Posts Tagged ‘take-two’
BioShock 2 delayed to fiscal year of 2010
Take-Two Interactive software announced today that BioShock 2 will be pushed back to the fiscal year of 2010, as apposed to a November release this year.
“We concluded that moving the release of BioShock 2 into fiscal year 2010 was the right decision for the product,” stated Chairman Strauss Zelnick. “We believe the result will be a more compelling consumer experience and a better performing product in the marketplace.”
“The decision to shift a release date is never an easy one, especially with a product as highly anticipated as BioShock 2,” added Chief Executive Officer Ben Feder. “We felt that it was essential to invest the additional time to ensure that this title will deliver what its fans expect and deserve.”
More news about the delay will be updated as we get it.
Take-Two law suit reveals Duke Begins
Sure, Duke Nukem Forever may have been in development forever but it seems the guys over at 2K Games also had a Duke title in the works; Duke Begins.
This news comes to us as Take-Two attempts to get back some loans they gave to Apogee for the development of Duke Nukem Forever. Unfortunately, Apogee says that 2K Games put a stop to Duke Begins development in what Joystiq says is an attempt to gain the rights to the Duke Nukem franchise.
If there are any Duke Nukem hopefuls left out there you better keep your eyes peeled as there very well may be an onslaught of Duke news very soon.
Take Two claims 3D Realms hides money in off shore accounts
The Take Two vs. 3D Realms lawsuit just got a bit more complicated (if it wasn’t complicated enough as it is). In the lawsuit, Take Two has raised new claims, alleging that 3D Realms received at least $2.5 million last year to fund development of Duken Nukem Forever, money which Take Two now believes 3D Realms stuffed in an off shore account in order to avoid paying it back, which it was legally obliged to do after September 2009, had the game not been completed by that date.
BioShock 2 official release date
Take Two has confirmed the official release date for BioShock 2, which will be released in Europe on October 30, while North Americans will have to wait a few more days, as their release date is on November 3. Mark your calendars!
3D Realms still exists, retains Duke Nukem rights
It seems that 3D Realms still exists, albeit as a much smaller company, who’s only purpose it to retain rights and control the Duke Nukem franchise. The company released the following statement:
“Despite rumors and statements to the contrary, 3D Realms has not closed and is not closing. 3DR retains ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise. Due to lack of funding, however, we are saddened to confirm that we let the Duke Nukem Forever development team go on May 6th, while we regroup as a company.”
3D Realms also commented on the Take Two lawsuit rumors, saying that the company received no money from Take Two for Duke Nukem Forever, and that Take Two initially tried to buy 3D Realms and the Duke Nukem franchise, but the company didn’t see it as a decent deal.
More here.
Take-Two sueing Apogee over Duke Nukem Forever
It seems that the closure of 3D Realms ticked someone off over at Take-Two because they have recently announced they will be sueing the now debunk company over the unfinished Duke Nukem Forever.
Since 3D Realms is no longer around to take the wrath, Take-Two will turn to the brand’s creator, Apogee:
“Apogee continually delayed the completion date for the Duke Nukem Forever,” Take-Two said in the complaint. “Apogee repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever.”
It doesn’t seem like Apogee has much of a counterarguement in this lawsuit but maybe Take-Two will put DNF in the hands of another developer and actually get the game out the door.
Read (Destructoid)
PETA displeased with upcoming Ringling Bros. Wii title
PETA’s is at it again, this time setting their sights on Take-Two and their upcoming Ringling Bros. video game for the Nintendo Wii.
For those unfamiliar with the organization PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and they do just that, make sure people are treating animals correctly. And, as you’ve sure to have heard, Ringling Bros. and pretty much every other circus out there has evidence against them to prove their mistreatment of animals. So, PETA sent out an announcement that included the following quote:
I was shocked to hear that Take-Two is partnering with Ringling Bros. to create a circus-themed video game. Video games might be a fun way to pass the time, but circuses are no fun for animals. Ringling has a long history of animal abuse and neglect. To get elephants to “perform,” Ringling Bros. rips babies away from their mothers and stuffs them into poorly ventilated boxcars…
As Destructoid points out, Take-Two is likely to showcase the fun in a circus, not the animal cruelty. In reality, PETA should be working against the real problem, Ringling Bros., not a perfectly harmless video game.
Xbox 360 Getting Max Payne(s)
With the third game on the way, ESRB listings for Max Payne and its sequel for the Xbox 360 have cropped up on ESRB.
This points to the likely release of the games on either Xbox Live Arcade or through the downloadable Xbox Originals program, seeing as how they were both released for the Xbox. Through this, the games can be played on a Xbox 360 using backwards compatibility.
Rockstar and Take-Two are yet to confirm the report. Max Payne 3 arrives this winter on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
Take-Two Settles With Chicago Transit Authority, No Ads for M-rated Games on Buses
Take-Two has finally reached a settlement with the Chicago Transit Authority which will see the latter reinstate the Grand Theft Auto 4 ads that were pulled. However, CTA will no longer accept ads for M-rated games in the future.
This comes after Take-Two sued CTA for breach of contract over the incident before the game’s release earlier this year. The ads will now appear on Chicago buses for the next six weeks after which the CTA will not run any ads for M-rated games under a new ordinance passed by the company’s board last week.
It can be noted that the GTA ads do not feature any violent or overtly sexual themes that normall prohibit advertisements from running on city buses, among other things.
Take-Two to Remain Single
It seems EA just didn’t have enough mojo to get Take-Two in bed. The GTA publisher, after conducting a review of strategic alternatives and discussing possible business arrangements, has announced that it will remain single and independent.
“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," said CEO Ben Feder.
Take-Two is in a pretty strong position, owning publishing rights to many big properties, including BioShock, GTA, Civilization and more.
Rockstar: GTA on Wii “Not Natural”
The only console out there not to have any GTA titles on it is the Wii – PS2, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 have all met with various entries in the franchise. It appears that it will remain that way, as Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser downplayed chances of the action franchise finding its way to the Wii. Houser noted that it “didn’t feel natural” compared to the opportunity of making a DS game – GTA Chinatown Wars.
"It really was that the DS felt like it had a lot of interesting challenges that would be totally different from what we’d done in the past," he said. “The stylus and the chance to use minigames in that way was really interesting and exciting to us, and we thought we could integrate seamlessly between those two modes."
Meanwhile, publisher Take-Two hasn’t completely shut the door on a possible Wii version of the franchise, noting that the DS entry is an “important step” and that they intend to “continue to grow that relationship with Nintendo.”
EA Not Courting Take-Two Anymore
Electronic Arts today announced that it is not going to pursue to acquisition of GTA publisher Take-Two Interactive, following months of hostile buyout offers by EA and confidential meetings and the like.
The monolithic publisher has a “high regard for Take-Two’s creative teams and products,” however, “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.”
This has been blamed on the imminent contract expiry of Rockstar with Take-Two, which means that EA wouldn’t get talent from the studio if they bought their publisher.
Stocks of both companies have taken a big hit.
GTA 4 Sales Hurting Take-Two’s Chances at Being Bought by EA
It appears GTA 4 didn’t turn out to be the big sales juggernaut Take-Two had expected. In an article that takes a look at the possible Take-Two/EA merger, CNN reveals that slowing sales of Grand Theft Auto 4 have complicated ongoing talks to buy the company.
The article suggests that Take-Two’s case for a higher share price may be weakening due to GTA 4’s ailing sales. The game was the 46th best-selling game last month, coming down one place from July. It has sold about 8.5 million units till date – not a bad number by any chance – but it is not meeting Take-Two’s sales expectations.
… And the Take-Two/EA battle continues…
Midnight Club: Los Angeles Delayed
Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Rockstar’s oft-delayed racer, has suffered yet another delay, this time being pushed two weeks back to October 21 from its 10/7 release date.
The reason for the delay was explained personally by Take-Two CEO Ben Feder to be due to marketing reasons.
Los Angeles is the next-gen entry in the long-running Midnight Club series which sees players jumping into various vehicles, including SUVs and motorcycles and race across an open-ended city.
GTA: Chinatown Wars Gets Release Date
In more GTA news, publisher Take-Two has announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be released on the DS sometime between November 1, 2008 and January 31, 2009.
This was mentioned by none other than CEO Ben Feder who disclosed the information at a conference call today. At the time of the game’s initial announcement, Take-Two noted that it would release the game b this Winter, but did not provide any specific time period.
The project is being handled by Rockstar Leeds, the same people behind the previous portable GTA games.