Tag archive: Strauss

Take 2 Interactive has inked a new deal with Grand Theft Auto creators Rockstar Studios that will keep the studio in Take 2′s fold through January 31, 2012. Although precise terms of the arrangement weren't revealed, the new deal is “primarily” a profit-sharing agreement, which means if future Grand Theft Auto games sell well, Rockstar will reap the rewards. The deal also locks key members of the Rockstar creative… Read More

Earlier this year, über game publisher Electronic Arts made an unsolicited bid to take over Take-Two Interactive…just before it's massively anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV was due to launch. Take-Two maintained that the offer wasn't high enough, and despite EA extending the deadline Take-Two investors could take its cash (again, and again), after six months—and long after the GTA IV launch—EA finally… Read More

Video game publisher Electronic Arts has again extended its $2 billion tender offer to buy out Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive. EA is offering over $25 per share to investors in Take-Two in a bid to take over the company; Take-Two has repeatedly rejected the offer as too low, and has been urging its investors to stay away. Apparently Take-Two's investors agree with the company's leadership: EA originally set out… Read More

Sony might be a purveyor of tried-and-true consumer electronics devices like televisions, computers, portable music players, and—of course—video game systems, but that doesn't mean the company is afraid to take chances and (ahem) roll out a product that defies consumer expectations and maybe—just maybe—redefines a consumer electronics category. So, Sony has brought its Rolly "music entertainment… Read More

Universal Studios has started the wheels rolling on creating a feature film based on the hit first-person shooter video game BioShock, with Pirates of the Caribbean's Gore Verbinksi assigned to both direct and produce. Aviator writer John Logan is attached to write the first draft of the screenplay. According to Variety, the deal is structured in such a way that BioShock won't get stuck in a stagnant turnaround cycle (like… Read More

Media outlets have speculated about Grand Theft Auto IV’s spectacular first-week performance since before it even occurred, but Take-Two finally took the lid off its own data on Wednesday to reveal hard numbers. The results: GTA IV demolished not just video game but entertainment records for day one and week one sales by dollar value. Take-Two claims it sold 3.6 million copies of the game within just one day, or roughly 41 games sold… Read More

After accidentally kicking the Internet rumor mill into high gear with comments made about Grand Theft Auto IV’s release date last week, Take-Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick stepped in to clarify his remarks on Friday. The verdict: it’s still on track. The game was originally pushed back from its October 16 release date back in early August, sending fans into a frenzy but reassuring them a release in the second quarter… Read More

Rockstar may have toned down the violence in Manhunt 2 to secure an all-important Mature rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and released it in North America, but as it turns out, the story doesn’t quite end there. In a situation strikingly similar to the original “Hot Coffee mod” scandal that afflicted Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a hack apparently makes it possible to access the original… Read More

The video game industry took a big hit yesterday when publisher Take Two Interactive announced it was delaying the release of the wildly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto IV” from October into the second quarter.   The reason, according to the company, is that the game isn’t yet finished.   It had been hoped that the game would boost the sagging sales of the both Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 consoles,… Read More

After news that Manhunt 2 was banned outright in the United Kingdom and on its way to a commercially unfriendly AO rating in the U.S., publisher Take-Two Interactive announced Friday that it will delay the game’s release. Originally scheduled to come out on July 10, the game will now wait while Take-Two figures out what to do about the ratings. Whether or not the firestorm over the game’s release was intentional, it may… Read More

Earlier this week, the British Board of Film Classification rejected Rockstar's forthcoming Manhunt 2 video game for its “unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying.” Although Rockstar can appeal the ruling—and potentially alte the game's content to get a more favorable ruling—for now the decision means that Manhunt 2 cannot be offered for sale or rental in the United Kingdom. Although Rockstar… Read More

A shareholder revolt at video game publisher Take-Two Interactive has resulted in the ouster of CEO Paul Eibelier and appointment of a new slate of directors to the company's board. The new board has appointed former Sony BMG executive Strauss Zelnick, of ZelnickMedia as the new non-executive chairman of Take-Two; ZelnickMedia partner Ben Feder will serve a acting CEO . The company's board is now made up by Grover Brown, Michael… Read More

Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive has been under considerable fire in the last couple years. First, a scandal over hidden, sexually explicit content in the hit game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas cost the company millions of dollars as they were forced to recall and retool the game—plus endure months of criticism and investigation by industry and Federal regulators. And last month, former Take-Two leader Ryan Brant became the… Read More

Ever wished you could record your favorite show off DVD, satellite, cable, broadcast television, or whatever, then just pop the video into a portable device you already own so you can watch the show later, away from home, when you get some time? Media maker SanDisk has announced the new V-Mate Video Memory Card Recorder aims to offer just that, enabling users to record standard video to an astounding variety of flash based media so they can… Read More