January 25^th, 2005 (1:01am) - GameSpot.com is reporting that Sega has sold developer Visual Concepts to Take-Two Interactive for a price of $24 million.

While the price may sound low when compared to the deal revealed earlier today in which Take-Two Interactive entered into an exclusive agreement with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association (MLBPA), we must take into consideration that Visual Concepts’ main money maker, its NFL franchise, has been metaphorically "killed" by Electronic Arts (EA) and the agreement they inked with the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association in December, as well as EA’s agreement with ESPN to publish games under the ESPN brand for the next 15 years. As a result Visual Concepts is no longer worth much to Sega.

The exact terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, although what we do know is that Take-Two Interactive will become the sole owner of Visual Concepts and its subsidiaries, including Kush Games.

"The ESPN Videogames line has not been a key profit driver in the North American market for Sega," Naoya Tsurumi, CEO of Sega of America, said in a statement. "While Sega recognizes the strength and depth of the ESPN Videogames franchise, we must remain committed to growing content that will help boost revenues across all western territories."

Fortunately, this agreement does have some benefits for the once great videogame company. This agreement will allow Sega to distribute "select Take-Two published software titles in the Asian region including Japan," as well as bring sports titles developed by Visual Concepts "to amusement machines produced and distributed by Sega Amusements" in Asia.