Take-Two Director Takes Off

Take-Two (TTWO Quote) on Wednesday announced the resignation of Director Barbara A. Kaczynski and posted final results for its fourth quarter ended in October.

According to a Securities and Exchagne Commission filing, Kaczynski resigned Jan. 19 from the company's board of directors and her related positions as chairwoman of its audit committee and member of the software games publisher's corporate governance committee.

A letter on behalf of Kaczynski states among the reasons for her departure that "several matters requiring the board's attention caused" her concern.

Included in those matters are Take Two's "discovery of illicit images depicted in its Grand Theft Auto video game, the Federal Trade Commission's investigation of Take-Two following that discovery, and various SEC inquiries directed at Take-Two and its employees."

The letter goes on to say that more recent issues in connection with preparation of the 10-K and its late filing heightened Kaczynski's beliefs of an "increasingly unhealthy relationship between senior management and the board of directors ... characterized by a lack of cooperation and respect."

Take-Two also named music industry veteran Michael J. Malone, to the board, effective Jan. 24; and announced new responsibilities for board members Todd Emmel and Robert Flug.

The Grand Theft Auto series has long been controversial for its depictions of street gang violence.

The company ceased production of the latest version of its popular game in July, after public outcry about a software hack that allows gamers to see racy sex scenes.

Without modification, the games have included scenes that imply sex between certain characters. But an Internet-available, third-party program called "hot coffee" enabled players to see their characters engage in sex acts.

Some analysts have charged that the hot coffee modification allowed access to scenes that had been built into the game.