Halo 3 May Push Back Grand Theft Auto IV Release Date
Remember, this is not coming from the mouths of Take-Two themselves, however, the analyst looking at the situation brings about some good points. While analyzing Take-Two as a whole, he specifically mentions the biggest (hyped) title coming this year (at the least on the 360):
“We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ‘throw in the towel’ on (Fiscal Year):07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company’s prospects for FY:08,” Pachter explained. “We believe that a two-week delay would provide a reasonable gap between the launch of Halo 3 and the launch of GTA IV, and would actually help sales of both games. In addition, a delay of the ‘normal’ SKU for GTA IV by two or three weeks could allow Take-Two to maximize revenues from the $89.99 Collector’s Edition of the game by shipping that SKU on October 17, and to increase overall profitability.”
It would be in the best interest of any game that uses a gun as a main weapon to just take a couple of months off while Halo makes waves. However, I will not deny the power of the GTA franchise either, it doesn’t necessarily have the same exact market as Halo, both rated “M” games, but playing a quick game of Halo 2 or the Halo 3 beta shows that it isn’t just adults playing… .. I really could just go back in forth on this topic all by myself as far as pros/cons for Take-Two, but from an analysts perspective only, I have to agree that it would be in their best interest to hold back. I am not sure if Take-Two will have a response for this, I wouldn’t lose any sleep on it waiting for one either.
[source | found via 1pstart.com]
