GAMOHOLIC-Play before you drink! - Strauss Zelnick anunta Bioshock 3

Strauss Zelnick anunta Bioshock 3

Scris de dr. Lamer

Sunday, 08 June 2008

Strauss Zelnick, Bioshock 3, bioshock, fps, 2sci-fi, pc,shooter, system shock

Take Two şi-a anunţat rezultatele financiare pentru cel de-al doilea trimestru fiscal al anului 2008, din care am aflat că Bioshock s-a vândut în 2,2 milioane exemplare şi că cifra va creşte semnificativ după apariţia jocului pe PS3.

După anunţarea lui Bioshock 2, la care Ken Levine nu va mai lucra, Strauss Zelnick a declarat într-o conferinţă telefonică bomba: filmul Bioshock (produs de Gore Verbinski) va apărea simultan cu Bioshock 3! Aha, asta înseamnă prin anul 2010:
„Don't expect the BioShock film to launch simultaneously with BioShock 2. It's more likely that it would be released coincident with BioShock 3 - that also remains to be seen.”

Pentru Zelnick lucrurile sunt destul de clare: Bioshock va fi o trilogie. Le dorim celor de la 2K Marine şi ne dorim să stea bine la capitolul creativitate, pentru că dezvoltarea unei trilogii cu pretenţii la interval de 3-4 ani poate fi prea mult până şi pentru cei mai buni developeri…

Comunicatul de presă

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports Strong Second Quarter Fiscal 2008 Financial Results

Top and Bottom Line Results Exceed High End of Guidance

Company Raises Fiscal 2008 Guidance Significantly and Provides Third and Fourth Quarter Guidance

NEW YORK — Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) today announced financial results for its second quarter ended April 30, 2008.

Net revenue for the second fiscal quarter was $539.8 million, compared to $205.4 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2007. Second quarter sales were led by the blockbuster, critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system.

Net income for the second quarter was $98.2 million or $1.29 per share, compared to a net loss of $51.2 million or $0.71 per share in the second quarter of fiscal 2007.

The second quarter results include $12.4 million in stock-based compensation expense ($0.16 per share); $3.8 million in professional fees and legal expenses, primarily related to Electronic Arts' unsolicited tender offer ($0.05 per share) and $0.9 million in business reorganization costs ($0.01 per share). Results for the second quarter of 2007 included $16.3 million of business reorganization and related costs due to the Company's management and board changes, legal expenses and other professional fees associated with the investigation of stock option grants, responses to the New York County District Attorney's subpoenas, and other legal matters ($0.22 per share), as well as $5.8 million in stock-based compensation expense ($0.08 per share).

Non-GAAP net income was $115.4 million or $1.52 per share in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $29.2 million or $0.41 per share in the second quarter of 2007. (Please refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures and reconciliation tables included later in this release for additional information and details on non-GAAP items.)

For the six months ended April 30, 2008, net revenues were $780.3 million, compared to $482.8 million for the same period a year ago. Net income for the first half of fiscal 2008 was $60.2 million or $0.80 per share, compared to a loss of $72.8 million or $1.02 for the 2007 period. Results for the first six months of fiscal 2008 include $18.5 million in stock-based compensation expense ($0.25 per share); $5.3 million in professional fees and legal expenses, with the majority related to Electronic Arts' unsolicited tender offer ($0.07 per share) and $1.1 million in business reorganization costs ($0.01 per share). Results for the first six months of fiscal 2007 included $23.5 million of business reorganization and related costs due to the Company's management and board changes, legal expenses and other professional fees associated with the investigation of stock option grants, responses to the New York County District Attorney's subpoenas, and other legal matters ($0.33 per share), as well as $9.8 million in stock-based compensation expense ($0.14 per share).

Non-GAAP net income was $85.1 million or $1.14 per share in the first six months of 2008, versus a net loss of $39.5 million or $0.55 per share in the comparable period of 2007. (Please refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures and reconciliation information included later in this release.)

Business Highlights
Among the significant recent business developments, Take-Two noted the following:

-- Rockstar Games released the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV on April 29, 2008. The title surpassed all-time entertainment records for day one and week one sales, with approximately 6 million units sold through globally in the first week at an estimated retail value of more than $500 million. As of May 31, 2008, over 11 million units have been sold in to retailers and approximately 8.5 million units have been sold through to consumers.

-- BioShock(R), a wholly owned and internally developed title for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows(R) shipped over 2.2 million units since its debut in late August. 2K Games will be bringing this popular title to the PLAYSTATION(R)3 this fall, and Universal Pictures is developing a feature film based on BioShock to be directed by Gore Verbinski, director of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

-- Rockstar Games announced the acquisition of Mad Doc Software, one of the premier independent development studios in North America. The studio, renamed Rockstar New England, most recently worked with Rockstar on the Xbox 360 version of the critically acclaimed Bully: Scholarship Edition.

-- Hubert Larenaudie was named President for Asia to head Take-Two's growth initiatives in the Asia Pacific region including expanding distribution of the Company's interactive entertainment products; developing a strong presence in Japan; and working to establish an online game operation, especially in China and Korea. He had previously served in senior roles at Electronic Arts and Vivendi.

"Take-Two's performance has exceeded expectations through the first half of fiscal 2008, clearly demonstrating the creative, operational and financial strength of our business," noted Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two. "Our results reflected the extraordinary success of Grand Theft Auto IV, the value of our catalog of titles, and our ongoing initiatives to improve the efficiency of our operations. We look forward to continuing to enhance stockholder value by building on our broad portfolio of internally developed and owned interactive entertainment brands, leveraging the opportunities in the current industry cycle, and operating our business in an effective manner."

Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two, added, "Based on the Company's stronger than expected results, we have increased our financial guidance for fiscal 2008 and are confident in our ability to continue to perform for the balance of the year. Furthermore, Take-Two is extremely well positioned in an industry that is experiencing explosive growth. We believe that our exceptional creative talent, diverse range of hit products, and the proven global demand for our titles will be the drivers of increasing value over time."

Financial Guidance
The Company is providing guidance for the third fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2008 and fourth fiscal quarter ending October 31, 2008 and is raising its guidance for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2008 as detailed below. Fiscal 2008 guidance reflects the release of the first installment of episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 in the first quarter of fiscal 2009 instead of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 in order to provide a better balance in Take-Two's release schedule.

Revenue* Non-GAAP EPS (a)(b)

------------------- -------------------------
Third quarter ending $325 to $375 $0.45 to $0.55

7/31/2008
Fourth quarter ending $300 to $350 $0.10 to $0.20

10/31/2008

Fiscal year ending $1,400 to $1,500 $1.65 to $1.85

10/31/2008

* In millions

(a) The Company's non-GAAP EPS estimates for the third quarter ending July 31, 2008, and fourth quarter and fiscal year ending October 31, 2008 exclude approximately $0.17, $0.18 and $0.59 per share, respectively, of stock-based compensation expense; and approximately $0.13, $0.01 and $0.23 per share, respectively, of professional fees and legal expenses related to unusual matters, including the Electronic Arts tender offer, and business reorganization costs. The Company's stock-based compensation expense for the third and fourth quarters and fiscal 2008 reflects the cost of approximately two million stock options issued to ZelnickMedia that are subject to variable accounting. Actual expense to be recorded in connection with these options is dependent upon several factors, including future changes in Take-Two's stock price.

(b) EPS estimates reflect tax expense primarily for international operations. Key assumptions and dependencies underlying the Company's guidance include continued consumer acceptance of the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system and Wii(TM) home video game system from Nintendo; the ability to develop and publish products that capture market share for these current generation systems while continuing to leverage opportunities on prior generation platforms; as well as the timely delivery of the titles detailed in this release.

Product Pipeline
The following titles shipped during the second quarter of fiscal 2008:

Title Platform
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bully: Scholarship Edition Xbox 360, Wii

Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids(TM) PS2

Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue(TM) Wii, PS2

Grand Theft Auto IV Xbox 360, PS3

Major League Baseball(R) 2K8 Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2
Major League Baseball(R) 2K8 Fantasy
All-Stars DS

Take-Two's lineup announced to date for the remainder of fiscal 2008 includes the following titles:

Title                                        Platform
-------------------------------------------- -------------------------

BioShock(R)                                             PS3
Carnival Games(TM)                                  DS
Carnival Games: Mini-Golf(TM)                   Wii
Don King Presents: Prizefighter                  Xbox 360, Wii, DS
Midnight Club: Los Angeles                        Xbox 360, PS3
Midnight Club: LA Remix                           PSP
MLB (R) Power Pros 2008                         Wii, PS2, DS
NBA(R) 2K9                                             Multiple platforms
NHL(R) 2K9                                             Multiple platforms
Sid Meier's Civilization(R) Revolution(TM)    Xbox 360, PS3, DS
Top Spin 3                                               Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS