And when I say “big” I mean $3 million dollars big so that they can settle a stock dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission over some dirty stock dealings.

Christopher Conte, an S.E.C. attorney in Washington overseeing the case said, “Take-Two’s seven-year backdating scheme was egregious and pervasive, and caused the company to materially misrepresent its financial condition to investors.”

This came from Wikipedia [the knower of all knows]:

Options backdating is the practice of granting an employee stock option that is dated prior to the date that the company actually granted the option. This practice raises a number of legal and accounting issues. The practice of backdating itself is not illegal, nor is granting of discounted stock options. What is illegal is the improper disclosures, both in financial records and in filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Shame, shame, Take-Two.

Maybe now that this is finally cleared up, they can again focus on making games.

Image|TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

Post from: EveryJoe

Take-Two Interactive to Pay 3 Million Bucks

Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games, says, “This is Max as we’ve never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation.”

So Max is a little older…maybe a little wiser and pretty much assures great sales for Rockstar.

Though Max Payne might not be the cash cow that Grand Theft Auto is, I have a feeling that Rockstar won’t have much to complain about when Max Payne 3 rolls into stores late 2009.

Image|Rockstar Games

Post from: EveryJoe

Max Payne 3 Coming Winter 2009

Post from: EveryJoe

Yahtzee’s Review of GTA IV