Take-Two Chairman Puts Stability First

But getting there won't be easy. Take-Two faces a number of problems, including questions over the violent and at times racy content of its games, its ability to move beyond the Grand Theft Auto franchise and lower operating margins relative to its peers.

Right now, though, fixing accounting and compliance-related issues will be his focus, says Zelnick. "The company has had compliance issues, and we need to work with appropriate regulators and authorities to ensure we maintain our books right," he says.

Cleaning up the books is "very important" to Take-Two's future, says Zelnick. "For any kind of company -- public or private -- to be effective it needs to have accurate financials."

Zelnick will get all the help he needs from his ZelnickMedia colleague Ben Feder, who was named as Take-Two's acting CEO late Thursday.

Feder is likely to be in that chair for the next few months, says Zelnick.

"Before we seek to fill the CEO slot we want to stabilize morale, develop our strategy and improve the structure of the company," he says. "So, I don't think we will have a new CEO right away but I would guess we have someone in the chair permanently within the next 12 months."

Improving operating margins, an area of concern for many analysts, is likely to be the second step in his plan. Zelnick says he will need to understand the company's worldwide structure and look at overhead before making any decisions.