Take-Two Subpoenaed on Explicit Scenes

Take-Two Interactive Software(TTWO Quote) received grand jury subpoenas from the New York County district attorney requesting production of documents related to the video-game maker's "Hot Coffee" explicit-scene additions.

Following the post-close announcement on Monday, the company's stock plunged $2.52, or 19.6%, to $10.35 on Instinet.

Take-Two acknowledged last July that hidden inside Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the latest iteration of its core game franchise, was a mini-game that allowed players to manipulate characters to perform explicit sex acts. Players could access the mini-game by downloading a program dubbed "Hot Coffee" over the Internet.

In response, Take-Two agreed to re-rate the game from "mature" to "adults only," meaning that many stores no longer would carry it. The company took a $24.5 million inventory charge as a result of stores returning the title to the company. Take-Two later re-issued San Andreas without the "Hot Coffee" content and offered a software patch for those who already owned the game. ...