Black Friday sales were encouraging - Take-Two

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, has told the Reuters Media Summit in New York that sales on last week's Black Friday in the US were better than expected given the economic conditions - but that there was no guarantee the positive performance would last until the end of the year.

"I think everyone was encouraged by Black Friday," he said, according to Yahoo News. "It was better than expectations, but it's pretty hard these days - being slightly down is the new up."

He added that while the key franchises would likely be less affected by the downturn, "everyone's at best cautiously optimistic. You're unlikely to be celebrating, but you'll be OK.

"In terms of how our titles are performing, I feel that it's within that range."

Take-Two was the subject of an acquisition bid by Electronic Arts earlier this year, which was rejected - and after much pursuit abandoned following the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, but Zelnick was buoyant over the company's chances of survival.

"We are well financed and well structured [and] we own our intellectual property," he said. "I feel really good about how we are positioned to be an independent company."

Shares in Take-Two closed down 5 per cent yesterday at USD 11.29.