Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and SEGA Corporation Announce Take-Two's Acquisition of Visual Concepts and Kush Games
New York, NY and Tokyo, Japan - January 25, 2005 - Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) and SEGA Corporation and its affiliates announced today that Take-Two has purchased all of the outstanding capital stock of SEGA's California-based sports game development studio Visual Concepts Entertainment and its wholly-owned studio, Kush Games. Visual Concepts is the marketer and developer of the critically acclaimed 2K series of sports video games.
The purchase price was approximately $24 million in cash and includes the rights to all intellectual property associated with the sports titles, as well as rights to the 2K brand. The agreement also provides that Take-Two and SEGA will work together to bring sports titles developed by Visual Concepts to SEGA's arcade business. Additionally, Take-Two is negotiating an agreement with SEGA whereby SEGA will publish and distribute the 2K series of sports titles and certain other Take-Two games in Japan and other Asian territories.
Commenting on the acquisition, Paul Eibeler, Take-Two President, said, "With the acquisition of Visual Concepts and Kush Games and their leading sports game development capabilities, we will continue to aggressively pursue our strategy to gain market share with our 2K Sports titles. These studios and their unrivaled talent represent a significant addition to Take-Two's internal development capabilities, which are now approaching 1,000 people worldwide."
"Take-Two has proven in a very short time that it has the resources to excel in the sports video game business, and the acquisition of Visual Concepts further enhances Take-Two's position. We look forward to our ongoing partnership with Take-Two as we publish the 2K Sports series and other titles in the Asian market, and bring Visual Concepts' sports titles to our arcade machines," said Hisao Oguchi, President and COO of SEGA Corporation.
"Take-Two has been an incredible partner with whom we've experienced great success," said Greg Thomas, President of Visual Concepts. "Take-Two has the formidable marketing and distribution resources necessary to compete and win in this business, as well as an increasingly rare passion for creating truly new and innovative games for consumers. For us, giving consumers the best games possible has always been the very top priority, and we look forward to taking our sports titles even further with Take-Two."
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an integrated global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games and accessories for the PC, PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSPTM handheld entertainment system, Xbox®, Nintendo GameCubeTM and Game Boy® Advance. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games, 2K Games and Global Star Software; and distributes products in North America through its Jack of All Games subsidiary. Take-Two also manufactures and markets video game accessories in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region through its Joytech subsidiary. The Company maintains sales and marketing offices in Cincinnati, New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Vienna, Milan, Sydney, Breda (Netherlands) and Auckland. 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.
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About SEGA Corporation
SEGA® Corporation is a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home, encompassing consumer business, amusement machine sales and amusement center operations. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. SEGA® Corporation's Web site is located at http://sega.jp.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities 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 important factors are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004 in the section entitled "Risk Factors".
COMPANY:
Jim Ankner (Corporate Press/Investor Relations)
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
(646) 536-3006; (646) 536-2926 fax
Safe Harbor Statement
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities 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 important factors are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004 in the section entitled "Risk Factors".