Zelnick Sees Independent Future For Take-Two

Take-Two Interactive executive chairman Strauss Zelnick has claimed that his current business model for the company would see it remain independent, despite a $2 billion offer from Electronic Arts and interest from other unnamed companies. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Zelnick - who runs his own investment company, ZelnickMedia - described the video game industry as “the only growth area in the pure entertainment business”. Asked specifically whether he saw value in continued consolidation in the video games industry, Zelnick repeated his assertion that more high profile mergers and takeovers would be seen in the future. “I'd rather not speculate on the nature of value creation”, he said. “It has a lot to do with the capabilities of individuals and the goals of employees. This is not just a math lesson, this is a creative enterprise. Does consolidation create better games for consumers? Does it create better careers for the creatives? Those questions are just as important.” He added: “We've been at Take-Two only for 10 months and are really proud of the progress we've made. And we think this company has a really bright future as an independent company. In the absence of an opportunity that our shareholders value more than this approach, that's our business model."