"BioShock Extremely Well-Suited To Film"

The wheels of the announced BioShock movie keep on churning. With a big time director aboard and a major screenwriter in talks, the game's publisher Take Two must be thrilled. It is! Just listen to Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two:

BioShock has been hailed as one of the most highly cinematic and richly plotted titles in interactive entertainment, making it extremely well-suited to film... Our ability to attract a major studio and unparalleled creative team speaks volumes about the strength of our BioShock franchise.

Full release after the jump:

You might recall that last week Jack Thompson offered to come to Electronic Arts assistance in their attempt to try and buy-out Take-Two. (Funny enough, when I first emailed Jack about this he said he didn't care.)

Today Electronic Arts told Jack thanks, but no thanks:

Pachter: EA Wants Take-Two For Sports, GTAIV Is "Gravy"

We've already heard EA's story recounting why they're interested in acquiring Take-Two, but analyst Michael Pachter gives the real scoop. And unlike many have claimed, Take-Two's appeal has very little to do with GTAIV, which he calls "gravy." It's all about the sports.

For EA, sports is enough to pay for the whole [$2 billion] thing. If you get rid of sports competition, you suddenly add Take Two's $200 million per year in sports revenue and EA doesn't compete on price anymore.

Take-Two: College Hoops Canceled

Responding to rumors we broke earlier today that College Hoops 2K9 has been canceled due to a breakdown in negotiations with the license holders for collegiate basketball, 2K Sports parent company Take-Two had this to say to Kotaku:

2K Sports has decided not to continue negotiations with the CLC for the license for its top-rated College Hoops franchise, which would have been released next in November 2008. We are committed to providing fans with high-quality, critically-acclaimed sports games, but given our disciplined approach to the business, we do not believe the current discussions would result in an acceptable outcome.

I followed up with Take-Two to try and get more details and while the declined to talk about any roll EA might have had in the break-down, they did confirm that College Hoops 2K9 has indeed been canceled.

No word still from The Collegiate Licensing Company or Electronic Arts, but we'll keep you posted.

Rumor: 2K9 College Hoops Canned, EA Seeks NCAA Deal [Kotaku]

Bioshock Creator Craves Smash Bros. Brawl and WoW

This may disappoint some people with this, but the game I'm looking forward to in 2008 is Smash Bros [Brawl]...[and] now that I finally managed to crack my way into Outland, I'm now psyched for the next WoW expansion.

Our own favorite Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter doesn't want the holiday spirit entering the veins of Take-Two employees just yet, because he's clarified to investors that GTA IV, while sure to be a success, is no "panacea" (word deriving from the Greek goddess of cures) for the company, much because the game itself will require so much money to promote and launch. So close to the popular Christian holiday, we'd have preferred a more timely and fitting allusion to religious healing figures, but we'll honestly take whatever Michael "Mythology Buff Scrooge" Pachter gives us. He also took a shot at management while reiterating his "sell" rating on Take-Two stock.

This evening's Take-Two Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2007 Results Conference Call wasn't exactly a Queens of the Stone Age concert, I know shocking right? There were some marginally interesting tidbits that floated out of the stream of fiscal data.

Here's a break-down of highlights and fun quotes, including one confirming the non-existence of Grand Theft Auto IV for the Wii:
*BioShock has shipped more than 2 million copies
*Carnival Games shipped more than 500,000 units since its debut in late August. 2K Play plans to bring the game to the DS in fiscal 08 and other platforms down the line.
*Take-Two doesn't expect missing the October release date for GTA4 will hurt sales, just spread them out more.
*GTA 4 has been rated in Australia, after the company sent the board there a reel showing off a "substantial part of the game."
*GTA 4 is still not coming to the Wii: "Right now I think, no disrespect meant for the platform, but there are other titles better suited for the Wii."

That's kinda weird, if you ask me. They didn't have any problem bringing Manhunt to the Wii, so why not Grand Theft Auto. I know Manhunt was a PS2 game, but I can't imagine that they can't rework GTA4 for the Wii somehow. I suspect they didn't expect the platform to be as popular as it has been. Come on Rockstar, I want to use my Remote to beat hookers.

Take Two Confirms Manhunt II Hack

For those who missed it, hackers had allegedly de-blurrified the AO content in Manhunt II to play on PSP. Now Take Two has confirmed the rumor.

Multiple edits were made to revise Manhunt 2 for its M-rated version. Hackers apparently have altered one of those edits to produce an illegally modified version of the game that can only be played on an unauthorized, modified PlayStation Portable handheld system...Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick said, "I stand behind the game and the ESRB ratings process. It is unfortunately the case that no one in the entertainment software industry is immune from hacking...We would also like to emphasize that Manhunt 2 is intended for an audience aged 17 and above.

BREAKING: Rockstar Confirms Manhunt 2 PSP Hack [gamepolitics]

Rockstar: Waaahhhhh!! (hypocritical sniffle)

I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it's a sign of respect... If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we're not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto... But yeah, we've definitely had some reactions - we've had to pull stuff from the game.

Lawyer Wants Lawyer Stricken From GTA IV

Take Two's Zelnick Testifies On Media Stereotypes

Rockstar Leeds Sets Sights On Consoles

"To succeed on those formats you've got to put everything into it or step away - we're already lucky to have a really committed team, so I think that we will step up to become an established Rockstar studio know for original projects."

Former TT Chief Gets Five Years Probation

Former Take-Two CEO Ryan Brant was sentenced to five years of probation for his role in stock-option backdating, after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, Bloomberg reports.

Brant's February plea also required him to pay $6.3 million to settle a civil suit filed by federal regulators another $1 million to New York city and state officials. He's already forked over $4.7 million of that. More than 200 companies are under similar investigations, but Brant, 35, became the first CEO convicted in the cases.

``I'm deeply sorry for my role as an executive in the company and my role in the options dating process,'' Brant told New York State Supreme Court Justice Brenda Soloff today in Manhattan. Brant had faced up to four years in prison.

Brant was one of three Take-Two officials convicted in the case.

Take-Two Ex-Chief Sentenced to 5 Years of Probation (Update3) [Bloomberg]

PACHTER WATCH: T2's Costly Manhunt Problems

Take Two to Focus on Nintendo

To be perfectly frank, I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to realize what's going on with Wii and DS. I will tell you that very quickly we turned to both 2K and to Rockstar and said guys, we need a DS strategy and a Wii strategy and we are working on it. As we get into the next quarter and into budget season for 2008, everybody in this company is completely focused on it.

Take-Two Sues Jack Thompson