprises. The game features a comprehensive customization mode where players can select gender, skin tone, and hair color. Players can win over 65 virtual prizes including an endless supply of Wacky Wearables, such as a pirate’s hat, frog feet, monkey mask and dragon wings.

Carnival Games is bundled with The SimCity Box collection. Nintendo of America has also included the title in its in-store kiosk and downloadable demo programs.

via Business Wire

The 2,676 people who filed claims against Rockstar in the “Hot Coffee” class action lawsuit will be splitting a monetary settlement of less than $30,000, according to the New York Times.

The contents of the settlement which Jonathan reported yesterday, stated that the customers who were offended by the sexual mini-game in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas would be granted anywhere from $5 to $35 each, or a revised edition of the game. Those who were “offended” had to enter a certain code to even get to the content, so if they did it was their own fault in the first place if they were offended.

Take-Two stated that the claims amount to less than $30,000 but unfortunately the company spent $1.3 million in legal fees. Add to this the $860,000 charitable donation the company agreed to and you get a bill totaling $2.19 million plus the production cost of the altered game and the distribution of it.

However, there is still the possibility, although small, that the civil lawsuit can still go to trial. The  settlement will go before Manhattan’s Federal District Court for final approval next Wednesday, so keep your eyes peeled for more details.

Via: New York Times

Still holding out for a Grand Theft Auto movie? Well, there’s just one little snag. It seems Take-Two actually cannot make a movie with the title “Grand Theft Auto.” That’s because back in 1977, Fox released a film written, directed, and starring Ron Howard by that exact name. Right now, Fox Atomic owns the rights to the title. According to a studio insider though, any sort of follow-up to that movie is highly unlikely:

“Yes, Fox owns the Corman movie. Yes, it has been one of 400 development projects for several years. But they are nowhere on the script. It has certainly not been a front-burner project.”

Furthermore, an agreement between the two companies says that Fox cannot make a game with that title, and Take-Two can’t release a movie with it either. I’m not sure if that leaves the possibility of a movie titled “GTA: Grand Theft Auto” or something open, though I kind of doubt it. Point is: this is one big hurdle a movie based on the game would have to overcome, since it’s the title that would mostly sell it to gamers.

Via Deadline Hollywood Daily

Electronic Arts has generously extended the deadline on its offer to buyout Take Two to July 18th. The offer is an unsolicited attempt to strong arm T2 into selling that has been dragging on since February.

“Our offer price remains unchanged at $25.74 per share, which is a substantial premium to where Take-Two’s stock was trading prior to our offer,” said Owen Mahoney, Senior Vice President of EA Corporate Development. “We congratulate Rockstar on the successful launch of GTA IV but believe our offer reflects a full and fair price based on the long-term value of Take-Two’s entire operation.”

Take Two isn’t impressed and continues cross the line drawn in the sand.

“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,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of the Board of Take-Two. “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.”

Some companies just can’t take a hint. EA has assimilated so many different companies by now, it just can’t understand why T2 wouldn’t want to join the Collective. The whole situation is comical at this point and I find myself rooting for the underdog (not that there really is one). Obviously EA is just one of those companies that doesn’t know when to give up.

You can read the details onEA’s announcement extending the deadline, and Take Two’s response on Business Wire.

2004 was a great year for sports games. NFL 2K5 and NBA 2K5 were some of the best sports game ever created (that remains true to this day) and they were sold for only $20. That put some pretty significant pressure on EA Sports, which responded in the football market by dropping the price of that year’s Madden from $50 to $30. NFL 2K5 managed to sell over 2.9 million copies in the US, according to the NPD Group, and ever since — once EA locked up exclusivity with the NFL, NCAA and Arena Football League, some would argue that EA has had little incentive to innovate or drop the price on its football titles.

That trend isn’t about to end, either. Last year, 2K Sports put out All-Pro Football 2K8 which sold poorly without the help of a significant football license. (The game wasn’t great either — it was basically NFL 2K5 sans the NFL license.)

Two gamers — one from Washington, DC and one from California — have had enough of this and filed a class-action lawsuit against EA over “blatantly anticompetitive conduct.”

“This vigorous competition benefited consumers,” reads the lawsuit. “Electronic Arts could have continued to compete by offering a lower price and/or a higher quality product. Instead, Electronic Arts quickly entered into a series of exclusive agreements with the only viable sports football associations in the United States: the National Football League, the Arena Football League, and NCAA Football.”

Even if EA didn’t have the licenses, though, their potential takeover of Take-Two would essentially eliminate any and all competition in the football market. In doing so, the lawsuit says that even if EA were to lose its exclusivity deals, it “would remove one of the few companies with the ability and expertise to compete in the market for interactive football software.”

The lawsuit is seeking restitution and damages for individuals who have purchased EA football games since August 2005 (ring me up for three of those), as well as disgorgement (that’s a fancy word for “give up”) of all profits made as a result of their anticompetitive actions, and that any infringing agreements be declared null and void.

The likelihood of those events ever occurring is incredibly low, but I do enjoy thinking of a world where the NFL 2K games are still alive.

via Evil Avatar

EA Sports might be the 800-pound gorilla in the world of sports videogames, but according to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, 2K Sports both out-rates and outsells EA Sports’ titles when the two go head-to-head. He made the comments at the 28th annual Piper Jaffray Consumer Conference, according to GI.biz, where he also revealed lifetime sales for the three major sports franchises of 2K Sports’: NBA 2K has sold 6 million, MLB 2K has sold 5.5 million, and NHL 2K has sold 2.5 million.

“We pride ourselves on our quality,” Zelnick told the audience at the conference.

“When we go head-to-head with ‘Brand X’ we out-rate them significantly,” he said in reference to EA Sports. “We outsell them when we go head-to-head. It’s sort of an unheralded achievement. This is a tough business.”

Despite the apparent quality of the 2K Sports games (their NBA games are definitely the best on the market), it’s unlikely that the division will manage to turn a profit once again. But things are headed in a good direction, Zelnick believes — although he’s not taking any of the credit for the investment, which was something that took place before his time.

“We feel pretty good about where this is going and we’re committed to the business,” he said.

“We also have significant visibility into the business because we have long-term licenses and because it is an annual business, unlike many of our other businesses.

“And it is a business that, to a certain extent, can be seen as somewhat less technically complex and challenging which means it is a little more dependable and reliable.”

At least I can breathe easier for the time being. Year-to-year, there’s nothing I play more than the NBA 2K games, and the thought of an EA takeover threatens one of my favorite franchises. Zelnick’s confidence in the brand is somewhat reassuring, but that wouldn’t have much of an impact on what EA would do with it if Take-Two is ultimately acquired.

Electronic Arts and Take-Two have been at an apparent stand off for months as EA keeps extending its offer to buy out T2. It appears that T2 has been doing more than just stalling to raise the asking price. According to Forbes, the company may be negotiating with Ubisoft over a possible merger.

During T2’s second-quarter earnings call on Thursday, chairman Strauss Zelnick revealed that he’s “had and continues to have formal discussions with interested parties” on the company’s potential sale or merger.

Ubisoft is looking to expand and diversify its interests and T2 would fit that plan nicely. In particular Ubisoft wants to expand into sports video games. T2 is pretty much the only competition EA has in the sports arena.

“Ubisoft has shown they do a good job of managing original intellectual property. Culturally, Take-Two developers would not have a problem at Ubisoft because they allow a decent degree of creative freedom,” says Doug Creutz, analyst at San Francisco firm Cowen and Co.

“Ubisoft has grown phenomenally over the past few years,” says Todd Greenwald, an analyst at Signal Hill. “But the only way for them to continue to grow is to enter categories that they aren’t in.” Buying is always easier than building.

Call me petty, but I’d like to see Ubisoft and T2 merge rather than having T2 swallowed by EA.

via Forbes 

Hope there’s enough for you to do in Grand Theft Auto IV as it stands — Take-Two announced today as part of its Q2 financial reports that the Xbox 360 exclusive DLC has been delayed until Q1 2009. It was originally planned for release later this year.

According to CEO Ben Feder, the delay has nothing to do with development, but rather about “portfolio balancing.” So does that mean they’ve got a lot coming out later this year, or that they’ve got nothing early next year? I’m better on the latter, as two new Carnival Games titles were announced for later this year during the conference call.

During the second quarter of 2008, a total of 78% of all Take-Two publishing revenue came from Grand Theft Auto IV and GTA catalog sales — that’s a pretty astonishing amount, but there wasn’t much from Take-Two to have stolen any percentage of their revenue.

With this delay, I wonder if owners of the PS3 version feel vindicated in their purchase at all. Fewer load times, less pop-up, and the same content until at least 2009 — doesn’t sound too shabby.

Electronic Arts desperately wants to gobble up Take-Two in its entirety as quickly as possible, but with repeated failed attempts over the past several months, EA is going to have to wait even longer before it can have a chance at snapping up Rockstar’s parent company. EA has filed an SEC form agreeing not to complete its acquisition attempts of Take-Two until either the Federal Trade Commission completes its investigation or 45 days have passed since EA “substantially complied” with FTC requests, according to GI.biz.

The present EA offer for the company was last amended to expire on June 16 — something which has happened a number of times now. Back in April, the FTC requested information from EA as a part of its review of the $2 billion acquisition.

With the SEC agreement, it seems likely that we’ll be waiting past the June 16 deadline before we find out if (but more likely, when) EA will be acquiring Take-Two. I continue to beg the gaming gods to not let this happen, as I refuse to believe my two favorite sports franchises (NBA and NFL 2K) could be killed — and by the same company, no less.)

All the talk out of EA Sports these days is about Freestyle and All-Play and their new casual movement that Peter Moore is spearheading. But the company behind Madden and NBA Live doesn’t want hardcore sports game fans to worry — EA has no intention of leaving them behind.

“Hardcore fans are our base and our biggest fans,” said Reg Hamlett, EA Sports’ senior director of brand marketing. “Their opinions and seal of approval are of extreme importance to us. That said, the All-Play brand is aimed at those consumers who seek to leverage the unique attributes of the Wii and play a sports game that utilizes these unique features.”

A company with the size of EA Sports — especially if they were to absorb 2K Sports if Take-Two is ultimately acquired by Electronic Arts — would certainly have enough resources to cover all of the bases, and then some.

via Wii Fanboy

Looks like Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello is hoping against all hope that EA does eventually storm Take-Two’s impenetrable castle. That could only be his “true” reasoning behind him recently purchasing almost $1 million in EA stock the day after the publisher extended its offer to buy Grand Theft Auto firm Take-Two. Yes, I italicized that for a reason.

Riccitiello bought the 20,000 shares which equals to $976,000 in stock, and this is the second such purchase the CEO has made since rejoining the company in 2007 which means that he is banking on becoming even richer than ever before. Mwha ha ha ha!

“John believes that senior executives should be invested in the company,” a spokesperson for EA stated. Yeah, right. Sure it is only appropriate that a CEO own stock in the company they work for, but Riccitiello now owns 47,294 shares and approximately 75,000 exercisable options. That is a truck load of power right there. Plus, with the recent offer to Take-Two being on the table until June 16th, John better hope that his Voodoo Priestess pulls out all the stops for him oe else she will have to go back to peddling her wares to tourists on the streets of New Orleans.

Via: GamesIndustry.biz

Once again it is Thursday which means another cool update from GameTap. Want to know something else cool? Interplay and Take-Two have finalized new deals with GameTap so this means that we will hopefully see the return of Earthworm Jim. This also means that we will possibly be able to get a huge dose of Payne, Max Payne that is, in the near future (crossing fingers).

Here are the subscription games that hit GameTap this week:

• The Chosen: Well of Souls - The keeper of the Emerald Tablet has been kidnapped, and the Tablet itself taken away. The Wells of Souls have been opened, and the hordes of hell roam free. As the mystic monk Frater, the lithe hunter Elena, or the stalwart warrior Khan, it’s your job to put a stop to the evil spreading across the land.

• Dangerous Waters - Rule the open seas as the captain of a stealthy submarine, the admiral of a heavily armed warship or the pilot of a flying fortress in this detailed and realistic simulation of naval combat. Stay sharp — careful planning and smart management of your crew are the only things keeping you from Davy Jones’ locker!

The free game that hit GameTap this week is:

• Metal Slug 2 - Once just isn’t enough for General Mordern. After a defeat at the hands of the Peregrine Falcons, the devious dictator is back with another scheme to take over the world. This time, the Falcons’ best soldiers-for-hire will team up with a pair of lady mercenaries to find Mordern’s secret headquarters and bring him to justice!

While you are there, check out “Play This Game”, on GameTap TV which features an exclusive interview with famed guitarist and Artist of the Month, Slash, as he talks about one of his favorite video games – Guitar Hero III.

As always, for the full list of free and subscription games, visit GameTap.

First off, via a press release this morning, the list of exhibitors for E3 2008 has surfaced and while Activision and Vivendi may not be present, many other big names are:

• A - M: 1UP Network; Akella; Atari Inc.; Bethesda Softworks; Capcom USA Inc.; Crave Entertainment; Codemasters; D3Publisher of America; Deep Silver; Disney Interactive Studios, Inc.; Electronic Arts; Eidos Interactive; Fox Interactive Media; Indie Games; Jagex, Ltd.; Konami Digital Entertainment America; LucasArts; Majesco Entertainment Company; Microsoft Corporation; Midway Games, Inc.; MTV Games

• N - Z: Namco Bandai Games America, Inc.; Natsume, Inc.; Nintendo of America Inc.; Novint Technologies, Inc.; Nyko Technologies; Rebellion; SEGA of America, Inc.; Serious Games Initiative; Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.; Sony Online Entertainment Inc.; Southpeak Interactive; Square Enix USA; Take-Two Interactive; Tecmo; THQ Inc.; Toshiba America Information Systems; Ubisoft Entertainment Inc.; Valve Software; and, Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment Inc.

The list is still not final and organizers expect more to be added soon.

Secondly, thanks to some IRS sleuthing by Kotaku, documents show that the ESA had to pay to over $5 million last year to move the expo from Los Angeles to Santa Monica – only to come back to LA this year. According to Kotaku, the EA paid $5, 377, 808 in cancellation fees in order to break the contract that kept E3 at the LA Convention Center until 2012.

These forms also divulged the information that association’s membership dues quadrupled in its 2006 fiscal year, increasing from over $1 million in 2005 to more than $4.5 million in 2006. Rich Taylor, Entertainment Software Association senior vice president of communications and research told Kotaku that ESA Board members knew the move would cost them dearly but that it would shift E3 from a “profit generating E3 to a revenue neutral summit.”

Via: Kotaku

As if to confirm my suspicions that nothing will be worked out between EA and Take-Two by the new deadline of of June 16, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick and CEO Ben Feder have made a statement which claims the deal “undervalues” Take-Two.

Prepare to get your quote on.

“This is the same highly conditional proposal that EA offered Take-Two stockholders on March 13, 2008, which our board of directors thoroughly reviewed and unanimously determined to be inadequate and contrary to the best interests of Take-Two’s stockholders.

“As such, the recommendation of our board of directors that stockholders not tender their shares to EA remains unchanged… We are confident in the significant growth potential of Take-Two and in the unique value of our business given our strong position in this growing and dynamic industry,” said Zelnick.

Feder also chimed in, stating, “EA’s highly conditional offer fails to compensate our stockholders for our exceptional portfolio of intellectual property, world-class creative resources, and our successful revitalisation initiatives.”

“In the last several weeks, our strategy and Take-Two’s value have been vividly demonstrated by two notable events. The record-breaking sales performance of Grand Theft Auto IV in its first week of release confirmed its status as the most successful videogame launch of all time and as a blockbuster on a par with any entertainment product ever released.

“We have also just announced an agreement with Universal Pictures to make BioShock, the universally acclaimed hit videogame, into a feature film, demonstrating how Take-Two is delivering value from our powerful and wholly-owned intellectual property. The small number of shares tendered into EA’s offer to date demonstrates that our stockholders agree with what our board has maintained from the beginning: EA’s proposal undervalues our company.”

I’m not going to claim to be any sort of financial genius, but while the two make a compelling argument, I think they’re wrong. At what point in time could Take-Two’s stock value be any higher than in the midst of a GTA launch and potential acquisition?

We’ll have more on this story as it continues to develop.

via GamesIndustry.biz