It’s Game on at Take Two Interactive (TTWO)

Since EA’s bid fell through earlier this year, shares of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:TTWO) have fallen 50%. With shares currently trading below $10, the company has gone straight to Value Town.

This year, TTWO’s blockbuster hits were titles like GTA IV and Bioshock, earlier this month Take-Two Interactive Chairman Strauss Zelnick outlined what he believes will be big drivers of business for his company and the game industry as a whole in the future. Zelnick noted in particular that microtransactions and downloadable content are the "biggest opportunity."

"With Grand Theft Auto IV we will be offering downloadable episodes that gamers can buy on Xbox Live after they've purchased the original title. We've also [announced] that next week we will be releasing add-on content worldwide for BioShock. And these are our first offerings for downloadable content. We're excited about the creative opportunity. We are very excited about the profit potential and we'll see how these things roll out. I think the entire industry is focused in this area," he said.

There is also speculation that TTWO could start up a subscription service for its high-tier titles.

The company is also very positive about its line-up for fiscal 2009, CEO Ben Feder noting: "We have significant visibility into fiscal 2009, which includes additional episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV, Mafia II, Borderlands, BioShock 2, our complete sports lineup, additional Nick Jr. titles under our agreement with Nickelodeon, and several new brands".

Since the beginning of the EA deal, TTWO’s business has continued to strengthen.  As Take-Two has said all along, EA wasn't the only company it's been talking to. Take-Two could still end up being purchased; it just won't be by EA.

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