Take Two CEO on EA: 'I Don't Engage in Regrets'

Takeover chatter aside, critics have also begun to express concern about the state of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. While the last full game in the series—2008’s "GTA IV"—broke sales records, the company has notably refrained from announcing sales figures of a digitally distributed add on for the Microsoft Xbox 360, leading to speculation that the numbers were disappointing.

Meanwhile, sales of "GTA: Chinatown Wars" for the Nintendo DS weren’t exactly slow, but the game hasn’t fired up the charts. The title sold 163,000 copies in its first two months, according to The NPD Group, which tracks game sales.

Zelnick declines to give sales information for the downloadable add-on (which was called "The Lost and the Damned"). In fact, he says, the company never set any sort of internal projections for the content.

"We couldn’t predict who still had the [original 'GTA IV'] disc," he says. "And of those people, which of them are on Xbox Live. And of those, who still has interest in the game…I’d be awfully surprised, though, if it isn’t entirely profitable."

He remains nonplussed about the sales of “Chinatown Wars,” saying the game did make money, but proved that the Nintendo DS audience doesn’t seem interested in M-rated titles, making it questionable if the company will attempt future “Grand Theft Auto” installments for the industry’s best selling handheld.

'Duke Nukem' Court Battle

Amid all this, Take Two has launched a court battle against 3D Realms for its failure to publish “Duke Nukem Forever,” a video game that achieved legendary status for its 13-year development window. The developer abruptly laid off the team working on the game in May.

Take Two has filed court papers, saying 3D Realms did not live up to its contractual obligations and demanding the assets of the game. The developer responded with a public statement (carried by virtually every gaming site on the Web) that called the suit “a bully tactic” and detailed funding negotiations between the two.

Zelnick says he was “disappointed” by 3D Realm’s actions, but will move forward with the suit.

“It’s a great title consumers love and they deserve to see it,” he says. “Nothing would please any of us more than to bring an A+ 'Duke Nukem' to consumers.”

• CNBC Slideshow: 2009's Top Selling Video Games

While Take Two has launched titles on virtually every major platform in gaming, it is still notable absent on one: the iPhone.

Despite rumors that work is progressing on titles for Apple's omnipresent smartphone, Zelnick refuses to confirm them. While the audience base for the iPhone is growing rapidly, he says, there are particular hurdles in creating games for the system.

"It's a challenge to make money on those games," he says. "The price point is a lot lower…[Also,] when you're playing on an iPhone, you’re waiting for the bus or the subway or have five minutes before a meeting. The intellectual property has to be tailored for that user.

"Should we be doing something for it? Yeah," he said. "But it’s going to have to be innovative."

© 2012 CNBC.com

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