Tag: Take-Two Interactive

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Disputes News Video Games WIPO

Take-Two wins another dispute over a Grand Theft Auto V beta domain, 3 more to go

Grand Theft Auto V Beta

Take-Two Interactive has won a dispute over the domain betagtav.com, a name that was registered back in 2011 shortly after Grand Theft Auto V’s official announcement.  The game is set to be released in September 2013.

Last year, the domain owner launched a website on betagtav.com that claimed to have beta keys to the game.  Of course, the website was a fake.  But it wasn’t the only site on the internet issuing fake beta keys.  There were and are others.

At the beginning of 2013, Take-Two filed five separate complaints with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over ‘GTA V Beta’ domains.

In February, it won a dispute over getgtavbeta.com, but there are still 3 more cases that are active and undecided.  The cases involve gtavbeta.net, gtavbeta.org, and  gta5downloadsecure.com.

You can see a screenshot below of betagtav.com from 2012.  The web address currently redirects users to Rockstar Games’ official website.

Grand Theft Auto V Beta

Expect to see more complaints filed over beta domains in 2013 as scammers continue to prey on unsuspecting fans of popular video games.

Last year, Microsoft took control of the domain names Halo4Beta.biz and Halo4Beta.net, after filing similar complaints.

Talking about this story: Examiner.com

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News Video Games

Take-Two registers Death to Founders, Vox Populi domains for Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite

It appears Take-Two Interactive Software is going to ramp up online marketing for its upcoming first-person shooter Bioshock Infinite that is set to be released later this year.

On January 23, 2012, the video game publisher registered the domains DeathtotheFounders.com (Whois), DeathtotheVox.com (Whois) and DeathtotheVoxPopuli.com (Whois).

While the registrant of each name is hidden behind Whois privacy, the domain servers listed (NS.TAKE2GAMES.COM, NS6.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM, NS5.TAKE2GAMES.COM) belong to Take-Two Interactive. 

For those not familiar with Bioshock Infinite, the Founders are the ruling party of Columbia, a city built by the US Government in the late 1800s to serve as a floating world’s fair.  The Vox Populi (which means “Voice of the People” in Latin) are the group opposing the Founders.

At the time of this story being published, each of the web addresses returns a 403 error page on BioshockInfinite.com.

Discussion: This is Xbox and The Bioshock Wiki

(Image of Bioshock Infinite via official website)

Categories
News Video Games

Take-Two publishes teaser page for yet-to-be-revealed Citizen Skywatch

Citizen Skywatch teaser page

Take-Two Interactive which released the critically acclaimed Red Dead Redemption in 2010 and publishes the Grand Theft Auto video game series, published a bare bones teaser page to CitizenSkywatch.com, a domain name it acquired in late April.

Up until this last week, the domain name was an empty business profile page at Network Solutions. 

Now the home page for citizenskywatch.com displays a “Citizen Skywatch” logo as pictured above.

Here’s a look at the Whois information that underwent a change, which then prompted me to check the web page.

Registrant:
Administrator, System ContactMiddleName
   Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
   622 Broadway
   4th Floor
   New York, NY 10012
   US

   Domain Name: CITIZENSKYWATCH.COM

   Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
      Administrator, System ContactMiddleName               
      Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
      622 Broadway
      4th Floor
      New York, NY 10012
      US

   Record expires on 26-Apr-2016.
   Record created on 26-Apr-2011.

Take-Two Interactive has not revealed anything yet about the title, but based on the name alone, it’s likely the game has something to do with space, as “skywatch” could be a reference to watching the sky for an alien invasion.

Updated August 15, 2011:  After I posted this story, a member of NeoGAF pointed out that there is also a Twitter page being tested by Take-Two, as well as a YouTube account.

**

Discussion: Joystiq, NeoGAF, VG247, Destructoid, Playfront, Strategy Informer, G4tv, The Escapist, MTV.com, 1UP, Eurogamer and Gamespot