The slinging-handbags fight that boiled up when Take-Two Interactive honcho Strauss Zelnick gave THQ six months to live has been, officially and semi-politely, resolved.
Backing up, THQ has been in a bathtub full of trouble for much of this year. The publisher has shut down its kiddie division, fended off rumors it scrubbed its publishing schedule to prepare for a sale, and its stock hit the thin ice of being delisted .
So, when Zelnick shot off his mouth today at MIT about THQ's prognosis, there was some call for him to say "THQ won't be around in six months." Still, that kind of potshot is unbecoming of a chief executive. THQ's spokespeople said Zelnick's "perception of THQ is outdated and inaccurate. His comments are irresponsible and false. Perhaps he would be better off commenting on his own business." And, yeah, that's a salient point.
Zelnick then apologized for his remarks: "While discussing our strategy I spoke out of turn about someone else's. It was inappropriate and I regret it," he said in a statement reported by Game Informer.
THQ: Take-Two's Perception is 'Outdated' [Joystiq]