Joystiq

Take-Two Q2 revenue up to $268M, BioShock 2 sales 'lower than expected'

Ludwig Kietzmann — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two has announced its financial results for its second fiscal quarter, which ended April 30, 2010. Net revenue of $268 million represented an increase of 54 percent over the $174.3 million recorded during the same quarter last year; a change that Take-Two attributes to sales of Major League Baseball 2K10, as well as the introduction of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City to PlayStation 3 and PC.

In a related investor call, Take-Two Chief Financial Officer Lainie Goldstein noted that 32 perecent of revenue was driven by the publisher's catalog titles, including NBA 2K10 and Grand Theft Auto IV. And while BioShock 2 contributed to the increased revenue and became a profitable endeavor, Goldstein noted that the dystopian shooter incurred "lower than expected" sales. "The title was well-received by the media and was profitable for us," she said. "However, sales slowed down sooner than we had expected."

Operating income for the quarter rose to $16.9 million (last year's second quarter represented a loss of $10.4 million), while total revenue for the company's first-half financial year totaled $431.2 million.

Take-Two Q2 revenue up to $268M, BioShock 2 sales 'lower than expected' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wade McGilberry luckiest (and richest) MLB 2K10 player ever

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 05 May 2010 11:00:00 EST

When 24-year-old Wade McGilberry of Semmes, Alabama was less than 24 years old, his friends and loved ones probably gave him a hard time about his penchant for virtual baseball. "Wade," they would say, "why don't you go play real baseball? Heck, with a name like 'Wade McGilberry,' you're already well on your way to the MLB Hall of Fame." Little do they know, Wade wasn't just wasting his time. He was training.

On the very first day of the MLB 2K10 Perfect Game Competition, McGilberry managed to take down 27 in-game hitters without letting one of them place their cleated toe upon first base. For this accomplishment, McGilberry won the competition and its $1,000,000 prize, reaffirming his decision to skip all of his high school formal dances to put a few more hours into Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Slugfest. A wise decision indeed, sir.

Wade McGilberry luckiest (and richest) MLB 2K10 player ever originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB 2K10's million-dollar pitcher to be revealed tomorrow

JC Fletcher — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:00:00 EST

Okay, everyone can stop playing MLB 2K10 now*. The million-dollar prize for the first player to pitch a perfect game has been claimed, and 2K Sports will reveal the winner on CBS's The Early Show tomorrow morning. Although if you're the modern-day Cy Young who achieved this feat, you already know (and, in fact, you'll be too busy appearing on TV to watch it on TV), and if you tried to win this but didn't quite make it, it's just going to be painful to see the person who won.

If you'd like to experience that burning jealousy for yourself, tune into CBS between 8 and 9 a.m.

*Unless, you know, you're enjoying the game.

MLB 2K10's million-dollar pitcher to be revealed tomorrow originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 May 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB 2K10 showcases numbers in 'Stats & Splits' trailer

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST

Nothing says "It's seriously snowing, again?" like a new trailer for MLB 2K10 focusing on the "real language" of baseball. Being pro chair sitters, we're not really able to vouch for the validity of this trailer's claims about the vernacular of the diamond, but we can make the claim that the uncanny valley of video games is being crossed by sports. We certainly aren't sports buffs, but some of the graphics look damn near real life. And yes, whatever the announcers are saying could be spoken in mistranslated Mandarin Chinese for all we know, but that doesn't make the visuals any less impressive.

Nope, we're not any more excited to play this game now than we were before seeing the trailer, but the baseball fans among you will assuredly find the video embedded above for this Tuesday's MLB 2K10 helpful in sating your desires for another few days. We'd say go play some baseball in the meantime, but, well, you know. All that snow.

Gallery: MLB 2K10 (My Player mode)

MLB 2K10 showcases numbers in 'Stats & Splits' trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB 2K10 demo available on Xbox Live, coming to PSN next Thursday

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST

Regardless of whether or not you're a fan of ludological interpretations of America's pastime, you should really plan on grabbing the demo for MLB 2K10. See, you're going to need as much practice as you possibly get in order to pitch a perfect no-hitter once the game's released, effectively netting yourself a cool million bucks.

However, though the demo is currently available on Xbox Live, PS3 owners won't have access to it until March 4 -- two days after the full game is released. By that time, the 360-owning populace will have had over a week to turn their pitching arms into Randy Johnson-esque baseball cannons. Depending on how you look at it, that's either a huge handicap, or the makings of a fantastic underdog story.

MLB 2K10 demo available on Xbox Live, coming to PSN next Thursday originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pitch a no-hitter in MLB 2K10, get a million bucks

David Hinkle — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:45:00 EST

Your mom may have told you that playing those video games would never get you anywhere, but she'll have to apologize for the rest of her life if you win 2K Sports' MLB 2K10 million-dollar giveaway. The developer is offering up Dr. Evil sums of money to the first person on the Xbox 360 or PS3 (sorry, those are the only qualifying consoles) who can pitch a perfect game in the first 60 days of the game's release -- starting March 2, 2010 at 12:01 AM PST and ending on May 2, 2010 at 11:59 PM PDT. Of course, where there's free money, there are caveats.

Two stipulations: You have to play against the CPU in MLB Today mode, where it will automatically default to all of the proper gameplay settings; and you have to record yourself pitching the entire perfect game and slap it onto a DVD. 2K Sports has actually tapped Twin Galaxies for some help on the authentication part, so keep in mind that those guys over there are very good at sniffing out the bad eggs. We suggest you make your friend Tom Foolery wait outside while you attempt to pitch a perfect game, because any kind of tampering or trickery will only get you disqualified.

For a full breakdown on the rules, you can check out the contest page on 2K Sports' site at 2ksports.com/perfectgame. MLB 2K10 releases on the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and PC on March 2, 2010.

Pitch a no-hitter in MLB 2K10, get a million bucks originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bitmob explores the world of video game voice acting

Richard Mitchell — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:30:00 EST

Bitmob's Aaron Thomas was recently offered the chance to record some crowd chatter for Major League Baseball 2K10, and he used the opportunity to describe the process of recording video game voice over. Reading his lines off of a television screen, and given situational prompts for each line -- bases loaded, etc. -- Thomas screamed around 300 lines for the game. As an added bonus, 2K sent samples of Thomas' work mixed with ambient crowd noise, giving us all the opportunity to see what the final product sounds like.

It's a neat look into the world of video game voice acting, as well as sound production in general. If you've ever been curious about how it's done, take a look. Just don't expect Thomas to be putting Nolan North out of a job anytime soon.

Bitmob explores the world of video game voice acting originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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