Tag Archives: strauss zelnick

Take-Two plays the waiting game with mobile

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Strauss strauss zelnickZelnick on Wii U, Oculus Rift, and what happens with Rod Fergusson’s Bay Area studio now that he’s jumped ship to Microsoft.

While many video game publishers are racing to embrace the mobile world – and seeing some significant earnings in the process – Take-Two Interactive Software CEO Strauss Zelnick is moving cautiously.

There’s certainly potential in the market, he concedes – but, so far, the hardware isn’t where it needs to be to be a proper showcase for the company’s games. And he’d rather wait than make compromises.

Read more at GamesIndustry.biz

Metacritic taking a toll on game makers

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During his lengthy career as a video game developer, Warren Spector has had his share of commercial hits and misses, but he’s rarely had a critical failure.

His 2010 release Epic Mickey split critics, however. Some heaped praise upon it, while others panned it harshly. Those diametrically opposed views gave the game a fairly low Metacritic score — the lowest mark Spector had ever received.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Four keys to next-gen success, according to Take-Two’s Zelnick

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New console launches “separate the winners from the losers — and we fully expect to be one of the winners,” says Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick in this Gamasutra interview.

While Nintendo fell short of its goal of whipping gamers into a frenzy for the Wii U at this year’s E3, third-party publishers, who see the system as a key driver of future growth, were reticent to downplay its potential. Instead, they cited the system’s long-term potential, rather than its initial impact.

Take-Two Interactive Software chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick, however, was not among the cheerleaders.

Read more at Gamasutra

Opinion: Despite Zelnick’s prediction, THQ not quite on life support

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Take-Two’s CEO was blunt when he recently said THQ would be gone in six months. Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris argues it’ll still be around in 2012, but THQ needs to figure out a gameplan soon.

Industry watchers were treated to a rare bit of executive candor Thursday from Take-Two Interactive Software’s CEO.

Strauss Zelnick’s comment that “THQ won’t be around in six months” was shocking not so much because of his prediction, but because they seemed less like the contrived back-and-forth between Electronic Arts and Activision-Blizzard – and more honest opinion. The bigger question is: Was he right?

Read more at Gamasutra

Interview: Take-Two’s Zelnick Talks Social Games, Acquisition Rumors

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[Speaking with Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris about the road ahead for his company, CEO Strauss Zelnick explains why he’s in no hurry to sell Take Two, and why the publisher isn’t taking part in the social game land grab.]

The turnaround story at Take-Two Interactive Software has been an impressive one over the past couple of years. The company, which had previously never posted a profit unless it had released a Grand Theft Auto title in its lineup that year, has managed to push into the black without the help of its biggest franchise and had several of the most anticipated games of 2011 and 2012 on display at its E3 booth this year.

But the success has once again kicked up chatter that the company might be in play. Analysts have speculated it is an acquisition target and, with activist investor Carl Icahn holding a big stake in the company, have begun openly wondering who will make the first bid.

Read more at Gamasutra