Take-Two, the umbrella company over Rockstar Games, today reported a whopping four-fold gain in its fiscal first-quarter report, with shares ascending 58 cents to $22.58 today.

Take-Two reported a profit for the quarter ending January 31, 2001, of $34.8 million. Take-Two's sales rose to $283 million from $158 million in the year-earlier period, and despite the recent accounting issues Take-Two has been having, Rockstar's games have been selling incredibly well, including State of Emergency and Max Payne.

Rockstar is rumored to be working on Grand Theft Auto: Miami, believed to be an add-on to GTA3, a PC version of GTA3, and a full-fledged sequel in the GTA series, GTA4. We'll have more on Rockstar in the near future.

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The inquisitive blokes at CVG have unearthed a surprising change in EA's lineup--Medal of Honor: Fighter Command has been scrapped for the PS2. Series producer Tarrnie Williams dropped the bombshell during an interview about the upcoming PS2 FPS Medal of Honor: Frontline.

Fighter Command was to be a realistic WWII air combat sim taking place in the skies above the Pacific, beginning with the attack at Pearl Harbor and continuing until the end of the war. However, EA decided that the high-flying action would have been too great a departure for the traditionally ground-based franchise. After halting work on MOH:FC, the team has concentrated its efforts on expanding the series with future FPS installments.

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EA just shipped The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for the PS2 today, and announced a new slew of ports in the process. Xbox and GameCube iterations of the game will appear later this year, closer to the movie's December 18th debut. The diehard fans might also want to mark November 12th on their calendars to prep for the GBA edition.

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In the continuing saga of the thing that may or may not be PlayStation 3, which has so captivated the minds of the bored of late, SCE president Ken Kutaragi has dropped another few notes on the potential successor to Sony's current game system in a Korean newspaper.


He stated that he envisions the disappearance of videogame consoles as independent appliances if a data communications network can be established with speeds exceeding 15 megabytes per second. With such a network to serve as the means of delivering interactive content and connecting users, the "game system" as it were would be a single unit combining a television and a network connection -- this would be your "PS3," a unit delivering movies, games, music, and other entertainment all downloaded from other sources.

Regardless of the technological possibilities bouncing around, the date presently being pondered is in the vicinity of 2005. So don't get so worked up about this, please.

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In Electronic Arts' recent earnings report conference call, EA COO John Riccitello explained in further detail how the publisher hopes to expand and exploit its efforts in online console gaming. While EA doesn't plan to implement a traditional pay-for-play system as yet, some fee-based services may be in the offing in the future.


Instead, Ricctiello said that EA may experiment with charging fees for extra services beyond the basic player-matching that games like Madden NFL offer right now. The next iteration of NBA Live on PlayStation 2, when it arrives this fall, will feature tournaments where players pay an entry fee to compete for prizes, as well as other benefits for signing up. Fee-based online content downloads are also under consideration.

Riccitello also made note of the success of Def Jam Vendetta, and confirmed that EA's partnership with the Def Jam record label will continue in other projects. Another Vendetta title is very likely, and we may also see EA Sports Big present a Def Jam take on other sports beyond pro wrestling in the future.

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Sega today announced the new names of its seven reorganized development teams. As announced last week, Sega's nine development subsidiaries have been both contracted and expanded -- some teams have been folded together, and others have been broken off into new organizations. The reorganization will take effect October 1, and will shake out as follows:
Sonic Team + United Game Artist = Sonic Team
This team's focus is to be on games for casual users. Hopefully, UGA's trademark creativity won't be lost in its merger with the makers of Sonic the Hedgehog.


Hitmaker + Sega Rosso = Hitmaker
The makers of Initial D have thus lost their identity, despite producing Sega's most recent bonafide hit. This developer's focus is on games for new hardware and mobile devices.

Wow Entertainment + Overworks = Wow Works
This name suggests a meeting on more even terms between these two developers. Their focus is to be on time-tested games for all ages on next-generation consoles.

Amusement Vision + Smilebit = Amusement Vision
The Smilebit name isn't going away entirely, however, as we'll explain in a moment. This new developer is to focus on cinematic, movie-like games.

Smilebit + Amusement Vision = Smilebit
The new Smilebit will be formed out of the teams from the old Smilebit and Amusement Vision who focused on sports games -- Virtua Striker, the Let's Make a Pro Sports Team series, and others. Bringing those developers together will allow them to concentrate more effectively on sports titles.

Meanwhile, Yu Suzuki's new team is tentatively titled Cinematic On-Line Games, which speaks rather pointedly of its development emphasis in the future. Sega-AM2, meanwhile, will keep its name and current composition, while slightly shifting its focus more towards titles for serious gamers, especially in the fighting genre.

We'll have more on Sega's future development efforts as the story evolves.

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As part of its recent financial conference call, THQ revealed that the company has plans to release a new WWF game for the PS2 this fall. Today Gamers.com has confirmed that this title is a new installment in the wildly popular Smackdown! series. The fourth Smackdown! game will be revealed at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May.

Although no game details have been revealed, word has it that the new title will feature even better graphics than the already-great looking WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It! and will sport a much-improved career mode.

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Namco has released new information and screens for the bonus mode set to be featured in the PS2-exclusive fighting game.

Namco today announced a few more details on the bonus mode to be featured in the upcoming Tekken 5 exclusively for the PlayStation 2. In a similar fashion to Tekken Force mode from previous Tekken titles, the bonus mode in Tekken 5 will allow players to take down a large number of enemies coming at them in massive numbers.

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A new Grand Theft Auto title and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition available this spring.
Rockstar Games, the world-renowned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., is proud to announce Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and a brand new iteration of Grand Theft Auto for the highly anticipated PSP handheld system. Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and the new Grand Theft Auto title, which will be set in Liberty City, are being developed by Rockstar Leeds in conjunction with Rockstar San Diego and Rockstar North, respectively.

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It is possible, says Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi; all that's needed is a TV capable of displaying it.

Coming soon to an Internet message board near you: waves of more-hardcore-than-thou posters referring to any game running at 60 frames per second (fps) as "a slideshow."

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