Grand Theft Auto
"Grand Theft Auto", the first game in the series, was released for Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS in October 1997, ported to the PlayStation in 1998 and the Game Boy Color in 1999. "Grand Theft Auto 2" was released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows, later receiving ports on the PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color.
Take-Two Interactive
In March 1998, Take-Two acquired BMG Interactive, the dormant video game publishing division of BMG Entertainment, for 1.85 million shares (16% of Take-Two's common stock), worth about . In the previous year, the United Kingdom-based DMA Design and BMG Entertainment had just released "Grand Theft Auto", and while it financially performed well but was not a critical success in Europe, it had sparked controversy over the use of violence in video games, with United States Senator Joe Lieberman speaking out strongly against it. Seeing the opportunity to capture attention on the game, Brant had initiated the acquisition of BMG as to acquire the "Grand Theft Auto" property, and at the same time, contacted BMG's Sam and Dan Houser (both instrumental to getting "Grand Theft Auto" to market), Terry Donovan, and Jamie King to found a new label within Take-Two, called Rockstar Games for which to develop more titles like it. Electronic Arts' (EA) 2008 CEO, John Riccitiello, stated that, with the establishing of Rockstar, Take-Two effectively invented the "label" corporate structure, which EA would follow into in 2008. With the rights to "Grand Theft Auto", Take-Two expanded its publication into North America, and the game became Take-Two's first finanicial success with over 1.5 million copies sold.