The Political Game: Take Two and the golden parachute

by Dennis McCauley { Apr 9th 2007 at 12:16PM }

Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games:

News Item: Fired Take Two CEO Paul Eibeler exits with a golden parachute ...

Damn, damn, double damn.

In a flash of devastating comprehension it dawns on me that I've got this "road to success" thing completely wrong. All these years I thought working hard, doing the right thing and making my boss look good would help me climb the ladder - and maybe make a few bucks along the way.

But the verdict out of Manhattan last week is clear. That's not the way to do it. If you want to tuck a check for a cool $2.5 mil into the pocket of your Armani jacket, if you'd like an $800 monthly car allowance and free health care, here's the game plan:

First, preside over a company that allows its flagship video game to be drawn into the biggest scandal your industry has ever seen. Then, when it hits the fan, shift the blame to your loyal customers, the ones who made your game a winner and spent enough bucks on it to put your ass into a limo.

When your industry's trade association is on the ropes trying to defend the scandal against criticism from the media, Congress and assorted watchdogs, don't say anything, don't do anything. People will think you are ultra-hip and above it all. Or maybe they will think you are an incompetent who is in over his head and has no clue how to manage a crisis. But whatever, you're still getting paid.

For spice, preside over a poisonous management environment that leaves the head of your audit committee thinking she has no other option but to resign, move to Florida and retain a high-priced white collar defense attorney. Crave recognition? Get yourself named "Worst CEO of 2005."

Need to be entertained? Sit back and enjoy the show as investigators from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office probe your company and then probe it again. It's as much fun as watching Law & Order re-runs, only in real life!

So, anyway, note to management: I'd like my golden parachute, too, please. Go ahead and fire me. And can you do it by Friday? My car payment is due. By the way, what's included in my severance package? An autographed picture of Jack Thompson?

Never mind.

Dennis McCauley is the Political Editor for the Entertainment Consumers Association (www.theeca.com), tracks the political side of video games at GamePolitics.com and writes about games for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Opinions expressed in The Political Game are his own. Reach him at

Tags: PaulEibeler, TakeTwo, ThePoliticalGame

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

KevinTufo @ Apr 9th 2007 1:04PM

The approaching release date of GTA IV is reason for joy as well as some serious concern. If I were a Take Two employee I'd start looking for a new job in the industry 'cause San Andreas is still quite fresh and now with GTA IV coming to New York (call it whatever you want Rockstar, it's still NYC) with way more realism and more fuel for Jack Thompson's rants and lawsuits Take Two could be in for some very harsh times...

Pixelantes Anonymous @ Apr 9th 2007 1:38PM

Jack Thompson is, at worst, static noise and at best free advertising for the GTA franchise. If I was making violent video games, I'd send him free advance copies and fire my marketing department.

All the problems Take Two has had have nothing to do with GTA, but everything to do with them sticking their own foot up their asses. Just like Dennis said. From (the overblown) Hot Coffee scandal that Take Two seriously mishandled to backdated stock options...nothing to do with GTA.

Skid @ Apr 9th 2007 5:04PM

That's nothing, when Jill (whatever her name was) took Mattel down the tubes and my stock with her, she get's "let go" with a 40 Million dollar check in her pocket.

SG evaNERV @ Apr 9th 2007 3:25PM

You should research how Corporate Officers are hired before making such a statement. My father-in-law was an officer and he explained the concept to me. CEOs, CIOs, etc... are usually paid per contract. These contracts say "You must meet blah blah blah" and such to be compensated. When a company hires a CEO, they also must write up a contract. Now, keep in mind, these are NOT the rank and file workers. It's not like CEOs are a dime a dozen. Usually companies hire CEOs away from their current companies to take over at the hiring company. Now, to do this, they have to sweeten the pot for the new hire. Plus, the CEO is going to ask for some kind of security so they aren't fired in 2 months after they start at the new company with nowhere to go. So...complain about the "golden parachute" clause all you want... but at least have an understanding how these things are done.

TheLump @ Apr 9th 2007 3:28PM

Jack Thompson won't hurt Take Two. In fact, nothing can really hurt Take Two at all besides them messing up their stock reports. In the end, Jack Thompson is basically just arguing freedom of speech, art, and everything else. He does not have a case.

Not only this, but as a company, T2 is perfectly fine. Whatever mishaps they have had in the past few months will slowly fade away. The only reason this is even a discussion is because they are planning on releasing such a big game in the near future. But... That's just my 2cents.

Mr Khan @ Apr 9th 2007 3:05PM

Well, maybe now that he's gone, things will get better

One can hope, and it would be interesting to see how GTA IV does, wisdom says it'll sell well, but after the sales flops of Bully and the "stories" GTAs, one can wonder how well it will do

Vidikron @ Apr 9th 2007 3:52PM

@4

Sorry, but there really is no way to defend how many CEOs are paid off like this. They can drive a company into the ground and get paid millions to leave. Anyone else below who does poorly simply gets shown the door with no compensation. It's ridiculous.

tetracycloide @ Apr 10th 2007 9:26AM

unfortuantly as far as monumental CEO screw ups goes eibler really didn't screw up that badly. the company is still quite stable finacially and a good bet moving forward, he hardly 'drove it into the ground.'

would hot-coffee have happened with a different ceo there? very much yes. so it's not like you can blame him specifically for that problem or for jack thompson or even for ignoring it. at the time a lot of people were saying that all of that was just silly and it would blow over once people reaslized it's a game. he, unfortunatly, choose that position and it was the wrong one to take so he was fired and left with the severance package that was agreed to before he showed up. gripe about it all you want but this is pretty much the SOP when it comes to CEOs and CFOs and for good reason, it's the only way you can attract the ones that are actually worth that much money to the company and trust me, many are.

SG evaNERV @ Apr 9th 2007 7:55PM

#6. Again, research how top executives get paid. In no way am I saying it is the right thing for a company to do...but the board decides what to pay the CEOs... that is where the blame should be placed.
Like superstar athletes, I think "pay for play" should be instituted for CEOs and such. If you perform well, they pay you well. If you perform poorly, you get paid poorly. It is ridiculous what CEOs expect now for compensation and the company boards are completely at fault for giving it to them.