Take-Two Interactive, who owns Rockstar Games, is in talks with Former EA President of Asian Online Gaming, Hubert Larenaudie, to become President of Take-Two Asia. Take-Two already has a strong holding in the Japanese market (Rockstar Japan anyone?), but they want to expand into the Asian market and create a "meaningful online game operation" while they are at it, with Hubert Larenaudie spearheading the campaign.

Hubert Larenaudie, who has worked with Vivendi Universal, to make World of Warcraft have the presence in Asia that it has now, and of course EA. He'll be working below Gary Dale at Take-Two's newly created office in Singapore.

"Hubert Larenaudie is an experienced senior executive who has successfully built or expanded Asia Pacific operations for prominent interactive entertainment and consumer goods companies," said Gary Dale. "His in-depth knowledge of the region; his skill in creating the right product development, distribution and marketing strategy for each local market; and his track record of driving growth will help Take-Two realize the tremendous opportunities in APAC."

Mr. Larenaudie added, "Many of Take-Two's franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto, Midnight Club, Sid Meier's Civilization, and BioShock are international hits, and already have attracted large and enthusiastic fan bases in markets such as Japan, South Korea and China. With the Company's portfolio of leading brands, growing sports business, extraordinary creative talent and global appeal, I see exciting potential to build a significant Asia Pacific business for Take-Two, with a particular emphasis on the online game segment of the market."

The main points for Take-Two is:

• expanding distribution in the Asia Pacific (APAC) for the Company's interactive entertainment products.
• developing a strong presence in Japan.
• and establishing a meaningful online game operation, especially in China and Korea.

What does this mean for Take-Two? Are they bringing out the GTA MMO? Maybe even creating their own WoW clone?

Source: Kotaku