Posts with tag: take-two-interactive

Tropico 3 announced by Kalypso Media

by John Callaham Nov 14th 2008 @ 12:00PM

One of the more interesting strategy-sim game series is coming back via a new publisher and a new developer. Kalypso Media announced today that their have aquired the rights to the Tropico PC game franchise from publisher Take Two Interactive. Kalypso intends to release Tropico 3 this summer which will be developed by Haemimont Games.

At the moment details are scarce on Tropico 3 other than it will be based on the first game in the series released in 2001 by Take Two's now defunct Gathering of Developers brand and developed by the now defunct Poptop Software. That game had the player controlling a Caribbean island country as a dictator type in the present day (the second Tropico game, released in 2003, switched the game's premise to being a pirate in the Caribbean in the 18th century). Kalypso did say the game would have "...state-of-the-art graphics, complex gameplay similar to the other titles in the series and a comprehensive multiplayer mode."

Filed under: Biz, Simulation, Strategy

Slight delay in Grand Theft Auto IV PC release?

by John Callaham Oct 28th 2008 @ 4:30PM

Earlier this summer PC gamers got the good news that Rockstar Games' open world action game Grand Theft Auto IV would be coming to the PC on Nov. 18. Now it's looking like we will have to wait a couple of weeks longer that previously announced.

Online retailers like Gamestop and Amazon.com are now showing a Dec. 2 release date for the PC port. We've emailed Rockstar Games to get some confirmation on this since retail web sites can be wrong on their ship dates at times. However delay of a couple of weeks isn't that significant when you consider that other console games like Mirror's Edge and Saints Row 2 are looking like their PC ports will be delayed into 2009.

Gallery: Grand Theft Auto IV

Filed under: Biz, Action, Sandbox

Game developers and execs contribute to US Presidential campaigns

by John Callaham Oct 5th 2008 @ 9:00AM

Game Politics has been doing an excellent job covering which game developers and game industry executives have been contributing money to the various US Presidential campaigns. It shouldn't come as a shock that most of them are Democrats who have given money to that political party's nominee Barack Obama.

So far nine game industry members including Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, Take Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick, Rockstar Games co-founder Sam Houser and Sony Online CEO John Smedley have all given money to Obama's campaign. Only three gaming reps have given money to the Republican candidate John McCain; Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling and, in what might be a surprise to some, Maxis founder Will Wright.

Filed under: Biz

Take Two Interactive decides to remain independent

by John Callaham Oct 2nd 2008 @ 8:30AM

When Electronic Arts announced last month it would no longer try to acquire rival Take Two Interactive, Take Two announced that it would continue to be "...actively engaged in discussions with other parties in the context of our formal process to consider strategic alternatives." Today Take Two announced that it has decided to halt such talks with those parties (which were never specifically named)

In its statement, Take Two's CEO Ben Feder said, "Our strong cash position – with no debt and an undrawn $140 million credit facility – gives us the financial flexibility to continue to do what we do best: innovate and create the great games that our customers have come to expect." Of course some people believe EA could come back with another offer to buy Take Two. For now, however, it appears that the consolidation of the game industry has taken a bit of a pause.

Filed under: Biz

Game publishers hit hard by Monday's stock market freefall

by John Callaham Sep 30th 2008 @ 9:00AM

Whether or not you believe Monday's vote in the US House of Representatives against a $700 million government packs to buy bad credit was a vote against socialism or a vote against the economy, the results absolutely was felt in the US stock market. The PC and video game publishers were not immune to the effects as they got hit hard by the stock market drops.

Gamespot reports that Activision-Blizzard's stock price got hit the hardest; it went down 13.8 percent on Monday to settle at $14.12 a share. Electronic Arts' stock closed at $36 a share, down 9.16 percent. THQ's stock price was $11.48 at the end of the day Monday, down 7 percent while Take Two Interactive's stock price went down 4.52 percent to close at $15.43. Even overseas gaming publishers got hit. Ubisoft's stock price had a massive drop on Monday, going down $17.92 to close at $65.37.

Filed under: Biz

EA stock takes a hit, Take Two nosedives

by Xav de Matos Sep 15th 2008 @ 5:00PM

After months of delaying and propositioning Electronic Arts has lost interest in Take Two and stock prices for both companies are dropping. This morning Electronic Arts was hit heavily with a 2.7% drop but came back, supposedly when the market remembered they own pretty much everything else, to a loss of 1.44% on the day ($44.34 a share).

Unfortunately for Take Two Interactive its stock price has taken a significant beating since EA announced it had lost interest in the company. Take-Two stock prices are down nearly 25% at $16.43 per share since talks between the two companies have ended.

Poor Take Two. First EA chased them like the pretty girl at school and just when Take Two was about to crack EA decided it was in love with another -- namely not spending the money. It's like a bad John Hughes movie.

Filed under: Biz

Analyst: EA could come back to buy Take Two

by John Callaham Sep 15th 2008 @ 9:00AM

Late on Sunday, Electronic Arts announced it was officially walking away from any plans to buy out rival Take Two Interactive. However, a financial analyst has stated his opinion that EA could come back to the table to make another bid on the company.

EA originally asked for $26 a share for Take Two back in January and then lowered that bid to $25.74. Take Two execs have repeated said the price was too low for them to accept and EA got few Take Two shareholders to agree with them. However, The Associated Press (via Yahoo) quotes Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter as saying. "Nothing is terminal." He feels that EA is "posturing" by saying it had no more interest in buying Take Two and that in a few months it could come back with a lower price. Take Two's stock is almost certain to go lower in the start of trading today on the heels of EA's decision.

Filed under: Biz

Breaking: EA terminates take over talks with Take Two Interactive

by John Callaham Sep 14th 2008 @ 5:55PM

It's a financial drama that has been going on for months and now it has seemingly come to its end. In an unusual Sunday afternoon press release, Electronic Arts has announced that "after careful consideration" it has abandoned its plans to take over rival game publisher Take Two Interactive.

EA proposed a buyout of Take Two way back in January but Take Two's execs rebuffed EA's advances, saying that EA's asking price for Take Two was too low. A few weeks ago EA announced that it would let its take over bid expire but today EA announced that after checking out "a management presentation and review of other due diligence materials provided by Take-Two Interactive Software Inc." they have decided to pass on buying the publisher.

Take Two's own press release states that the company remains "actively engaged in discussions with other parties in the context of our formal process to consider strategic alternatives."

Filed under: Biz

Take Two's newest financial numbers exceed expectations

by John Callaham Sep 4th 2008 @ 9:00PM

Take Two Interactive released their latest financial numbers, this for for their fiscal quarter that began May 1 and ended on July 31. As expected sales from their hit open world action game Grand Theft Auto IV on the PS3 and Xbox 360 helped the publisher get $433.8 million in revenue for the quarter, over double the $206.4 million amount it got in revenues for the same period a year ago. Take Two recorded a profit of $51.8 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $58.5 million for the same period a year ago. Those figures exceeded Take Two's previous predictions.

PC owners can expect just one game from Take 2 for the remainder of its 2008 fiscal year (it ends October 31) with the release of Civilization IV: Colonization. The 2009 fiscal year is expected to see the release of the PC port of GTA IV (most likely this November) with titles like BioShock 2, Borderlands, Champions Online and Mafia 2 expected to be released sometime in the 2009 calendar year.

Filed under: Biz

EA to enter cone of silence on Take Two talks

by John Callaham Aug 26th 2008 @ 8:30AM

Last week, Electronic Arts let its hostile takeover attempt of fellow game publisher Take Two Interactive expire but stated they were still open to some kind of chat between the two rivals for some kind of deal. Now comes word (via a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission) that EA has put a gag on itself on any further public discussion on the subject thanks to entering a confidentiality agreement with each other.

We will let EA's own words speak for themselves: "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." There. That should about do it for now.

Filed under: Biz

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