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INTERVIEW: STRAUSS ZELNICK, TAKE-TWO Take a chance


Take-Two has enjoyed a stellar financial year, and all without the help of Grand Theft Auto. Now the company is making bold steps with new IP, new technologies and new platforms. Christopher Dring speaks to CEO Strauss Zelnick to discuss the company’s vision and the challenges facing the games market


It has been a tough year for the games industry, but not for Take- Two. Why do you think that is? Fiscal year 2011 was a terrific 12 months for Take-Two. We generated substantial revenue growth and earnings. Our strategy is to produce a select number of triple-A titles and support them with add-on content, delivered both on disc and digitally. We believe that ‘good’ is no longer good enough. Today, games need to be off-the-charts great in order to capture mindshare and market share. Our performance demonstrated that consumers are as willing as ever to open their wallets for exceptional entertainment experiences. In addition, we believe that if you attract and retain the best creative talent, provide them with the resources to pursue their passion within practical economic parameters and support their efforts with world- class marketing and distribution, you have an opportunity to make hits — and profits — in any market.


You posted these results in a year without a new Grand Theft Auto. Was that important?


Operating our company profitably was a goal we outlined when we took over in 2007. It’s been a challenging road to get to where we are today, and it came about through a focus on creativity, efficiency and innovation. We’re proud of what our teams around the world have accomplished.


How do you expect the company to look in two to three years time? One of our key long-term initiatives is to reach new audiences by delivering our triple-A games through emerging online platforms – including MMO and social games. As a general rule, Take-Two’s online strategy focuses on content development, while remaining platform agnostic. We will


20 June 3rd 2011


develop for all online platforms that are capable of supporting highly compelling entertainment. From a product standpoint, I believe that we have the best creative teams and IP in our industry. From a business standpoint, our balance sheet gives us the flexibility and strength to take the right strategic steps to generate growing profits and returns for our shareholders over the long-term.


Is the tablet an important part of this? I know you have spoken a lot about tablets in the past… Tablets are a natural extension of both the internet and traditional





If you retain the best creative talent and support their efforts, you can make hits. Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two


gaming. In my view, they’ll become nearly ubiquitous in the coming years and will be an important platform for delivering consumers information as well as entertainment.


As the installed base of tablets grow, so will the demand for high quality games. To date, we’ve selectively released titles for the iPad, including Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolutionand NHL 2K11. We’ll continue to explore how we can best leverage this portable platform to expand the audience for our content.


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