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Take-Two bid adieu to Icahn, three board seats for $203.5 million
Tuesday 26 November 800 lbs. lighter after getting rid of Carl Icahn and his three boys (including that iCahn mini) from the board. It's gonna be trans-fat and pasta tonight, I'm tellin' you. Food consumed today: What. Ever. I. Want. Boom! Morning in the 36-degree city that never sleeps. But I slept well last night. Stood on my balcony as the sun was rising, took the top off my silk pajamas and let the energy of the universe fill me. I couldn't be happier Diary, Three years after washing up in my board room, it's time to say goodbye to Carl Icahn and his flotsam. It wasn't cheap either, Di. It cost $203.5 million to clean them up, which was the purchase of 12.02 million shares of stock at $16.93. Not a bad return for Carl, who bought the stock at around $8 a share in late 2009. "With our ample cash and strong expected cash flow, we are able to pursue a variety of investment opportunities, including repurchasing our Company's stock," I said, officially. But, honey, you should have seen the crown I was wearing while I said it. "On behalf of our board and management team, I would like to thank Brett, James and Sung for their support, dedication and service to our organization. They leave Take-Two better positioned than ever for continued success." ...Now, get out.
Take-Two files 'Bully Bullsworth Academy' trademark in Europe [Update]
Take-Two recently filed another trademark related to Rockstar's Bully property in Europe. Titled "Bully Bullworth Academy: Canis Canem Edit," the trademark was filed just a few days ago, on November 20. The publisher filed another Bully-related trademark in July with the USPTO. Rockstar first developed Bully for PS2 in 2006, following it up with enhanced versions for Wii, PC and Xbox 360 in 2008. The latest trademark refers to the original game's New England boarding school setting, Bullworth Academy, which offers a stronger suggestion that Take-Two is doing more than just protecting the Rockstar property. Update: As a point of clarification, since Bully launched as Canis Canem Edit in Europe, the trademark may also refer to a re-release of the original game.
Borderlands 2 gets Wattle Gobbler next week, third Headhunter DLC next month
Borderlands 2 players can get their collective teeth into a second Headhunter pack next week, when The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler launches on November 26. Gearbox is serving it up on Steam, Xbox 360, and PS3 at the digestible price of $3. The third Headhunter DLC, titled How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day, is due in December. As the name suggests there's a Thanksgiving air to the Wattle Gobbler DLC, with the head you're hunting this time belonging to a giant turkey. Should you succeed, you'll earn new character heads and skins as gaudy emblems of your seasonal success, you monster, you.
Become a Beach Bum in Grand Theft Auto Online today
Grand Theft Auto 5 receives the free Beach Bum update for GTA Online today, and like a beach bum it's already getting comfy on Xbox 360 and PS3. The update's beached on the Xbox Games Store right now, while the PS3 version is accessible through a new title update that has started rolling out on both consoles, according to Rockstar. Beach Bum brings new vehicles in the form of dune buggies, camper vans, and off-road trucks, while new jobs include beach-based Races, Parachutes, Last Team Standings, Deathmatches, Survivals, and Gang Attacks. The update also brings new weapons with it and some more character customization options, allowing avant-garde citizens to mix up neon surfer ware with tribal tattoos - just go wild, man.
XCOM: Enemy Within Review: Of MECs and Men
Firaxis has elevated XCOM: Enemy Unknown's intensity through the bulkier risk-reward strategy system in its expansion, XCOM: Enemy Within. The expansion's potency is at worst intriguing and at best traumatic. Its net effect is as captivating as its launch pad with new items, juiced-up soldiers, alien mechs, a new branching series of side quests, and 47 fresh battlegrounds ripe with opportunities for tactical excision. Enemy Within's single-player campaign starts the same way as Enemy Unknown -- bunkered in an underground military base at the brink of the end of the world, following the escalating war with the aliens to its climax. Think of the expansion as a lateral addition to a core game and mission list that remains unchanged. It's possible to play Enemy Within almost exactly like Enemy Unknown, but Enemy Within adds an optional quest line early on: Defend the XCOM nations and XCOM itself from a transhuman threat... an organization called Exalt. To further humanity's evolution, Exalt attempts to disrupt XCOM operations and promote the assimilation of alien technology into human biology. Thick with narrative irony, XCOM simultaneously develops two tracks of transhuman upgrades, the exact kind of alien-human integration that Exalt wants: MECs and gene mods. Each unlocks after the construction of cybernetics or genetics labs, respectively, enabling the manufacture of XCOM super soldiers to combat both Exalt and the Sectoids' breed of elite soldiers.
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Take-Two sees net loss of $124 million in Q2 without GTA 5 sales
Take-Two reported net revenue of $148.8 million in Q2 2014, down from $273.1 million the previous year. The company saw a net loss of $124.1 million, compared with $12.4 million in Q2 2013, and it has $661.9 million cash on-hand. Q2 ended September 30 and included the launch of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified and Borderlands 2 GOTY. All of these numbers ignore the fact that Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 launched during Q2 2014. Take-Two is pushing these sales figures to Q3 2014, since that's when Grand Theft Auto Online launched. Grand Theft Auto 5 raked in $1 billion in retail sales in three days and has shipped 29 million copies. Combine Grand Theft Auto 5 with holiday sales and Take-Two predicts non-GAAP net revenue in Q3 2014 to hit a high of $700 million, with the fiscal year ending at $2.3 billion on March 31. "Take-Two is increasing its financial outlook for fiscal year 2014 to reflect its strong fiscal second quarter results and positive outlook for the remainder of the year," Take-Two says.
Grand Theft Auto 5 ships 29 million units to retail
Take-Two revealed today that it has shipped nearly 29 million copies of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 since the game's launch last month. "The title received stellar reviews, shattered entertainment industry records, and has already sold-in nearly 29 million units to date," Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said. "The extraordinary success of Grand Theft Auto V illustrates the positive momentum in our business and consumers' enduring appetite for the highest-quality interactive entertainment." Take-Two notes that sell-in numbers for Grand Theft Auto 5 already exceed Grand Theft Auto 4's lifetime units shipped in its first six weeks of release. Grand Theft Auto 5 earned the company $1 billion in three days, breaking the previous time-to-$1 billion sales record set by Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Grand Theft Auto 5 now available through Xbox games on demand
Crime opera blockbuster Grand Theft Auto 5 is available now digitally through the Xbox Live Marketplace for $59.99, same as the hard copy. Reasons to purchase the game digitally instead of going to the store: all the reasons, the world is scary. So very, very scary. There's sharknadoes out there! Just saw a documentary on it recently. You could always order from Amazon and save three cents. Or, you know, while debating this, the download could be starting. As a general reminder, GTA 5 is already available digitally through the PlayStation Store.
Layoffs hit The Bureau: XCOM Declassified developer 2K Marin
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified developer 2K Marin has been hit with layoffs. The game launched in August, with downloadable content having arrived just a few weeks ago. A 2K representative told Game Informer, "We can confirm staff reductions at 2K Marin. While these were difficult decisions, we regularly evaluate our development efforts and have decided to reallocate creative resources. Our goal to create world-class video game titles remains unchanged." We've reached out to 2K for more information.
GTA 5 title update for vanishing online characters, other issues
Rockstar has issued a patch for the GTA Online portion of Grand Theft Auto 5, which purportedly solves issues with spontaneous character deletion, lost progress and a handful of other issues, save for one specific circumstance. The patch should be live on PSN and will hit the Xbox 360 version "tomorrow at the latest," according to Rockstar. The patch corrects "multiple issues causing character deletion or other loss of progress," except for "some specific instances where players purchase a vehicle and the save does not occur due to a cloud save failure." A fix for that issue is underway and another update will be pushed once the problem is sorted out. In the meantime, infinite loading screens, vanishing guns and ammo, issues with Los Santos Customs and the mod garage should all be a thing of the past. Click all up on this for a full list of this update's corrected errors.
GTA5 officially breaks PSN records, Guinness records less officially
The Sony Blog has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 5 is the most-downloaded game in the history of the PlayStation Network, while Guinness World Records has awarded not one, not two, but seven titles to Rockstar's sandbox full of murder and mayhem. Whether it's virtual law or real-life records, Grand Theft Auto 5 breaks more bad than ... yeah, you see where that joke was going. According to a Guinness statement, GTA5 now holds the record for: Best-selling action-adventure videogame in 24 hours Best-selling videogame in 24 hours Fastest entertainment property to gross $1 billion Fastest videogame to gross $1 billion Highest grossing videogame in 24 hours Highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours Most viewed trailer for an action-adventure videogame There are, however, conflicting accounts of the statement's validity. According to GameSpot, a Guinness representative claimed that the records team "worked directly with Rockstar on obtaining the figures." However, GameSpot also reports that a Take-Two Interactive representative said the numbers didn't come from them. "We can't verify its accuracy and we haven't commented on GTA V's performance beyond the two releases that we issued," the representative told GameSpot.
Bah gawd, this WWE 2K14 gameplay trailer is full of finishing moves
This WWE 2K14 trailer is equipped with a variety of flashy moves and finishers from wrestlers that span the business' history, such as Goldberg's Jackhammer and a double chokeslam by Kane. 2K Sports' first WWE game will launch October 29.
Twitch gets $20 million in funding, Take-Two among investors
Twitch has earned $20 million from investors, the company announced. Among the Series C, or third round of investors is Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two, though it is uncertain how much the publisher invested in the video game live-streaming company. The investment round is appropriately timed ahead of the PS4 and Xbox One launches, as Twitch will offer its streaming services on both consoles. Twitch added that its viewership has grown to 45 million unique visitors per month, and expects that number to increase thanks to these next-gen, broadcast-capable systems. Twitch noted that the investment round was led by Thrive Capital, with Take-Two and WestSummit Capital "participating" in the funding. Current investors Alsop Louie Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners also invested more money into the company.
Rockstar confirms GTA Online micro-transactions, outlines launch plans
Rockstar Games has confirmed yesterday's rumor that micro-transactions will be present in Grand Theft Auto Online. Impatient magnates can trade real-world cash for in-game riches in GTA Online when it launches on October 1, though Rockstar clarifies that "you don't have to spend real money to attain the cars, guns, clothes, flash and style of a high-roller in Los Santos, but can if you wish to get them a little quicker." A series of free content updates will unlock specific functionality in GTA Online following launch, Rockstar details in a new diatribe over on the Rockstar Newswire site. A new Rally race type will be introduced where a driver and co-pilot must work together to make it through "treacherous courses at high speeds." Rockstar's take on Capture the Flag is also coming, as well as a new Beach Bum add-on pack comprised of four beach vehicles, over 300 new items and a pair of new weapons. There are also plans to present a content creator for players to publish their own races and deathmatches, plus the promised Heists that are the anchor of Grand Theft Auto 5's co-op multiplayer experience. All of this content will be available through free updates, which Rockstar hopes to issue at a steady clip following the launch of multiplayer on October 1. But considering how many people have the game, we don't expect it to be the smoothest sailing for online multiplayer in GTA 5 - at first, anyway.
Grand Theft Auto 5 makes off with over $800 million on day one
Worldwide sales of the latest entry in Rockstar's open-world crime series, Grand Theft Auto 5, have surpassed $800 million in just 24 hours at retail. This figure represents a new day-one high for both the series and parent company Take Two Interactive. Currently, Grand Theft Auto 5 only has a single-player component on Xbox 360 and PS3. Rockstar announced the multiplayer supplement, Grand Theft Auto Online, will launch on October 1.
Rockstar working out Social Club and iFruit companion app issues [Update]
With the launch of Grand Theft Auto 5 this week, both Rockstar Games Social Club and the GTA iFruit companion app have had numerous issues. According to an update on its support page, Rockstar is aware of problems like account linking being down, stats not syncing properly and content not loading correctly, and is working to resolve them. While Social Club has been around for years, Rockstar just launched the iFruit companion app this week to coincide with GTA 5's release. The free app allows players to take care of Chop, the pet dog owned by one of the game's characters, as well as customize vehicles and license plates for use in the game. Update: Rockstar updated its support page, noting it "made some changes that should help to resolve some of these issues, and will continue to work toward a full resolution for any remaining problems such as logging into iFruit."
Install GTA 5 'Play' disc to USB for Xbox 360 workaround
While Rockstar doesn't recommend installing the second "Play" disc for GTA 5 on your Xbox 360 hard drive, the fine folks at Digital Foundry have found a workaround. Installing the disc to the hard drive presents texture and frame rate issues, but installing that disc to a USB flash drive produces much more favorable results. Digital Foundry warns mileage may vary depending on the flash drive you use, and it's definitely suggested you go with a 16GB stick over an 8GB model if possible. As you can see in the video above, the USB install clears a lot of the texture pop-in that comes from streaming off the Xbox 360 disc alone. Grand Theft Auto 5 officially launched today on the PS3 and Xbox 360. In our review, we cited complaints with the story's focus on deplorable characters, but found the sandbox to be the best Rockstar has ever created.
Original Grand Theft Auto devs dish on rough road to launch
Despite the Grand Theft Auto series' lurid flag firmly planted atop Games Mountain, it would seem the series wasn't always destined for massive success. Many developers espouse the idea that the first game was pretty much a hot mess – it took about four years of iteration for the game to become something worthwhile. So say many of the developers who worked on the first game and happily offer their own skewed trips down Memory Lane in this special piece from The Guardian. In fact, the game was originally meant to be a cops and robbers affair, but nobody ever wanted to play the cops, so it became a game just about crime. Apparently parent company Take-Two wasn't too keen on Grand Theft Auto at first either. The developers would have to essentially argue its merit on a weekly basis and it didn't help that many of the people working on GTA never even shipped a game before. But the team eventually figured it out and a game took shape – one that would go on to become arguably the most influential video game series of all time.
GTA 5 iFruit companion free on iOS
Rockstar launched a free iOS app that complements Grand Theft Auto 5 today, called Grand Theft Auto: iFruit. The app offers two activities that affect the main game's campaign. The first is Los Santos Customs, which has players creating custom cars and license plates for use in GTA 5. Chop the Dog is the other activity offered by iFruit, in which players care for the pet of one of GTA 5's main characters, Franklin. The dog, Chop, will better assist players in GTA 5 if he's well-tended in the iFruit app by finding hidden items when being taken for walks by Franklin. In our review of the game, we considered Franklin the standout character of the playable protagonists, so we'll happily spend more time with Chop through the app.
NBA 2K14 Crews mode offers three and five-person team play
2K Sports recently revealed a few more details for NBA 2K14's Crews mode. In the mode, which was announced to return in NBA 2K14 in August, players create teams with custom jersey and logo options, inviting friends to join with their created athletes for online play against other teams. After a few years of absence from the series, Crews will offer 3-on-3 half-court and 5-on-5 full-court matches, each played to 21 points. It will also include leaderboards that track stats from matches along with player fatigue, which 2K Sports said was "tuned specifically for Crews to make it even more realistic." NBA 2K14 will launch October 1 on PS3, PC and Xbox 360, with Xbox One and PS4 versions arrive at each console's launch.
