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[Vic Viper]

February 27, 2003 - To no one's surprise, Take-Two announced record-breaking financial results for the first quarter ended January 31, 2003, with sales of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto: Vice City leading the charge.

In outlining its plans for the following 18 months, Rockstar said that new versions of Grand Theft Auto will appear. It apparently plans to create yet a third PS2 sequel for 2003, an analyst said, in addition to the PC version of GTA: VC, due this spring. The date, name and details were not revealed on the financial report. Rockstar plans on revealing new iterations of include Max Payne, State of Emergency, Spec Ops and Smuggler's Run during this time period.

Also in the next 18 months, Rockstar plans on delivering The Warriors and Manhunt, and sequels to Hidden & Dangerous, Railroad Tycoon and Serious Sam on PC from Gathering of Developers. Gotham Games will offers Mafia PS2 and Xbox, a sequel to Conflict: Desert Storm, and MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch.

This spring (Q1 2003) the company plans to release a Greatest Hits version of State of Emergency for PS2 and an Xbox Platinum Hits version of Max Payne; Midnight Club 2 on PS2, State of Emergency on Xbox; and Gathering's Vietcong and Tropico 2: Pirate Cove on PC. Gotham Games will release Piglet's Big Game for PS2 and GameCube, Conflict: Desert Storm on GameCube, and the highly-anticipated Patriotic Pinball and Big Strike Bowling on PlayStation.

Games planned for the third fiscal quarter (Q2 calendar 2003) highlight Midnight Club 2 on PC and Xbox and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on PC. Also, Gotham Games will launch Great Escape on multiple platforms and Motocross Mania 2 for PlayStation.

Launching the company into the echelon of top publishers, Take-Two recorded net sales of $408.8 million for the first quarter ended January 31, 2003, a 45% increase over net sales of $282.9 million for the same period a year ago. Of that, Take-Two's $50.5 million net income was an increase of 45% over net income of $34.8 million last year.

These sales were largely due to GTA: VC. But in the first fiscal quarter 2003 (fourth calendar quarter 2003), the company also shipped Grand Theft Auto Compilation (which is Grand Theft Auto, GTA: London, and GTA 2) on PlayStation, a PS2 Greatest Hits version of Max Payne, while Gotham Games released Serious Sam on Xbox.

The company is increasing its financial guidance for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2003 to $970 million in net sales and $2.26 of diluted net income per share, and has reiterated its guidance for the second quarter ending April 30, 2003 of $190 million in net sales and $0.34 of diluted net income per share. Following three straight quarters of loss prior to 2001, Take-Two hit gold with Grand Theft Auto III and then again with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

"The strength of our business during the critical holiday period demonstrates the success of our publishing strategy, which remains sharply focused on our proprietary brands, and the application of the majority of our publishing and development resources to PlayStation 2 titles, the biggest and fastest growing area of the interactive entertainment software industry," said Paul Eibeler, President. "Our Grand Theft Auto franchise dominated the video game industry this holiday season, and continues to generate significant cash flow for Take-Two, which is being reinvested into the development of new brands, the extension of existing brands and the selective introduction of licensed properties."

"Take-Two has clearly established itself as the number two independent publisher in the interactive entertainment industry, and our corporate strategy is well defined to maintain this leadership position going forward," said Jeffrey Lapin, COO of Take-Two. "Rockstar Games, our cornerstone, world-renowned publishing label, with its wealth of intellectual property and five dedicated internal development studios, remains committed to creating groundbreaking original content for console video game systems. With the operational improvements implemented this quarter, Jack of All Games is well positioned as the dominant North American distributor of interactive entertainment software, hardware and accessories, and we will continue our efforts to improve profitability in this operating unit."

"Looking forward, the Company is focused on effectively leveraging our proven marketing abilities and strength in the retail channels, and providing additional opportunities for growth. Under Kelly Sumner's leadership, we expect our Gathering label to significantly enhance its position as a global PC publisher. We continue to look to Gotham Games to expand our product portfolio through additional licensed products targeted at a wide variety of consumers. With a strong pipeline of products, solid financial position, world-class internal development and publishing teams, and most importantly, a portfolio of blockbuster brands, Take-Two has all the components in place to continue to capture increasing market share and extend our record of success," he added.

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well, as long as they can pull off another vice city, its all good..

[dan da man]

OOOHHHH YEAAAHHH!!!!!!! as long as it good as all the others, who cares if it released this year!

Nice news king_freak CHEERAZ!