TTWO, §1A diff (2017 → 2018)

Item 1A. Risk Factors Our business is subject to many risks and uncertainties, which may affect our future financial performance. Because of the risks and uncertainties described below, as well as other factors affecting our operating results and financial condition, past financial performance should not be considered to be a reliable indicator of future performance and our business and financial performance could be harmed and the market value of our securities could decline. Risks relating to our business We are dependent on the future success of our Grand Theft Auto products and we must continue to publish "hit" titles or sequels to such "hit" titles in order to compete successfully in our industry. Grand Theft Auto and certain of our other titles are "hit" products and have historically accounted for a substantial portion of our revenue. Grand Theft Auto products contributed 39.7% of the Company's net revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 and the five best-selling franchises (including Grand Theft Auto), which may change year over year, in the aggregate accounted for 90.6% of the Company's net revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. If we fail to continue to develop and sell new commercially successful "hit" titles or sequels to such "hit" titles or experience any delays in product releases or disruptions following the commercial release of our "hit" titles or their sequels, our revenue and profits may decrease substantially and we may incur losses. In addition, competition in our industry is intense and a relatively small number of hit titles account for a large portion of total revenue in our industry. Hit products offered by our competitors may take a larger share of consumer spending than we anticipate, which could cause revenue generated from our products to fall below our expectations. If our competitors develop more successful products or services at lower price points or based on payment models perceived as offering better value, or if we do not continue to develop consistently high quality and well-received products and services, our revenue and profitability may decline. In addition, both the online and mobile games marketplaces are characterized by frequent product introductions, relatively low barriers to entry, and new and evolving business methods, technologies and platforms for development. Widespread consumer adoption of these new platforms for games and other technological advances in online or mobile game offerings could negatively affect our sales of console and traditional PC products before we have an opportunity to develop profitable businesses in such markets. We are subject to product development risks which could result in delays and additional costs, and we must adapt to changes in software technologies. We depend on our internal development studios and third-party software developers to develop new interactive entertainment software within anticipated release schedules and cost projections. The development cycle for new titles generally ranges from 12 months for annual sports releases, to multiple years for certain of our top-selling titles. Therefore our development costs can be substantial. If we or our third party developers experience unanticipated development delays, financial difficulties or additional costs, we may not be able to release titles according to our schedule and at budgeted costs. There can be no assurance that our products will be sufficiently successful so that we can recoup these costs or make a profit on these products. Additionally, in order to stay competitive, our internal development studios must anticipate and adapt to rapid technological changes affecting software development. Any inability to respond to technological advances and implement new technologies could render our products obsolete or less marketable. Further, the failure to pursue the development of new technology, platforms, or business models that obtain meaningful commercial success in a timely manner may negatively affect our business, resulting in increased production costs and more strenuous competition. The inability of our products to achieve significant market acceptance, delays in product releases or disruptions following the commercial release of our products may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. New products may not achieve significant market acceptance, generate sufficient sales or be introduced in a timely manner to permit us to recover development, manufacturing and marketing costs associated with these products. The life cycle of a title generally involves a relatively high level of sales during the first few months after introduction followed by a rapid decline in sales. Because sales associated with an initial product launch generally constitute a high percentage of the total sales associated with the life of a product, delays in product releases or disruptions following the commercial release of one or more new products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results and cause our operating results to be materially different from our expectations. Our business is subject to our ability to develop commercially successful products for the current video game platforms. We derive most of our revenue from the sale of products made for video game platforms manufactured by third parties, such as Sony's PS4 and PS3, Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Switch, which comprised 81.6% of the Company's net revenue by product platform for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. The success of our business is subject to the continued popularity of these platforms and our ability to develop commercially successful products for these platforms. We may experience declines or fluctuations in the recurring portion of our business. Our business model includes revenue that we deem recurring in nature, such as revenue from our annualized titles and associated services, and ongoing mobile businesses. While we have been able to forecast the revenue from these areas of our business with greater certainty than for new offerings, we cannot provide assurances that consumers will purchase these games and services on a consistent basis. Furthermore, we may cease to offer games and services that we previously had deemed to be recurring in nature. Consumer purchases of our games and services may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including their level of satisfaction with our games and services, our ability to improve and innovate our annualized titles, our ability to adapt our games and services to new platforms, outages and disruptions of online services, the games and services offered by our competitors, our marketing and advertising efforts or declines in consumer activity generally as a result of economic downturns, among others. Any decline or fluctuation in the recurring portion of our business may have a negative impact on our financial and operating results. Connectivity issues could affect our ability to sell and provide online services for our products and could affect our profitability. We rely upon third-party digital delivery platforms, such as Microsoft's Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Steam and other third-party service providers, to provide connectivity from the consumer to our digital products and our online services. Connectivity issues could prevent customers from accessing this content and our ability to successfully market and sell our products could be adversely affected. In addition, we could experience similar issues related to services we host on our internal servers. Such issues also could affect our ability to provide online services and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Our business could be adversely affected if our consumer data protection measures are not seen as adequate or there are breaches of our security measures or unintended disclosures of our consumer data. We are collecting and storing consumer information, including personal information. We take measures to protect our consumer data from unauthorized access or disclosure. It is possible that our security controls over consumer data may not prevent the improper access or disclosure of personally identifiable information. In addition, due to the high profile nature of our products, we may draw a disproportionately higher amount of attention and attempts to breach our security controls than companies with lower profile products. A security breach that leads to disclosure of consumer account information (including personally identifiable information) could harm our reputation, compel us to comply with disparate breach notification laws in various jurisdictions and otherwise subject us to liability under laws that protect personal data, resulting in increased costs or loss of revenue. A resulting perception that our products or services do not adequately protect the privacy of personal information could result in a loss of current or potential consumers and business partners. In addition, if any of our business partners experience a security breach that leads to disclosure of consumer account information, our reputation could be harmed, resulting in loss of revenue. In addition, certain of our products are online enabled. The ability of our products to offer online functionality, and our ability to offer content through a video game platform's digital distribution channel, is dependent upon the continued operation and security of such platform's online network. These third party networks, as well as our own internal systems and websites, and the security measures related thereto may be breached as a result of third-party action, including intentional misconduct by computer hackers, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise, and result in someone obtaining unauthorized access to our customers' data or our data, including our intellectual property and other confidential business information, or our information technology systems. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, or to sabotage systems, change frequently and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. If an actual or perceived breach of our security occurs, we may lose business, suffer irreparable damage to our reputation, and/or incur significant costs and expenses relating to the investigation and possible litigation of claims relating to such event. The laws and regulations concerning data privacy and certain other aspects of our business are continually evolving. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our business. We are subject to certain privacy and data protection laws, including those in the United States. Certain activities related to E.U. customers are registered with our U.K. data controller. The U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act also regulates the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information from children under 13 years of age. Failure to comply with privacy laws, data protection laws, or age restrictions may increase our costs, subject us to expensive and distracting government investigations, and result in substantial fines. Privacy and data protection laws are rapidly changing and likely will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, which could have an impact on our approach to operating and marketing our games. For example, the Court of Justice of the European Union's decision to invalidate the E.U.-U.S. Safe Harbor regime that legitimized the transfer of certain personal data from the E.U. to the U.S. was a material change to laws on data privacy applicable to our business. In addition, after four years of preparation and debate, the E.U. Parliament approved the general Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") on April 14, 2016. GDPR will become effective on May 25, 2018, and will replace the existing Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. The U.S. government, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce, also continue to review the need for greater or different regulation over the collection of personal information and information about consumer behavior on the Internet and on mobile devices. Various government and consumer agencies worldwide have also called for new regulation and changes in industry practices. Player use of our games is subject to our privacy policy, end user license agreements, and terms of service. If we fail to comply with our posted privacy policy, EULAs, or terms of service, or if we fail to comply with existing privacy-related or data protection laws and regulations, it could result in proceedings or litigation against us by governmental authorities or others, which could result in fines or judgments against us, damage our reputation, affect our financial condition and harm our business. If regulators, the media, or consumers raise any concerns about our privacy and data protection or consumer protection practices, even if unfounded, this could also result in fines or judgments against us, damage our reputation, negatively affect our financial condition, and damage our business. It is possible that a number of laws and regulations may be adopted or construed to apply to us in the United States and elsewhere that could restrict the interactive entertainment industry, including player privacy, advertising, taxation, content suitability, copyright, distribution and antitrust. Furthermore, the growth and development of electronic commerce and virtual goods may prompt calls for more stringent consumer protection laws that may impose additional burdens on companies such as ours conducting business through digital sales. Any such changes would require us to devote legal and other resources to address such regulation. For example, existing laws or new laws regarding the regulation of currency, banking institutions and unclaimed property may be interpreted to cover virtual currency or virtual goods. If that were to occur we may be required to seek licenses, authorizations or approvals from relevant regulators, the granting of which may be dependent on us meeting certain capital and other requirements and we may be subject to additional regulation and oversight, all of which could significantly increase our operating costs. Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws and regulations in the United States or elsewhere regarding these activities may lessen the growth of the interactive entertainment industry and impair our business, financial condition, and operating results. Although we have structured and operate our skill tournaments with applicable laws in mind, including any applicable laws relating to gambling, and believe that playing these games does not constitute gambling, our skill tournaments could in the future become subject to gambling-related rules and regulations and expose us to civil and criminal penalties. We also sometimes offer consumers of our online and casual games various types of contests and promotional opportunities. We are subject to laws in a number of jurisdictions concerning the operation and offering of such activities and games, many of which are still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. Further, some of our online games and other services include random digital item mechanics, which may become subject to regulations in various jurisdictions. If these were to occur, we might be required to seek licenses, authorizations, or approvals from relevant regulators, the granting of which may be dependent on us meeting certain capital and other requirements, and we may be subject to additional regulation and oversight, such as reporting to regulators, all of which could significantly increase our operating costs. Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws and regulations in the United States, Europe, or elsewhere regarding these activities may lessen the growth of casual game services and impair our business. Security breaches involving the source code for our products or other sensitive and proprietary information could adversely affect our business. We securely store the source code for our interactive entertainment software products as it is created. A breach, whether physical, electronic or otherwise, of the systems on which such source code and other sensitive data are stored could lead to damage or piracy of our software. In addition, certain parties with whom we do business are given access to our sensitive and proprietary information in order to provide services and support our team. These third parties may misappropriate our information and engage in unauthorized use of it. If we are subject to data security breaches, we may have a loss in sales or increased costs arising from the restoration or implementation of additional security measures which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Any theft and/or unauthorized use or publication of our trade secrets and other confidential business information as a result of such an event could adversely affect our competitive position, reputation, brand, and future sales of our products. Our business could be subject to significant disruption, and we could suffer monetary and other losses and reputational harm, in the event of such incidents and claims. We rely on complex information technology systems and networks to operate our business. Any significant system or network disruption could have a negative impact on our business. We rely on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of complex information technology systems and networks, some of which are within Take-Two and some of which are managed and/or hosted by third-party providers. All information technology systems and networks are potentially vulnerable to damage or interruption from a variety of sources, including but not limited to cyber-attacks, malicious software, security breach, energy blackouts, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication failures. We may also face sophisticated attacks, referred to as advanced persistent threats, which are cyber-attacks aimed at compromising our intellectual property and other commercially-sensitive information, such as the source code and game assets for our software or confidential customer or employee information, which remain undetected for prolonged periods of time. Information technology system or network failure or security breach could negatively affect our business continuity, operations and financial results. These risks extend to the networks and e-commerce sites of console platform providers and other partners who sell and host our content online. We may incur additional costs to remedy the damages caused by these disruptions or security breaches. Successful exploitation of our systems can have other negative effects upon the products, services and user experience we offer. In particular, the virtual economies that we have established in many of our games are subject to abuse, exploitation and other forms of fraudulent activity that can negatively affect our business. Virtual economies involve the use of virtual currency and/or virtual assets that can be used or redeemed by a player within a particular game or service. The abuse or exploitation of our virtual economies include the illegitimate generation and sale of virtual items in black markets. These kinds of activities and the steps that we take to address these issues may result in a loss of anticipated revenue, interfere with players’ enjoyment of a balanced game environment and cause reputational harm. Our efforts to expand into new products and services may subject us to additional risks. In recent years, we have invested in emerging opportunities in interactive entertainment played on mobile platforms, including tablets and smartphones, and online platforms, including social networks. We have also grown our product offerings that are available through digital download, including virtual currency, through our existing franchises such as Grant Theft Auto and NBA 2K as well as through product offerings by newly acquired Social Point and other mobile product offerings. We are actively investing to capitalize on these trends in order to diversify our product mix, reduce our operating risks, and increase our revenue. There are risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts, particularly in instances where the markets are not fully developed. There is no assurance that we will be able to attract a sufficiently large number of customers or recover costs incurred for developing and marketing any of these new products or services. For example, we may offer games that do not attract sufficient purchases of virtual currency, which may cause our investments into this product space, such as through our acquisition of Social Point, to fail to realize the expected benefits. External factors, such as competitive alternatives and shifting market preferences, may also have an impact on the successful implementation of any new products or services. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new products or services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. We depend on our key management and product development personnel. Our continued success will depend to a significant extent on our senior management team and our relationship with ZelnickMedia Corporation ("ZelnickMedia"). Our Executive Chairman/Chief Executive Officer and President are partners of ZelnickMedia. We are also highly dependent on the expertise, skills and knowledge of certain of our Rockstar employees and other key creative personnel responsible for content creation and development of our Grand Theft Auto titles and titles based on other brands. We may not be able to continue to retain these personnel at current compensation levels, or at all. The loss of the services of our executive officers, ZelnickMedia, our key Rockstar employees or other key creative personnel could significantly harm our business. In addition, if one or more key employees were to join a competitor or form a competing company, we may lose additional personnel, experience material interruptions in product development, delays in bringing products to market and difficulties in our relationships with licensors, suppliers and customers, which would significantly harm our business. Failure to continue to attract and retain other qualified management and creative personnel could adversely affect our business and prospects. Declines in consumer spending and other adverse changes in the economy could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Most of our products involve discretionary spending on the part of consumers. We believe that consumer spending is influenced by general economic conditions and the availability of discretionary income. This makes our products particularly sensitive to general economic conditions and economic cycles as consumers are generally more willing to make discretionary purchases, including purchases of products like ours, during periods in which favorable economic conditions prevail. Adverse economic conditions such as a prolonged U.S. or international general economic downturn, including periods of increased inflation, unemployment levels, tax rates, interest rates, energy prices or declining consumer confidence could also reduce consumer spending. Reduced consumer spending has and may in the future continue to result in reduced demand for our products and may also require increased selling and promotional expenses, which has had and may continue to have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, during periods of relative economic weakness, our consolidated credit risk, reflecting our counterparty dealings with distributors, customers, capital providers and others may increase, perhaps materially so. Furthermore, uncertainty and adverse changes in the economy could also increase the risk of material losses on our investments, increase costs associated with developing and publishing our products, increase the cost and availability of sources of financing, and increase our exposure to material losses from bad debts, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. If economic conditions worsen, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected. Changes in our tax rates or exposure to additional tax liabilities could adversely affect our earnings and financial condition. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (herein referred to as the "Act”). The Act makes broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code that could materially affect us. The Act reduces the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, effective January 1, 2018 and requires companies to pay a one-time transition tax on the previously untaxed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries. In addition, the Act makes other changes that may affect us, beginning April 1, 2018. These changes include but are not limited to (1) a Base Erosion Anti-abuse Tax (BEAT), which is a new minimum tax, (2) generally eliminating U.S. federal income taxes on dividends from foreign subsidiaries, (3) a new provision that taxes global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI), (4) the repeal of the domestic production activity deduction, and (5) other base broadening provisions. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of the Act on our tax provision. It is possible that these changes could have an adverse impact on our effective tax rate, tax payments, financial condition, or results of operations. The new tax law is complex and additional interpretative guidance may be issued that could affect interpretations and assumptions we have made, as well as actions we may take as a result of the Act. In addition, numerous countries are evaluating their existing tax laws due in part to recommendations made by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (“OECD’s”) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) project. Although we cannot predict whether, or in what form, any legislation based on such proposals may be adopted by the countries in which we do business, future tax reform based on such proposals may increase the amount of taxes we pay and adversely affect our operating results and cash flows. We are a multinational corporation with operations in the U.S. and various other jurisdictions around the world. Accordingly, we are subject to tax in the U.S. and in various other jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes, and, in the ordinary course of business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We are required to estimate future taxes. Although we currently believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the estimation process is inherently uncertain, and such estimates are not binding on tax authorities. Further, our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including changes in the business, including the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in tax elections, and changes in applicable tax laws. Additionally, tax determinations are regularly subject to audit by tax authorities, and developments in those audits could adversely affect our income tax provision. Should the ultimate tax liability exceed estimates, our income tax provision and net income or loss could be materially affected. Historically, we recorded a valuation allowance against most of our U.S. deferred tax assets. We expect to provide a valuation allowance on future U.S. tax benefits until we can sustain a level of profitability or until other significant positive evidence arises that suggests that these benefits are more likely than not to be realized. We earn a significant amount of our operating income and continue to hold a significant portion of our cash outside the U.S. We are reviewing whether the Act will affect our existing intention to reinvest indefinitely earnings of our foreign subsidiaries. The Act imposes a one-time transition tax on the previously untaxed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries and other significant changes that affect how U.S. companies are taxed on foreign earnings. These changes may result in higher effective tax rates for us. We are also required to pay taxes other than income taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in both the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions. We are regularly under examination by tax authorities with respect to these non-income taxes. There can be no assurance that the outcomes from these examinations, changes in our business or changes in applicable tax law or interpretations will not have an adverse effect on our net income or loss and financial condition. Unclaimed property audits by governmental authorities could adversely affect our operating results. We are subject to unclaimed property (escheat) laws which require us to turn over to certain government authorities the property of others held by us that has been unclaimed for a specified period of time. We are subject to audit by individual U.S. states with regard to our escheatment practices. The legislation and regulations related to unclaimed property matters tend to be complex and subject to varying interpretations by both government authorities and taxpayers. Although management believes that the positions we have taken are reasonable, various taxing authorities may challenge certain of the positions we have taken, which may also potentially result in additional liabilities for unclaimed property and interest in excess of accrued liabilities. Our positions are reviewed as events occur such as the availability of new information, the lapsing of applicable statutes of limitations, the measurement of additional estimated liability based on current calculations or the rendering of relevant court decisions. An unfavorable resolution of assessments by a governmental authority could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in future periods. Our quarterly operating results are dependent on the release of "hit" titles and are highly seasonal which may cause our quarterly operating results to fluctuate significantly. We have experienced and may continue to experience wide fluctuations in quarterly operating results. The release of a "hit" title typically leads to a high level of sales during the first few months after introduction followed by a rapid decline in sales. In addition, the interactive entertainment industry is highly seasonal, with sales typically higher during the fourth calendar quarter, due primarily to increased demand for games during the holiday season. Demand for and sales of titles in our NBA 2K series are also seasonal in that they are typically released just prior to the start of the NBA season. If a key event or sports season to which our product release schedule is tied were to be delayed or cancelled, our sales might also suffer disproportionately. Our failure or inability to produce "hit" titles or introduce products on a timely basis to meet seasonal fluctuations in demand could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. The uncertainties associated with software development, manufacturing lead times, production delays and the approval process for products by hardware manufacturers and other licensors make it difficult to predict the quarter in which our products will ship and therefore may cause us to fail to meet financial expectations. Price protection granted to our customers and returns of our published titles by our customers may adversely affect our operating results. We are exposed to the risk of price protection and product returns with respect to our customers. Our distribution arrangements with customers generally do not give them the right to return titles to us or to cancel firm orders. However, we sometimes accept product returns from our distribution customers for stock balancing and negotiate accommodations for customers, which include credits and returns, when demand for specific products falls below expectations. We grant price protection and accept returns in connection with our publishing arrangements and revenue is recognized after deducting estimated price protection and reserves for returns. While we believe that we can reliably estimate future price protection and returns, if price protection and return rates for our products exceed our reserves, our revenue could decline, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Increased sales of used video game products could lower our sales. Certain of our larger customers sell used video games, which are generally priced lower than new video games. If our customers increase their sales of used video games, it could negatively affect our sales of new video games and have an adverse influence on our business, financial condition and operating results. A limited number of customers account for a significant portion of our sales. The loss of a principal customer or other significant business relationship could seriously hurt our business. A substantial portion of our product sales are made to a limited number of customers. Sales to our five largest customers during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 accounted for 70.7% of our net revenue, with Sony and Microsoft each accounting for more than 10.0% of our net revenue during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. Our sales are made primarily pursuant to purchase orders without long-term agreements or other commitments, and our customers may terminate their relationship with us at any time. Certain of our customers may decline to carry products containing mature content. The loss of our relationships with principal customers or a decline in sales to principal customers, including as a result of a product being rated "AO" (age 18 and over) could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, if our customers are subject to pricing pressures due to deteriorating demand for our products, competitive pressure, or otherwise, such customers may pass those pricing pressures through to us, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Furthermore, our customers may also be placed into bankruptcy, become insolvent or be liquidated due to economic downturns, global contractions of credit or for other factors. Bankruptcies or consolidations of certain large retail customers could seriously hurt our business, including as a result of uncollectible accounts receivable from such customers and the concentration of purchasing power among remaining large retailers. In addition, our results of operations may be adversely affected if certain of our customers who purchase on credit terms are no longer eligible to purchase on such terms due to their financial distress, which may reduce the quantity of products they demand from us. If our marketing and advertising efforts fail to resonate with consumers, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected. Our products are marketed worldwide through a diverse spectrum of advertising and promotional programs such as television and online advertising, social media advertising, print advertising, retail merchandising, website development and event sponsorship. Our ability to sell our products and services is dependent in part on the success of these programs. If the marketing for our products and services fails to resonate with consumers, particularly during the holiday season or other key selling periods, or if advertising rates or other media placement costs increase, these factors could have a material adverse influence on our business, financial condition and operating results. The interactive entertainment software industry is highly competitive. We compete for both licenses to properties and the sale of interactive entertainment software with Sony and Microsoft, each of which is a large developer and marketer of software for its own platforms. We also compete with game publishers, such as Activision Blizzard, Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc. and Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. As our business is dependent upon our ability to develop hit titles, which require increasing budgets for development and marketing, the availability of significant financial resources has become a major competitive factor in developing and marketing software games. Some of our competitors have greater financial, technical, personnel and other resources than we do and are able to finance larger budgets for development and marketing and make higher offers to licensors and developers for commercially desirable properties. Our titles also compete with other forms of entertainment, such as social media and casual games, in addition to motion pictures, television and audio and video products featuring similar themes, online computer programs and other entertainment, which may be less expensive or provide other advantages to consumers. A number of software publishers who compete with us have developed and commercialized or are currently developing online games for use by consumers over the Internet. If technological advances significantly increase the availability of online games and if consumer acceptance of online gaming grows substantially, it could result in a decline in our platform-based software sales and negatively affect sales of such products. Increased competition for limited shelf space and promotional support from retailers could affect the success of our business and require us to incur greater expenses to market our titles. While digital sales are increasingly important to our business, for physical sales, retailers have limited shelf space and promotional resources and competition is intense among newly introduced interactive entertainment software titles for adequate levels of shelf space and promotional support. Competition for retail shelf space is expected to continue to increase, which may require us to increase our marketing expenditures to maintain desirable sales levels of our titles. Competitors with more extensive lines and more popular titles may have greater bargaining power with retailers. Accordingly, we may not be able, or we may have to pay more than our competitors, to achieve similar levels of promotional support and shelf space. The increasing importance of digital sales to our business exposes us to the risks of that business model, including greater competition. The proportion of our revenues derived from digital content delivery, as compared to traditional retail sales, may continue to increase. The increased importance of digital content delivery in our industry increases our potential competition, as the minimum capital needed to produce and publish a digitally delivered game is significantly less than that needed to produce and publish one that is purchased through retail distribution and is played on a game console. This will also require us to dedicate capital to developing and implementing alternative marketing strategies, which we may not do successfully. If either occurs, we may be unable to effectively market and distribute our products, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, a continuing shift to digital delivery could result in a deprioritization of our products by traditional retailers. The increasing importance of digital sales to our business could also result in increasing issues with our digital distribution process, including difficulties our distributors have with collecting from consumers and any associated rebates we would owe. Our business is partly dependent on our ability to enter into successful software development arrangements with third-parties. Our success depends on our ability to continually identify and develop new titles on a timely basis. We rely on third-party software developers for the development of some of our titles. Quality third-party developers are continually in high demand. Software developers who have developed titles for us in the past may not be available to develop software for us in the future. Due to the limited number of third-party software developers and the limited control that we exercise over them, these developers may not be able to complete titles for us on a timely basis or within acceptable quality standards, if at all. We have entered into agreements with third-parties to acquire the rights to publish and distribute interactive entertainment software as well as to use licensed intellectual properties in our titles. These agreements typically require us to make development payments, pay royalties and satisfy other conditions. Our development payments may not be sufficient to permit developers to develop new software successfully, which could result in material delays and significantly increase our costs to bring particular products to market. Software development costs, promotion and marketing expenses and royalties payable to software developers and third-party licensors have increased significantly in recent years and reduce potential profits derived from sales of our software. Future sales of our titles may not be sufficient to recover development payments and advances to software developers and licensors, and we may not have adequate financial and other resources to satisfy our contractual commitments to such developers. If we fail to satisfy our obligations under agreements with third-party developers and licensors, the agreements may be terminated or modified in ways that are burdensome to us, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. We cannot publish our titles without the approval of hardware licensors that are also our competitors. We are required to obtain licenses from certain of our competitors, including Sony and Microsoft, to develop and publish titles for their respective hardware platforms. Our existing platform licenses require that we obtain approval for the publication of new titles on a title-by-title basis. As a result, the number of titles we are able to publish for these hardware platforms, our ability to manage the timing of the release of these titles and, accordingly, our net revenue from titles for these hardware platforms, may be limited. If a licensor chooses not to renew or extend our license agreement at the end of its current term, or if a licensor were to terminate our license for any reason or does not approve one or more of our titles, we may be unable to publish that title as well as additional titles for that licensor's platform. Termination of any such agreements or disapproval of titles could seriously hurt our business and prospects. We may be unable to continue to enter into license agreements for certain current generation platforms on satisfactory terms or at all. Failure to enter into any such agreement could also seriously hurt our business. We rely on a limited number of channel partners some of whom influence the fee structures for online distribution of our games on their platforms. We rely on a limited number of channel partners, some of whom have retained the right to change the fee structures for online distribution of both paid content and free content (including patches and corrections) that we license to them for distribution on their platforms. Such channel partners' ability to set or influence royalty rates may increase costs, which could negatively affect our operating margins. We may be unable to distribute our content in a cost-effective or profitable manner through such distribution channel, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Outside of fee arrangements, our agreements with our channel partners sometimes give them significant control over other aspects of the distribution of our products and services that we develop for their platform. If our channel partners establish terms that restrict our offerings through their channels, or significantly affect the financial terms on which these products or services are offered to our customers, we may be unable to distribute our product offerings through them or be forced to do so on a materially worse financial or business terms. We may not be able to adequately adjust our cost structure in a timely fashion in response to a sudden decrease in demand. In the event of a significant decline in revenue, we may not be able to dispose of facilities, reduce personnel or make other changes to our cost structure without disruption to our operations or without significant termination and exit costs. Management may not be able to implement such actions in a timely manner, if at all, to offset an immediate shortfall in revenue and profit. Moreover, reducing costs may impair our ability to produce and develop software titles at sufficient levels in the future. We use open source software in connection with certain of our games and services, which may pose particular risks to our proprietary software, products, and services in a manner that could have a negative impact on our business. We use open source software in connection with certain of our games and the services we offer. Some open source software licenses require users who distribute open source software as part of their software to publicly disclose all or part of the source code to such software or make available any derivative works of the open source code on unfavorable terms or at no cost. The terms of various open source licenses have not been interpreted by courts, and there is a risk that such licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our use of the open source software. Were it determined that our use was not in compliance with a particular license, we may be required to release our proprietary source code, pay damages for breach of contract, re-engineer our games, discontinue distribution in the event re-engineering cannot be accomplished on a timely basis or take other remedial action that may divert resources away from our game development efforts, any of which could harm our business. We depend on servers and Internet bandwidth to operate our games and digital services with online features. If we were to lose server capacity or lack sufficient Internet bandwidth for any reason, our business could suffer. We rely on data servers, including those owned or controlled by third parties, to enable our customers to download our games and other downloadable content, and to operate our online games and other products with online functionality. Events such as limited hardware failure, any broad-based catastrophic server malfunction, a significant intrusion by hackers that circumvents security measures, or a failure of disaster recovery services would likely interrupt the functionality of our games with online services and could result in a loss of sales for games and related services. An extended interruption of service could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We expect a significant portion of our games to be on-line enabled in the future, and therefore we must project our future server needs and make advance purchases of servers or server capacity to accommodate expected business demands. If we underestimate the amount of server capacity our business requires or if our business were to grow more quickly than expected, our consumers may experience service problems, such as slow or interrupted gaming access. Insufficient server capacity may result in decreased sales, a loss of our consumer base and adverse consequences to our reputation. Conversely, if we overestimate the amount of server capacity required by our business, we may incur additional operating costs. Because of the potential importance of our online business to our revenues and results of operations, our ability to access adequate Internet bandwidth and online computational resources to support our business is critical. If the price of either such resource increases, we may not be able to increase our prices or subscriber levels to compensate for such costs, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We submit our products for rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board ("ESRB") in the United States and other voluntary or government ratings organizations in foreign countries. Failure to obtain a target rating for certain of our products could negatively affect our ability to distribute and sell those games, as could the re-rating of a game for any reason. We voluntarily submit our game products to the ESRB, a U.S.-based non-profit and independent ratings organization. The ESRB system provides consumers with information about game content using a rating symbol that generally suggests the appropriate player age group and specific content descriptors, such as graphic violence, profanity or sexually explicit material. The ESRB may impose significant penalties on game publishers for violations of its rules related to rating or marketing games, including revocation of a rating or monetary fines. Other countries require voluntary or government backed ratings as prerequisites for product sales. In some instances, we may have to modify our products in order to market them under the target rating, which could delay or disrupt the release of our products. In addition, some of our titles may not be sold at all or without extensive edits in certain countries, such as Germany. In the United States, if the ESRB rates a game as "AO" (age 18 and older), platform licensors may not certify the game and retailers may refuse to sell it. In addition, some consumers have reacted to re-ratings or controversial game content by refusing to purchase such games, demanding refunds for games that they had already purchased, and refraining from buying other games published by us. Many of our Rockstar titles and certain of our 2K titles have been rated "M" (age 17 and older) by the ESRB. If we are unable to obtain "M" ratings and instead receive "AO" ratings on future versions of those or similar titles as a result of changes in the ESRB's ratings standards or for other reasons, including the adoption of legislation in this area, our business and prospects could be negatively affected. If any of our games are re-rated by the ESRB or other foreign based ratings organizations, we could be exposed to litigation, administrative fines and penalties and other potential liabilities, and our operating results and financial condition could be significantly affected. We have implemented processes to comply with the requirements of the ESRB and other ratings organizations and properly display the designated rating symbols and content descriptions. Nonetheless, these processes are subject to human error, circumvention, overriding and reasonable resource constraints. If a video game we published were found to contain undisclosed pertinent content, the ESRB could re-rate a game, retailers could refuse to sell it and demand that we accept the return of any unsold copies or returns from customers, and consumers could refuse to buy it or demand that we refund their money. This could have a material negative affect on our operating results and financial condition. In addition, we may be exposed to litigation, administrative fines and penalties and our reputation could be harmed, which could affect sales of other video games we sell. If any of these consequences were to occur, our business and financial performance could be significantly harmed. Content policies adopted by retailers, consumer opposition and litigation could negatively affect sales of our products. Retailers may decline to sell interactive entertainment software containing what they judge to be graphic violence or sexually explicit material or other content that they deem inappropriate for their businesses. If retailers decline to sell our products based upon their opinion that they contain objectionable themes, graphic violence or sexually explicit material or other generally objectionable content, or if any of our previously "M" rated series products are rated "AO," we might be required to significantly change or discontinue particular titles or series, which in the case of our best-selling Grand Theft Auto titles could seriously affect our business. Consumer advocacy groups have opposed sales of interactive entertainment software containing objectionable themes, violence or sexual material or other objectionable content by pressing for legislation in these areas and by engaging in public demonstrations and media campaigns. Additionally, although lawsuits seeking damages for injuries allegedly suffered by third-parties as a result of video games have generally been unsuccessful in the courts, claims of this kind have been asserted against us from time to time and may be asserted and be successful in the future. An increase in the number of lawsuits filed by the families of victims of violence may trigger supplemental governmental scrutiny, damage our reputation, and negatively affect the sale of our products. Our results of operations or reputation may be harmed as a result of offensive consumer-created content. We are subject to risks associated with the collaborative online features in our games which allow consumers to post narrative comments, in real time, that are visible to other consumers. From time to time, objectionable and offensive consumer content may be posted to a gaming or other site with online chat features or game forums which allow consumers to post comments. We may be subject to lawsuits, governmental regulation or restrictions, and consumer backlash (including decreased sales and harmed reputation), as a result of consumers posting offensive content. We may also be subject to consumer backlash from comments made in response to postings we make on social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We are subject to risks and uncertainties of international trade, including fluctuations in the values of local foreign currencies against the dollar. Sales in international markets, primarily in Europe, have accounted for a significant portion of our net revenue. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, 41.3% of our net revenue was earned outside the United States. We are continuing to execute on our growth initiatives in Asia, where our strategy is to broaden the distribution of our existing products and expand our online gaming presence, especially in China and South Korea. We are subject to risks inherent in foreign trade, including increased credit risks, tariffs and duties, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, shipping delays, and international political, regulatory and economic developments, all of which can have a significant influence on our operating results. Many of our international sales are made in local currencies, which could fluctuate against the dollar. While we may use forward exchange contracts to a limited extent to seek to mitigate foreign currency risk, our operating results could be adversely affected by unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations. We face risks from our international operations. We are subject to certain risks because of our international operations, particularly as we continue to grow our business and presence in Asia, Latin America and other parts of the world. Changes to and compliance with a variety of foreign laws and regulations may increase our cost of doing business and our inability or failure to obtain required approvals could harm our international and domestic sales. Trade legislation in either the United States or other countries, such as a change in the current tariff structures, import/export compliance laws or other trade laws or policies, could adversely affect our ability to sell or to distribute in international markets. We incur additional legal compliance costs associated with our international operations and could become subject to legal penalties in foreign countries if we do not comply with local laws and regulations which may be substantially different from those in the United States. In many foreign countries, particularly in those with developing economies, it may be common to engage in business practices that are prohibited by United States laws and regulations, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and by local laws, such as laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government officials. Although we implement policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with these laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, contractors and agents, as well as those companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, including those based in or from countries where practices which violate such laws may be customary, will not take actions in violation of our policies. Any such violation, even if prohibited by our policies, could have a material adverse effect on our business. On June 23, 2016, the U.K. held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the E.U., commonly referred to as “Brexit.” On March 29, 2017, the U.K. notified the European Council, in accordance with Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, of the U.K.’s intention to withdraw from the European Union. As a result, the British government has begun negotiating the terms of the U.K.’s future relationship with the E.U. The effects of Brexit will depend on any agreements the U.K. makes to retain access to the E.U. markets either during a transitional period or more permanently. The measures could potentially disrupt the markets we serve and may cause us to lose customers, distributors and employees. If the U.K. loses access to the single E.U. market and the global trade deals negotiated by the E.U., it could have a detrimental impact on our U.K. growth. Such a decline could also make our doing business in Europe more difficult, which could negatively affect sales to consumers of our products. Without access to the single E.U. market, it may be more challenging and costly to distribute our products in Europe. In addition, Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the U.K. determines which E.U. laws to replace and replicate. If there are changes to U.K. immigration policy as a result of Brexit, this could affect our employees and their ability to move freely between the E.U. member states for work related matters. If we are unable to protect the intellectual property relating to our software, the commercial value of our products will be adversely affected and our competitive position could be harmed. We develop proprietary software and have obtained the rights to publish and distribute software developed by third-parties. We attempt to protect our software and production techniques under patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws as well as through contractual restrictions on disclosure, copying and distribution. Nonetheless, our software is susceptible to piracy and unauthorized copying, and third-parties may potentially exploit or misappropriate our intellectual property and proprietary information, causing significant reputational damage. Unauthorized third-parties, for example, may be able to copy or to reverse engineer our software to obtain and use programming or production techniques that we regard as proprietary. Well organized piracy operations have also proliferated in recent years, resulting in the ability to download pirated copies of our software over the Internet. Although we attempt to incorporate protective measures into our software, piracy of our products could negatively affect our future profitability. In addition, "cheating" programs or other unauthorized software tools and modifications that enable consumers to cheat in games harm the experience of players who play fairly and could negatively impact the volume of microtransactions or purchases of downloadable content. Also, vulnerabilities in the design of our applications and of the platforms upon which they run could be discovered after their release. This may lead to lost revenues from paying consumers or increased cost of developing technological measures to respond to these, either of which could negatively affect our business. If we infringe on or are alleged to infringe on the intellectual property rights of third-parties, our business could be adversely affected. As our industry grows, we may be subject to an increasing amount of litigation that is common in the software industry based on allegations of infringement or other alleged violations of patent, copyright and/or trademarks. In addition, we believe that interactive entertainment software will increasingly become the subject of claims that such software infringes on the intellectual property rights of others with both the growth of online functionality and advances in technology, game content and software graphics as games become more realistic. From time to time, we receive notices from third-parties or are named in lawsuits by third-parties alleging infringement of their proprietary rights. Although we believe that our software and technologies and the software and technologies of third-party developers and publishers with whom we have contractual relations do not and will not infringe or violate proprietary rights of others, it is possible that infringement of proprietary rights of others may occur. Any claims of infringement, with or without merit, could be time consuming, costly and difficult to defend. Moreover, intellectual property litigation or claims could require us to discontinue the distribution of products, obtain a license or redesign our products, which could result in additional substantial costs and material delays. Our software is susceptible to errors, which can harm our financial results and reputation. The technological advancements of new hardware platforms result in the development of more complex software products. As software products become more complex, the risk of undetected errors in new products increases. We may need to produce and distribute patches in order to repair such errors, which could be costly and may distract our developers from working on new products. If, despite testing, errors are found in new products or releases after shipments have been made, we may have to consider suspending distribution of defective products or offering refunds, and we could experience a loss of or delay in timely market acceptance, product returns, loss of revenue, increases in costs relating to the repair of such errors and damage to our reputation. If we acquire or invest in other businesses, intellectual properties or other assets, we may be unable to integrate them with our business, our financial performance may be impaired and/or we may not realize the anticipated financial and strategic goals for such transactions. If appropriate opportunities present themselves, we may acquire or make investments in businesses, intellectual properties and other assets that we believe are strategic. We may not be able to identify, negotiate or finance any future acquisition or investment successfully. Even if we do succeed in acquiring or investing in a business, intellectual property or other asset, such acquisitions and investments involve a number of risks, including: • retaining key employees and maintaining the key business and customer relationships of the businesses we acquire; • cultural challenges associated with integrating employees from an acquired company or business into our organization; • the possibility that the combined company would not achieve the expected benefits, including any anticipated operating and product synergies, of the acquisition as quickly as anticipated or that the costs of, or operational difficulties arising from, an acquisition would be greater than anticipated; • significant acquisition-related accounting adjustments, particularly relating to an acquired company's deferred revenue, that may cause reported revenue and profits of the combined company to be lower than the sum of their stand-alone revenue and profits; • significant accounting charges resulting from the completion and integration of a sizeable acquisition and increased capital expenditures, including potential impairment charges incurred to write down the carrying amount of intangible assets generated as a result of an acquisition; • the possibility that significant acquisitions, when not managed cautiously, may result in the over-extension of our existing operating infrastructures, internal controls and information technology systems; • the possibility that we will not discover important facts during due diligence that could have a material adverse effect on the value of the businesses we acquire, including the possibility that a change of control of a company we acquire triggers a termination of contractual or intellectual property rights important to the operation of its business; • the need to integrate an acquired company's accounting, management information, human resource and other administrative systems to permit effective management and timely reporting, and the need to implement or remediate controls, procedures and policies appropriate for a public company in an acquired company that, prior to the acquisition, lacked these controls, procedures and policies; • litigation or other claims in connection with, or inheritance of claims or litigation risks as a result of, an acquisition, including claims from terminated employees, customers or other third-parties; and • to the extent that we engage in strategic transactions outside of the United States, we face additional risks, including risks related to integration of operations across different cultures and languages, currency risks and the particular economic, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries. Future acquisitions and investments could also involve the issuance of our equity and equity-linked securities (potentially diluting our existing stockholders), the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or amortization expenses, write-offs of goodwill, intangibles, or acquired in-process technology, or other increased cash and non-cash expenses such as stock-based compensation. Any of the foregoing factors could harm our financial condition or prevent us from achieving improvements in our financial condition and operating performance that could have otherwise been achieved by us on a stand-alone basis. Our stockholders may not have the opportunity to review, vote on or evaluate future acquisitions or investments. Our ability to acquire and maintain licenses to intellectual property, especially for sports titles, affects our revenue and profitability. Competition for these licenses may make them more expensive and increase our costs. Certain of our products are based on or incorporate intellectual property owned by others. For example, certain of our 2K products include rights licensed from major sports leagues and players' associations. Similarly, some of our other titles are based on licenses of popular entertainment products. Competition for these licenses is intense. If we are unable to maintain and renew these licenses or obtain additional licenses on reasonable economic terms or with significant commercial value, our revenue and profitability could decline significantly. Competition for these licenses may also increase the advances, guarantees and royalties that we must pay to the licensor, which could significantly increase our costs and adversely affect our profitability. In addition, on certain intellectual property licenses, we are subject to guaranteed minimum payments, royalties or standards of performance and may not be able to terminate these agreements prior to their stated expiration. If such licensed products do not generate revenues in excess of such minimum guarantees, our profitability will be adversely affected. We are subject to contractual covenants which place certain limitations on how we manage our business. Our Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (as amended, the "Credit Agreement") and the indentures governing our 1.00% Convertible Notes due 2018 issued in June 2013 (the "1.00% Convertible Notes") may limit our ability to take various actions, including incurring additional debt, paying dividends, repurchasing shares and acquiring or disposing of assets or businesses. In addition, we have granted a security interest in connection with certain compensatory arrangements which limits our ability to incur senior debt in excess of certain amounts. Accordingly, we may be restricted from taking actions that management believes would be desirable and in the best interests of us and our stockholders. Our Credit Agreement and the indentures also require us to satisfy specified financial and non-financial covenants. A breach of any of the covenants contained in our Credit Agreement could result in an event of default under the agreement and under the indentures governing our 1.00% Convertible Notes and would allow our lenders and noteholders to pursue various remedies, including accelerating the repayment of any outstanding indebtedness. Our business and products are subject to potential legislation. The adoption of such proposed legislation could limit the retail market for our products. Several proposals have been made for federal legislation to regulate our industry. Such proposals seek to prohibit the sale of products containing certain content included in some of our games. If any such proposals are enacted into law, it may limit the potential market for some of our games in the United States, and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Other countries, such as Germany, have adopted laws regulating content both in packaged games and those transmitted over the Internet that are stricter than current United States laws. In the United States, proposals have also been made by numerous state legislators to regulate and prohibit the sale of interactive entertainment software products containing certain types of violent or sexual content to under 17 or 18 audiences, such as the State of California's "ultraviolent video games law" that sought to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. While such legislation to date has been enjoined by industry and retail groups or been found unconstitutional, the adoption into law of such legislation in federal and/or in state jurisdictions in which we do significant business could severely limit the retail market for some of our games. Change in government regulations relating to the Internet could have a negative impact on our business. We rely on our consumers' access to significant levels of Internet bandwidth for the sale and digital delivery of our content and the functionality of our games with online features. Changes in laws or regulations that adversely affect the growth, popularity or use of the Internet, including laws affecting "net neutrality," could decrease the demand for our products and services or increase our cost of doing business. Although certain jurisdictions have implemented laws and regulations intended to prevent Internet service providers from discriminating against particular types of legal traffic on their networks, other jurisdictions may lack such laws and regulations or repeal existing laws or regulations. For example, on December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality regulations in the U.S. Given uncertainty around these rules, including changing interpretations, amendments, or repeal, coupled with the potentially significant political and economic power of local Internet service providers and the relatively significant level of Internet bandwidth access our products and services require, we could experience discriminatory or anti-competitive practices that could impede our growth, cause us to incur additional expenses, or otherwise negatively affect our business. We may be required to record a significant charge to earnings if our goodwill becomes impaired. We are required under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles to review our goodwill for impairment at least annually or more frequently when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors that may be considered a change in circumstances, indicating a requirement to reevaluate whether our goodwill continues to be recoverable, include a significant decline in stock price and market capitalization, slower growth rates in our industry or other materially adverse events. We may be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill is determined. This may adversely affect our operating results. Our reported financial results could be adversely affected by the application of existing or future accounting standards to our business as it evolves. Our reported financial results are affected by the accounting policies promulgated by the SEC and national accounting standards bodies and the methods, estimates, and judgments that we use in applying our accounting policies. For example, standards regarding revenue recognition have and could further significantly affect the way we account for revenue related to our products and services. We expect that an increasing number of our games will be supported with material post-release activities, such as content updates and online-enabled features, and we could therefore be required to recognize more of the related revenues for those games over a period of time rather than at the time of sale. Further, as we increase our downloadable content and add new features to our online services, user playing patterns can affect our estimate of the service period may change and we could be required to recognize revenues, and defer related costs, over a shorter or longer period of time than we initially allocated. As we enhance, expand and diversify our business and product offerings, the application of existing or future financial accounting standards, particularly those relating to the way we account for revenue, could have a significant adverse effect on our reported results although not necessarily on our cash flows. Risks relating to our common stock For purposes of this section "Risks relating to our common stock," references to "the Company," "we," "our," and "us" refer only to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and not to its subsidiaries. Additional issuances or sales of equity securities by us would dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders and could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. We may issue equity or equity-based securities (such as our 1.00% Convertible Notes) in the future in connection with acquisitions or strategic transactions, to adjust our ratio of debt to equity, including through repayment of outstanding debt, to fund expansion of our operations or for other purposes. To the extent we issue additional equity securities, including upon conversion of our outstanding 1.00% Convertible Notes, the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders would be reduced. The sale of substantial amounts of our common stock could adversely affect its price. The sale or the availability for sale of a large number of shares of our common stock in the public market could cause the price of our common stock to decline. The issuance of shares of our common stock upon conversion of our 1.00% Convertible Notes could also adversely affect the price of our common stock. There is no guarantee that we will do additional share repurchases in the future. The share repurchase program authorized by the Board of Directors, which authorized the repurchase of up to 14.2 million shares of our common stock and had 5.9 million shares available for repurchase as of the date of this filing, does not obligate the Company to make any purchases at any specific time or situation. Discontinuing repurchases could adversely affect the price of the Company's common stock. The program may be suspended or discontinued at any time for any reason. Our stock price has been volatile and may continue to fluctuate significantly. The market price of our common stock historically has been, and we expect will continue to be, subject to significant fluctuations. These fluctuations may be due to factors specific to us including those discussed in the risk factors in this section as well as others not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe are material, to changes in securities analysts' earnings estimates or ratings, to our results or future financial guidance falling below our expectations and analysts' and investors' expectations, to factors affecting the computer, software, entertainment, media or electronics industries, or to national or international economic conditions. Stock markets, in general, have experienced over the years, and continue to experience significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected market prices for companies such as ours and that may be unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the affected companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the price of our stock, regardless of our operating performance. Delaware law, our charter documents and provisions of our debt agreements may impede or discourage a takeover, which could cause the market price of our shares to decline. We are a Delaware corporation, and the anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law impose various impediments to the ability of a third-party to acquire control of us, even if a change in control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. Our Board of Directors has the power, without stockholder approval, to adopt a stockholder rights plan and/or to designate the terms of one or more series of preferred stock and issue shares of preferred stock. The ability of our Board of Directors to create and issue a new series of preferred stock and certain provisions of Delaware law, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could impede a merger, takeover or other business combination involving us or discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer for our common stock, which, under certain circumstances, could reduce the market price of our common stock and the value of any outstanding notes. Our ability to use net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards to reduce future years' taxes could be substantially limited under Internal Revenue Code Sections 382 and 383 if we experience an ownership change as defined in the Internal Revenue Code Section 382. Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code contains rules that limit the ability of a company to use its net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards in years after an ownership change, which is generally defined as any change in ownership of more than 50% of its stock over a three-year testing period. These rules generally operate by focusing on ownership changes among stockholders owning directly or indirectly 5% or more of the stock of a company and/or any change in ownership arising from a new issuance of stock by the company. If, as a result of future transactions involving our common stock, including purchases or sales of stock by 5% stockholders, we undergo cumulative ownership changes which exceed 50% over the testing period, our ability to use our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards would be subject to additional limitations under Sections 382 and 383. Generally, if an ownership change occurs, the annual taxable income limitation on the use of net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards is equal to the product of the applicable long-term tax exempt rate and the value of the company's stock immediately before the ownership change. Depending on the resulting limitation, a portion of our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards could expire before we would be able to use them. Our inability to fully utilize any net operating losses or tax credit carryforwards to reduce tax liability in the future could have a material and negative affect on our future financial position and results of operations. Item 1B.