14 DAY TRIAL // Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., publisher, developer and distributor of interactive entertainment software, hardware and accessories, announced on Monday that it has been cited by a Manhattan jury, as it has been already investigated in relation to accounting, change of auditors, and the already controversial explicit sex scene appearing in a video game, informs Reuters. The jury issued subpoenas in which several documents, issued in several periods of time, starting 1 October 2001, are requested for investigation.
The company put on charge is currently publishing and developing products through its brands - Rockstar Games, 2K and 2K Sports and Global Star Software - and distributes products in North America through its Jack of All Games subsidiary. Take-Two also manufactures and markets video game and electronic peripherals and accessories in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region through its Joytech subsidiary.
Take-Two's proprietary brand franchises include Grand Theft Auto, Sid Meier's Civilization, Max Payne, Midnight Club, Manhunt, Red Dead Revolver, Railroad Tycoon, Sid Meier's Pirates, and Top Spin. Licensed brands include the sports games Major League Baseball 2K, NBA 2K, NHL 2K, College Hoops 2K, as well as high profile licenses such as the Da Vinci Code, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Stronghold and Hidden & Dangerous, is said on the company's web site.
It seems that the famous PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP may also be involved in this case, as the company has been previously assigned for the accounting department and because of the fact that the subpoenas regard also every aspect of Take-Two business, from partnerships, accountings to executive compensations.
On the other hand, Take-Two said that it will provide all the necessary documents, and that the company and its employees are not under an investigation.
The jury might refer also to an incident, which took place in January, when Take-Two's audit committee chairwoman resigned, saying that the upper management didn't fully inform the board regarding the company's strategy.
Because of the subpoenas and the public announcement, "Take-Two shares fell to $10.30 from $12.87 in extended trade on Inet. At the close of Nasdaq trade on Monday, they had already lost more than half of their value since June 1 last year," further writes Reuters.
But the subpoenas also demanded all the documents related to the "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" case, which has been closed last summer, when the company settled for $7.5 million with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, after a four-year investigation regarding the company's accounting procedures.
Take-Two has been sued last summer for the sex scene which appears in the well-known video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas", a best selling production that determined an important sales increase of more than $1 billion. The sex scene is named "hot coffee" and it was made available through a MOD (modification of the game). As a matter of fact, Take-Two has faced a million dollars loss when the gaming rating board labeled it "adults only".
"The company, which has been under pressure to cut costs amid a transition to new console technology that has dampened industry sales, recently said it expects to return to profitability in its fiscal fourth quarter ending October, " according to Reuters.
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