It seems monolithic publisher Electronic Arts just won’t leave Take-Two Interactive alone, as the company has once again extended the deadline for its takeover bid of its rival. The extension moves the final date to June 16, leaving T2’s board of directors to consider EA’s $25.74 per share offer.

Take-Two has already responded, and while it doesn’t directly say anything, their response easily implies that they want more money, saying that the current deal isn’t “good” for their shareholders.

“Extending our offer will allow the FTC review process to continue,” said EA Corporate Development senior VP Owen Mahoney. “Our offer is still subject to conditions that include regulatory approval. As stated earlier, we retain the right to terminate the offer if the conditions are not satisfied.”

Take-Two Interactive has announced the formation of 2K Marin, a new development studio under its 2K publishing wing. Located in Novato, California, the studio is staffed by developers who worked on BioShock. The studio will develop original IP, as well as co-develop products with other 2K studios around the world.

“We’re focused on continuing to bring new brands and cutting-edge gameplay to market with the creation of the 2K Marin studio,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “2K Marin will build upon our success in creating and leveraging AAA franchises.”

Take-Two Interactive, following its earnings call, has announced the formation of 2K Play, a new publishing label dedicated to casual gaming. As part of the initiative, the publisher also announced an expansive new handheld and console game licensing agreement with Nickelodeon, one that involves major properties like Nick Jr., Dora the Explorer and more.

“We welcome our new partnership with 2K Play,” said Shaul Olmert, Vice President/Digital Media products for Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. “This is the first time Go, Diego, Go! is coming to handheld and console systems and will mark Dora the Explorer’s debut on the popular Nintendo DS™ system. We are excited to welcome 2K Play into our growing family of innovative digital products.”

2K Play joins fellow publishing labels 2K Games and 2K Sports as new divisions under the 2K branch. The new label will absorb Take-Two’s Global Star Software label, including the Carnival Games brand, the Cat Daddy Games studio and PC games based on the popular Deal or No Deal franchise.

More announcements regarding the 2K Play lineup are forthcoming.

Controversial games publisher Take-Two revealed that its Q3 2007 fiscal results has seen a 14% year-over-year drop in revenue, following first and second quarter losses with a $58.5 million net loss, though its far less than that of last year.

However, the company had good news for itself: BioShock is popular. The obvious fact was made more obvious as they revealed that the Xbox 360 demo was the faster to hit 1 million downloads on Xbox Live Marketplace and that the company has shipped 1.5 million units of the game worldwide. Though they wouldn’t provide exact sales numbers, the company believes that BioShock is “one of the fastest selling games in video game history.”

Take-Two plans to capitalize on the success of the game by hoping to make it into an ongoing franchise. Company chairman Strauss Zelnick stated that a “two-year schedule would be optimal” for the game, comparing it to that of GTA. “I’d expect we’d apply roughly the same strategy to BioShock because [it] is shaping up to be a very important franchise.”

In other news, the call revealed that PS3 action game L.A. Noire and PSP music game Beaterator have both been delayed. They are now expected to ship sometime in Take-Two fiscal year 2009, which begins in November 2008.

Speaking to Game Politics, industry analyst Michael Pachter commented that Rockstar’s school life adventure game Bully won’t be receiving a sequel. The reason? Sluggish sales. The game sold over 800,000 units, and even though that’s quite a lot, it cost Take-Two close to $15 million in R&D, implying that they “did no better than to break even.”

If what he says becomes true (the “no sequel” part) then Bully would be the only Rockstar property not to get a follow up. Those who played Bully will tell you how great a game it is, including the critics. So, it’d seem stupid not to create a sequel. Let’s hope Take-Two sanctions a sequel for us fans and not just look at the money.

Our favorite lunatic, Jack Thompson, had sent out a mass-email to various news outlets, stating his plans to protest the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Apparently, he will take “various means to prohibit” the sale of the game to minors, but most surprisingly, he specifically targeted Bill Gates: “Please have your lawyers [Microsoft chairman Bill Gates', that is] contact me in order that such sales will be prevented.”

He also added: “I and others will endeavor to stop Microsoft from participating in any fashion, directly or indirectly, in such sales to minors.”

Grand Theft Auto IV is slated for release this October on both PS3 and Xbox 360.

More and more publishers are jumping on the “in-game ads” bandwagon: Take-Two is the latest one to be bitten by the bug. It has signed a deal with Double Fusion to offer in-game advertising in a selection of 2K Games and 2K Sports titles.

As per the terms of the agreement, Double Fusion will be the exclusive North American and European representative for advertising opportunities in 2K’s games throughout 2007 and 2008. In addition, it will serve as the exclusive representative and technology provider for dynamic in-game advertising across all PC and console platforms except for Xbox and Xbox 360.

A short press release from Rockstar Games reveals that a Grand Theft Auto trilogy will be released for the PS2 this Holiday season. Dubbed Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy, the compilation pack will include GTA 3, GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas; it will retail for $40 and will be available starting December 4.

With the exception of a few, it is a rule that movie-games must suck. Well, Sega has also jumped on the bandwagon: the company has announced that it has partnered with Marvel Entertainment to exclusively develop and publish games based on the Iron Man property. Sega has been given the right to create games based on both the upcoming Iron Man feature film and the classic comic book iterations of the superhero. Both companies plan on bringing at least one other Marvel property to next-gen consoles.

No studio has been named yet, though further information is expected soon. The Iron Man movie is expected in theatres on May 2, 2008.

In more superhero news, Take-Two has picked up the rights to create games based on the upcoming Fantastic Four movie sequel. No details are known, except that the film-based-game will out be out alongside the movie next year.

The word ‘exclusive’ just doesn’t mean ‘exclusive’ anymore and if Grand Theft Auto IV is taken as an example, it doesn’t mean anything at all. At last year’s E3, Microsoft announced the development of the game for both the PS3 and Xbox 360; along with word that it will be released on the company’s console on day one and will also be host to exclusive bonus content, seemingly making it superior to the PS3 version. That doesn’t seem to be the case any longer as EuroGamer cites a source “close to Rockstar North” that the studio is working on “exclusive supplemental content for both systems, which will be made available for download via Microsoft and Sony’s respective online services.”

The report goes on, saying that we can expect the “same deal” on PS3, except that it’ll be unique to its own platform. As per the source, the downloadable content will feature brand new areas which will link into the main game world.

It is not known whether this is true or not, as no official word from either Rockstar or Take-Two (its publisher) was released. But rest assured, further information can be expected closer to the game’s release next year. GTA IV is scheduled for release on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in October 2007.

As seen to the right, Peter Moore of Microsoft has tattooed “Grand Theft Auto IV” on his left arm the same way he did “Halo 2″. This is because Microsoft has proudly announced that GTA4 will be available on Xbox 360 on day one of release - the GTA franchise has been Sony’s jewel as of late, being released first on the PS2 and then Xbox and PC after some time.

This is part of a “groundbreaking” agreement between Microsoft and Take-Two that will have the fourth entry in the free-roaming series released simultaneously to both Xbox 360 and PS3. Separately, Microsoft and Rockstar have announced a strategic alliance to provide exclusive episodic content for the game via Xbox Live, offering ever-expanding gameplay exclusively to gamers on the console.

Grand Theft Auto IV is in development at Rockstar North and will be released in North America on October 16, 2007 and October 19 in Europe.

Seeing how popular the Grand Theft Auto franchise is getting (thanks mostly to zealous and disenchanted politicians), Take-Two has signed a three-year deal with “key Rockstar personnel” that will see them giving the company $25 million in a bid to safeguard the “creative engine” behind the GTA series.

Outlined in a 10-Q filing, the agreement will provide the “key” personnel with $25 million in restricted stock, plus unspecified internal royalties. However, as Next-Gen humorously points out, it won’t help keep their “magic touch” intact; it also isn’t a guarantee that these key employees will stay.