Take-Two Chairman: Quality Wins Out Over Shovelware

Never let it be said Take-Two aren't focused on quality. They don't have the packed release schedule of companies like EA or Activision, but pound-for-pound, their games are amongst the best-regarded in the business. A strategy chairman Strauss Zelnick is very keen on, telling VentureBeat that quality will always win out over quantity:

In periods of high growth, like where we are now, B titles and C titles can do OK. But as soon as you get to the point where the platform penetration has reached its asymptote, then quality reins supreme. We think that if you focus on quality all along, regardless of where the market peak is, you will do better.

Explaining, perhaps, why T2's Wii catalogue isn't quite as robust as some other publisher's.

E3 perspective: Q&A with Chairman Strauss Zelnick on the future of Take-Two Interactive [VentureBeat]

Take-Two Boss: 2K "Out-Rate" EA Sports

Speaking at the Piper Jaffray Consumer Conference, the square-Jawed and wonderfully-named Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick let rip on EA Sports, choosing his fight, and his words, super-carefully:

When we go head-to-head with 'Brand X' we out-rate them significantly...We outsell them when we go head-to-head. It's sort of an unheralded achievement. This is a tough business.

On one hand, he's right! 2K's basketball and hockey games are normally top-shelf, and they've got baseball to themselves. But the "head-to-head" bit...yeah, it's dancing around that elephant in the room. 2K don't have an NFL game in the US. They don't have a football game in Europe/Asia. That's like saying my 92 Corolla can take on a Ferrari head-to-head, so long as we're...both sticking to the speed limit. And the speed limit's 30.

2K Sports unheralded against EA Sports, says Zelnick [GI.biz]

Take-Two Ponders Entering The Music Game Genre

Take-Two Boss Claims GTA IV Is Glitch Free

Take-Two Only Lost $38 Million Last Quarter, Seems Pleased

Take-Two Interactive had plenty to sing about today. There was the official word on BioShock 2, even more Carnival Games for little girls and boys to enjoy and a reaffirmation of Grand Theft Auto IV's worldwide ship date of April 29. Yay! Sure, there were some delays, but all in all, not bad. The best news? The company managed to only lose 38 million bucks in its first fiscal quarter of 2008! That's better than the Take-Two gang had expected, with Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two, saying he was "pleased." This is how you lose money, people—with a faint hint of a smile on your face.

In a call to investors and analysts, Zelnick and crew chalked up the better than planned for quarter to sales of stuff like Carnival Games and Manhunt 2, plus portions of Take-Two's back catalog. I'm not much of a gambler, but I'd be willing to wager that next quarter, they'll do much, much better.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2008 Financial Results [Take-Two]

The Real Reason Take-Two Rejected EA's Offer?

Analyst "Convinced" That Take-Two Will Be Swallowed

Take-Two bigwig Strauss Zelnick may not be interested in selling the company to another buyer, but Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey says the publisher "will eventually be acquired at a meaningful premium to their current share price." Hickey values the Rockstar Games portfolio alone at about $1 billion, which doesn't even begin to cover the other big Take-Two intellectual properties—BioShock, Carnival Games, Civilization—all of which could make the company very attractive to buyers. Sure, it may involve a few headaches when Manhunt 3 kills some poor grandmother because it's just that dangerous, but you've gotta break a few eggs.

Hickey also points to "opportunities" in the GameDaily BIZ report, such as sequels to Red Dead Revolver, Max Payne and a theoretical Grand Theft Auto MMO as nice-to-haves. Maybe I'll just buy them and expense it.

Take-Two Acquisition Looming, Predicts Analyst [GameDaily.biz]

His Name Is Strauss Zelnick. It is Wonderful.

I'm much more interested in growing the business than in selling it, to be clear. I would say for the next five to seven years this is a terrific time to be in the video game business.

In a conference call with investors earlier today, Take-Two execs Strauss Zelnick and Ben Feder explained the company's decision to delay Grand Theft Auto IV for the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360. Zelnick chalked up the Q2 2008 push back to "almost strictly technological problems... not problems, but challenges." They said they were "highly confident" that the game will ship within its new release window.

Asked whether one console in particular was the root of the problem, Zelnick diplomatically responded that "I know there have been rumors in the marketplace about frame rate and some other issues. We don't think it's helpful or beneficial to go into exact details of what the technological issues are. We're pushing the envelope on both the platforms." Crap. Now I don't know which torch to light!

Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick doesn't mind an over 17, or even over 18 rating on Manhunt 2's cover. His average customer is in their 30s, so in his eyes, the game will sell fine no matter what the ESRB age limitations may be. His problem is with the logistics surrounding an adults-only rating.

The AO rating was not intended when it was developed to mean a non-rating. That wasn't the point. If you can't market it because you aren't allowed by the licensors or the retailers won't carry it, then the rating doesn't have any meaning. Clearly one has to discuss what its purpose is.