Greg Oden Named Cover Athlete For College Hoops 2K8
Former Ohio State standout named official spokesman for top-rated college basketball title
New York, NY - June 27, 2007 - 2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTWO), announced today that Greg Oden, former Ohio State All-American center and future top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft has been named the cover athlete and official spokesman for College Hoops 2K8, the best rated college basketball game for five straight years* and best selling college basketball video game series in 2006**.
"It's a great thrill to be selected as the cover athlete for College Hoops 2K8," said Greg Oden. "2K Sports is all about bringing the most authentic and entertaining sports gaming experience and it's a great privilege to be the official spokesman for the best college basketball game coming out this year."
Great basketball success is easily associated with Greg Oden. After leading his high school team to three straight state titles, Oden was named to the 2006 McDonald's All American Team. Oden also made an incredible impact when playing at Ohio State University and took the title of Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year. Oden led Ohio State to the 2007 National Championship game where he scored 25 points, 12 rebounds, and blocked four shots. He is only the third freshman in history to be voted to the AP First Team All-American and will be one of the top picks in this year's NBA Draft.
"Greg Oden has been called a 'once-in-a-decade player' and he made an undeniable impact in college basketball," said Greg Thomas, President of Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio. "His amazing talent combined with dedication, work ethic and winning attitude will continue to make him a great basketball success. These admirable qualities easily made him the natural choice to represent College Hoops 2K8."
For five straight years, the College Hoops 2K series has been the top rated* college basketball game on any console and College Hoops 2K8 looks to continue that legacy with advanced next generation visuals and hundreds of new animations. With a wealth of new innovative features, including all new crowd atmosphere that can affect the game performance of teams, College Hoops 2K8 is set to run the competition off the court with amazingly authentic college basketball video game action.
College Hoops 2K8 will be available this fall for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems. More new next generation features will be detailed in the near future.
For more information, log onto http://www.2ksports.com.
*According to GameRankings.com average scores of 2003-2007 college basketball video games.
**According to NPD Funworld data for college basketball titles sold on Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 platforms
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games for the PC, PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Xbox® and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, Wii, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS and Game Boy® Advance. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games, 2K and 2K Sports, and Global Star Software; and distributes software, hardware and accessories in North America through its Jack of All Games subsidiary. Take-Two's common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at www.take2games.com.
All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.
Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
"PLAYSTATION", "PlayStation", and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo may be required (sold separately).
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 49,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA Championships in Division I, II and III sports. For more information, go to www.ncaa.org.
The "Officially Licensed Collegiate Products" label is the property of the Collegiate Licensing Company. All names, logos, team icons, and mascots associated with the NCAA, universities, and conferences are the exclusive property of the respective institutions. NCAA, the NCAA logo, and NCAA Basketball are trademarks or registered trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. All rights reserved.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The statements contained herein which are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them. The Company has no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary significantly from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors. These risks and uncertainties include the matters relating to the Special Committee's investigation of the Company's stock option grants and the restatement of our consolidated financial statements. The investigation and conclusions of the Special Committee may result in claims and proceedings relating to such matters, including previously disclosed shareholder and derivative litigation and actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission and/or other governmental agencies and negative tax or other implications for the Company resulting from any accounting adjustments or other factors. Other important factors are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, and in the Company's Form 10-Q for the second quarter ended April 30, 2007 in the section entitled "Risk Factors."