Take-Two's been busy, and it's not looking very pretty - at least, as far as the people in its Europe Division payroll is concerned. The last time we reported on such gruesome goings-on, we gave you CEO Ben Fender's take on the company-wide restructuring that's leaving the Marketing and Sales Departments bloody.

Now, here's Take-Two Interactive International Managing Director James Ellington with his statement on why the currently-biggest bloodletting in video games history (at least in this decade) is necessary:

These pro-active measures also will help offset the increased development costs for next-generation hardware platforms, as well as provide increased value for our shareholders.

While it is regrettable that there will be a number of staff reductions, this was necessary so that we could realise our goals of creating continuing growth opportunities for the larger organisation.

So basically, that means get rid of the redundancies to balance out the ridiculously-high amount of funding one needs to develop games for new-gen consoles. It's great that the higher ups in Take-Two are keeping both the company's bottom line and the ability to create high-quality content for today's cutting-edge consoles in sight.

However, it's certainly shocking that they have to go to such an extent just to keep afloat. It's not just employees Take-Two will be axing, take note. Besides letting go most of its European managers, as well as CEO Paul Eibeler and other directors, the publishing firm is also looking to sell off other business units, one example is peripherals division JoyTech.

Things aren't looking so good for employees in Take-Two Interactive's payroll - at least, those working in its European management divisions. Word on the street is that Take-Two is bringing out the chopping block, having found senior management across all territories as redundant.

This little tidbit of information came after some serious restructuring in the company's Board, as well as the unceremonious ousting of CEO Paul Eibeler and other head honchos. Apparently, major shareholders wanted to shake things up some more and give the struggling publishing firm a jab in the arm - hence the sudden evacuations.

Now, with this rather sudden move, it's not hard to imagine quite a bit of the upper management in Europe getting the anti-redundancy pink slip.

Always hard to stomach such gruesome news. Updates as we get them.

This may be one of the last few things that you will be hearing about Paul Eibeler after he was ousted as CEO of Take-Two Interactive. And we're telling you, it is highly possible that Eibeler is not at all saddened by the take over.

As you all now, Take-Two is now in the hands of Chairman Strauss Zelnick and acting CEO Ben Feder, and they are looking to conserve resources by laying off some people. Anyway, it is apparent that Eibeler's contract with Take-Two has a separation agreement. According to that clause, he will get the following once he gets fired:

• US$ 2,475,000 in severance pay
• Immediate vesting of stock options and shares which includes 100,000 shares of restricted stock, options to purchase 450,000 shares at US$ 21.28 and options to purchase 75,000 shares at US$ 19.89
• Accrued but unpaid base salary and vacation and unpaid expenses through his last day at the company
• A job as a consultant for the company through October 4, 2007 paying US$ 50,000 a month
• No change in his health care benefits through his consultancy
• An US$ 800 a month car allowance through his consultancy

Now that, friends, is a good way to get fired. We're not so keen on the money involved here as it is almost a given with every separation agreement. What's curious is the consultant position that he will be occupying until October 4. We wonder what Eibeler's thoughts are on the new management especially now that Take-Two is shaping up.

We're not too certain if the stock increase right after the rather infamous Take-Two Interactive takeover is just an initial reaction from the investors, but it seems that new chairman Strauss Zelnick is doing something they appreciate. With that said, what exactly is Zelnick doing that former CEO Paul Eibeler failed to do?

Well, nothing secret or groundbreaking really but Zelnick mentioned that a lot has happened to Take-Two Interactive recently and the new management needs to focus on its stability first.

We need to stabilize the company at the corporate level and give stakeholders, both shareholders and employees, comfort that we will maximize the value of the company. The company has had compliance issues, and we need to work with appropriate regulators and authorities to ensure we maintain our books right.

Just after the takeover, or the revolt if you will, the publisher's regular NASDAQ trading immediately rose by US$ 0.24 ending at US$ 21.10. Last weekend, it closed down 96 cents, or 4.5%, to US$ 20.14. Anyway, the new chairman promised to continue support for the Grand Theft Auto franchise but he did add that they are considering to reduce workforce. According to Zelnick,

We will be candid with people about that. Running the company in an efficient manner is important to us and we think running a lean corporate operation will help shareholders. Having one of the most important franchises in the video game business today creates revenue concentration.

Lastly, going back to stability, Zelnick said that acting CEO Ben Feder will likely remain in his post for around a year or until Take-Two gets its groove back. He promised to look very well into the company's global structure before making any decisions.

Remember Take-Two Interactive's shareholders plan to take over the reins of the struggling video game publisher? Well, they finally did control the boardroom - last night. According to reports, the take over happened during Take-Two's annual meeting at the Hotel Gansevoort, and the action was quite swift and decisive.

The investors who are not so keen on former CEO Paul Eibeler's way of managing and handling the company installed Benjamin Feder as the acting chief executive officer. Strauss Zelnick, likewise, was installed chairman. These shareholders actually control almost 50% of Take-Two's stock and that is why they were able to pull this stunt.

Anyway, it seems that the latest development was favored by the so-called big Benjamin players as the publisher's regular NASDAQ trading immediately rose by US$ 0.24 ending at US$ 21.10. More remarkably, Take-Two's shares also rose from US$ 1.36 to US$ 22.46 during last night's extended trading.

The new chairman, Zelnick, said that one of the things that needs to be done first is to look for a permanent CEO, and CFO Karl Winters will keep his post for now. And then he added, "The first goal is to get to know the company and its employees, to reassure people and create value for shareholders."

Strauss Zelnick used to head Bertelsmann AG's BMG music company and video game developer Crystal Dynamics Inc. He currently  takes charge of New York-based investment firm Zelnick Media. Other newly installed directors include Michael Dornemann, Jon Moses, and Michael Sheresky.

Lastly, the reports added that Eibeler and his companions tried to look for a last-minute buyer in favor of them but to no avail.

We all know that the Grand Theft Auto series has somewhat been the saving grace for Take-Two Interactive. Despite that, the company is still beset by a lot of problems and issues. Never mind the problems involving Jack Thompson, the issues we're talking about now are the ones coming from within the very walls of the company itself.

A couple of days ago, we reported that there are plans to take over the major video game and publisher. The former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ryan Brant was removed from office because he was found guilty of backdating stock options. Current CEO Paul Eibeler and other top honchos are still not secure in their posts.

It is in this light that Take-Two Interactive cancelled its scheduled annual meeting on March 23 and moved it to March 29. The reason the company gave is "to provide additional time to review the proposed actions of the shareholder group and also to evaluate alternative courses of actions that could potentially be presented to the shareholders."

The official notice explained that the best alternative course of action as of now is a possible sale of the company. To make things more complicated, the notice mentioned as well that "there is no assurance that any specific alternative proposal will be forthcoming."

It seems that this announcement was taken very well by market players in pre-market trading. Immediately after the notice was circulated, the company's NASDAQ-traded shares went up almost to US$ 22.26 from US$ 1.50. Those who are involved in the planned take-over include companies Oppenheimer Funds, D.E. Shaw Valence Portfolios, S.A.C. Capital Management, and Tudor Investment.

To prevent the sale of of Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV, Jack Thompson is suing Take-Two Interactive on the week of March 19. He previously tried to stop previous games such as Bully from being released. His reasons for contesting the release of the two games are consistent with his previous cases.

He is doing this to "prevent the sale of two hyperviolent video games set to be released this year and sold to anyone under 17 years of age." Now, from what we've seen, all of the games which Mr. Thompson has been complaining about has been given a rating of at least M for Mature by the ESRB. This rating means that the game is not to be sold to anyone under 17 years of age.

Now, Mr. Thompson does have a point: it is wrong to sell these games to children under 17. The ESRB set the rating there for a reason. However, the problem might stem from the findings of The United States Federal Trade Commission which stated that despite the 'Mature' rating on video games, they are still sold 42% of the time to kids under 17.

While we feel that it is necessary to lower that number, it is important to realize that the ESRB has no legal backing and is simply a voluntary system set up by retailers. It should also be noted that major retailers such as Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, and others have agreed not to sell M games to children below 17.

It was also said that "Take-Two aggressively markets its games to children" by posting its ads "in video game publications purchased by hundreds of thousands of kids under 17" and "on public transport in major US metropolitan areas." While this may be the case, video game magazines also cater to gamers who are of legal age. In addition, buses are also used by people who do play games and are old enough to play these games.

From all indications, it looks as though Mr. Thompson has his sights set on the target. More news on this as we get more information.

Investors in controversial videogames publisher and favorite lawsuit target Take-Two Interactive have revealed plans to take control of the board. Due to news of the planned management coup, the company's shares jumped 18%.

According to the BBC News, documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that the said investors will try to aim to oust chief executive Paul Eibeler and install Strauss Zelnick, ex-chief executive of BMG Entertainment (which, incidentally, sold its own gaming arm to Take-Two in 1998) as non-executive chairman.

The investors, who currently own 46% of Take-Two, also aim to review the position of chief financial officer, Karl Winters. Take-Two has been under fire for a string of financial irregularities. Last month, former Take-Two chief executive Ryan Brant was convicted of backdating stock options to increase their worth.

JP Morgan analyst Dean Gianoukos said that the change in management would be "a positive for the company, assuming key development personnel are retained." Elizabeth Osur of Citigroup concurred, saying that the move was "long overdue". Arvind Bhatia of Sterne, Agee & Leach warned, however, that Take-Two's problems could not be solved "overnight".

American lawyer and critic Jack Thompson has mailed yet again threats of lawsuits to Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games for the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles.

Thompson is recognized for his work as a "public guardian" against sex and violence in the entertainment industry. He has had run-ins with past GTA games and distributors of the material. The most notable of which is a lawsuit on the subject of the game Bully bearing a Teen rating and being sold to minors. Thompson lost that case.

In a letter to Take-Two interactive CEO Paul Eibeler, Thompson wrote that he will file a suit on March 9 unless the company agrees to write a written agreement that it will not sell its flagship title to minors. He also said that Take-Two Interactive was able to "dodge that bullet (Bully lawsuit) by having Take-Two employees lie to Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ronald Friedman."

For parting shots, he said he is looking forward to seeing Eibeler win the "Worst American CEO" award from MarketWatch again. Eibeler first won it in 2005.

How the activist lawyer will win this next case remains to be seen.  Take-Two has not issued a response to the letter.

Well that's just nice of them. Take-Two Interactive has sent out this holiday-themed press release for people to take a look at. If you were a parent, what they've posted is actually very useful.

Perhaps it's in light of the increasing denouncement of videogames and gaming culture in general that Take-Two is reminding parents to check the ratings for games, if they plan on getting one for little Jack or Hillary this Christmas. They've not only made the warning clear - that video games have ratings because some of them aren't meant for the young ones - but they've also taken the time to list the ratings system down.

As Paul Eibeler, Take-Two's president mentions, "The holidays are a reminder for all of us to be aware of the ESRB rating when purchasing video games as gifts." While we doubt every parent will be listening to this call for sensibility in their purchases (we wish they'd give this out in actual stores), it's a good gesture, even if you're pretty sure it's darned good advertising.