The trouble one determined individual can cause, eh? Publisher has just announced their financial results for the third-quarter just ended, and revealed a loss - predicted already - and blamed partially on the product recall initiated in the wake of the Hot Coffee scandal. For those of you living in outer Mongolia, Hot Coffee was a mod which it is said enabled hidden content within San Andreas, to the effect of revealing an unlockable mini-game. Needless to say videogame critics were immediately lambasting Take-Two's loose morals, and the damage that could be done by the vaguely pornographic game, prompting a recall of stock by the embattled publisher.

A loss for the entire year is now predicted, with total earnings down some 40 million USD. Indeed, revenues were lower than most experts had predicted, and this bad news will be compounded by further disappointing news in the shape of Bully's slippage into 2006. Earnings for the current year will also be damaged by the news that the Japanese release of GTA San Andreas has dropped into 2006. On the plus side, we do learn that Civilization IV has moved forward a couple of weeks in the schedule, to October - which is nice.

Finally, Take-Two's report announces that 2006 will see "extensions of the franchise" on unspecified platforms, a new instalment in a major brand (Midnight Club?), as well as more games for Sony's booming handheld. We'll keep our noses to the ground.

By Luke Guttridge