14 DAY TRIAL // As GTA IV finally launched last week for the Xbox 360 and the PS3, Strauss Zelnick, the chairman of Take Two and the man that stood by his initial decision of not even talking about a takeover until after the April 29 release date, must have felt vindicated. Initial response, by both reviewers and players has been overwhelmingly positive. And Take Two shares are even now slowly climbing because of strong sales of the game.
Zelnick offered a statement that read: "The critical and consumer response to Grand Theft Auto IV vindicates our strategy of waiting until the launch with regard to E.A.'s offer." Zelnick is expecting Electronic Arts to come up with a much improved offer now as the door to negotiations is still open and there might be other companies as well, interested in his company. Take Two has proved that it has what it takes to create and publish a hit game and this makes it a more valuable company than it was before. On the other hand, Electronic Arts has missed the golden opportunity to take over Take Two and now chances are looking pretty down for a new offer to succeed. Most people watching the takeover saga agree that EA will now suspend all activity related to Take Two.
Jeff Brown, who is a spokesman for Electronic Arts, has declared: "We've seen a share price above and below our offer and it doesn't change anything. We knew the game would be an extraordinary success. All of that was factored into our offer of $2 billion".
The real impact of the game on the revenue and profit statistics of Take Two probably will not be known until mid-June, so most likely the growth that the company is experiencing in share price is a trend based on the publicity surrounding the launch and not on economic hard facts. But, as June approaches, we might see a Take Two that's stronger than at any point in its history, flush with cash and eady to create new games.