SouthPeak Interactive, known for RPG Two Worlds, today announced that former Take-Two CEO Paul Eibeler joined the publisher's board of directors. Eibeler, who is also currently chairman of Cokem International, an interactive software distribution company, commented, "I am excited to be part of SouthPeak’s board of directors. SouthPeak’s robust pipeline and entrepreneurial management team has set a course for rapid growth. I look forward to working with the SouthPeak’s highly motivated team of professionals as we approach the 2009 holiday season.”
Terry Phillips, Chairman of SouthPeak, cites Eibeler as "one of the most respected executives in the interactive games industry," and points to the fact that Take-Two grew from $250 million in revenue to over $1.3 billion during his tenure. What was conveniently left out of course is that this is the man who let the entire "Hot Coffee" fiasco slip through on his watch. The GTA scandal left a permanent scar on the game industry as a whole. MarketWatch named Eibeler "Worst CEO of the Year" back in 2005 for repeatedly missing fiscal guidance and of course for letting GTA get slammed with the dreaded "Adults Only" rating after the "Hot Coffee" scandal broke.
Eibeler (and the whole board) was eventually ousted by shareholders in 2007 when Strauss Zelnick and Ben Feder took over at the company.
As for SouthPeak, the publisher posted record revenues of $40.2 million in fiscal 2008 and has had some good momentum in 2009 with My Baby topping 500,000 sold and third quarter revenues hitting $13.5 million.
