GameStop announced today that it has removed Take-Two Interactive’s “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” for all platforms from all of its retail locations and its e-commerce website based on the decision by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to change the game’s rating from Mature (M) to Adults Only (AO). It is GameStop’s corporate policy not to sell video games that have an ESRB rating of Adults Only (AO). GameStop believes that the ESRB rating system is an effective method used to inform consumers about the content in video games and will continue to support the ESRB’s efforts.
GameStop intends to return all new units of “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” to Take-Two Interactive for full credit and to re-stock the game when it has been modified to meet the ESRB’s Mature (M) rating.
GameStop also announced that it will incur a $1.1 million charge in its second fiscal quarter to write-down the value of its “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” used inventory currently in stock, which will translate to an approximate $0.01 charge to earnings per diluted share.
