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A few months back Take-Two Interactive’s board was removed after a shareholder revolt, and since then it’s been unclear exactly what the comapany’s new directors have in store. We’ll know more come Take-Two’s earnings report from the second fiscal quarter due in around a week, but analysts have already begun estimating what is ahead.
Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter sent out a note last week stating that he believes Take-Two Interactive “is likely to announce studio closures, lease terminations, and game cancellations during the conference call“.
In addition, Pachter and his associates do not expect games such as The BIGS, All-Pro Football, Fantastic Four and the Darkness to be all that profitable.
There was more to come though, this time concerning GTA IV, a title expected to be one the biggest games of the year.
“We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ‘throw in the towel’ on [its 2007 financial year] 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.“, said Pachter.
GTA IV is currently scheduled for release on October 16 in the US and October 19 across Europe, although a delay into Take-Two’s financial year 2008 would see the game launching soon after October 31, 2007.
Pachter also notes that moving GTA IV into early November would put more space between the September 25 release of Halo 3 and GTA IV, aiding sales of both titles. Alternatively, Pachter says that Take Two could delay the release of the standard edition, only releasing the more profitable Collector’s Edition on the planned October date.
None of this has been confirmed by Take-Two and is merely speculation on the part of Wedbush Morgan. While putting more time between itself and Halo 3 sounds like a good idea, the release schedule is always crowded towards the year end so a November release is also likely to find competition.
We hope to know more when Take-Two announces its financials.
About the Author
Grand Theft Auto IV
- Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- Genre(s): Action, Adventure
