NEW YORK (Reuters) - A judge has dismissed several claims accusing Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (Nasdaq:TTWO) of misleading shareholders about an installment of its popular "Grant Theft Auto" video game that contained hidden sex scenes and caused a consumer uproar.
While the plaintiffs will be allowed to replead their case by submitting an amended suit, the ruling by U.S. District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram in Manhattan found that the current claims did not adequately show that the company intended to deceive investors about the hidden content in its "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" game.
Take-Two is currently trying to fend off a $2 billion hostile buyout bid by rival Electronic Arts Inc (Nasdaq: ERTS).
Take-Two, which has new management after a shareholder coup, has been shaken by accounting scandals related to its stock option awards practices and controversy over its games. It is holding its annual meeting on Thursday.
The securities fraud suit, brought in 2006, accused Take-Two of misrepresenting its compliance with the rules of the video game industry's rating board when submitting the "San Andreas" title for review, as well as issuing false statements about its option awards practices.
Last year, former Take-Two Chief Executive Ryan Brant pleaded guilty to criminal charges over backdating options. Other top executives also pleaded guilty.
In a written ruling on Wednesday, Judge Kram said the investors' backdating case could move forward, but she said that in one instance the plaintiffs did not adequately show a link between the fall in the company's stock price and the alleged misrepresentations by Take-Two. The rejection of the alleged link could ultimately limit the plaintiffs' damage claims.
"We are pleased with the judge's ruling, which dismissed without prejudice the plaintiff's claims regarding Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and narrowed the scope of the options backdating case," Take-Two said. "We continue to believe that the remaining claims are without merit and we will continue to defend against them."
A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not return a phone call requesting comment.
Take-Two announced in November that it had reached a preliminary settlement in a separate consumer lawsuit brought over the hidden content in the "San Andreas" game.
(Reporting by Martha Graybow; editing by John Wallace)
Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.
Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.
As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.
And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.
Eventually they’ll realize the value is with the employee not the company. Buying an IP means nothing if the people who contributed are let go. They’ll get it one day.
tech is different because they buy threats and then kill them. Twitter bought Vine and did nothing with it. Despite people seemingly liking it. Could've had tiktok a decade before bytedance. go figure.
They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -
INDIE Live Expo, Japan’s premiere online digital showcase series , will debut never-before-seen games & content updates across more than 100 titles on May 25th.
Finally... we can put this BS behind us for good!