Grand Theft Auto 2
Grand Theft Auto 2 is an action-adventure video game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 22 October 1999 for Microsoft Windows and the PlayStation, followed by Dreamcast and Game Boy Color releases in 2000. It is the sequel to 1997's "Grand Theft Auto", part of the "Grand Theft Auto" series. The open world design lets players freely roam Anywhere City, the setting of the game.
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.