GTA IV Pushed to 2008

[Variation-XBA]

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Provides Financial Update
Launch of Grand Theft Auto IV Now Planned for Fiscal 2008

Conference Call Set for 5:30 pm ET Today

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) today announced revised revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2007.
Take-Two is reducing its fiscal 2007 guidance primarily to reflect the movement of the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008, due to additional development time required to complete the title. The title is now planned for release in the Company's second quarter of fiscal 2008. Additionally, Take-Two is updating third quarter and fiscal year 2007 guidance to reflect the movement of Manhunt 2 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and the Wii™ out of the third quarter and the fiscal year.

Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two, commented, "Obviously, we are very disappointed to reduce guidance after having previously reaffirmed it. Other than a matter of timing, the movement of Grand Theft Auto IV does not compromise Take-Two in any way. We are in sound financial condition and have a great product line up. Grand Theft Auto IV is going to be the defining next generation video game action adventure."

Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two, stated, "With Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar is setting a new standard for next generation video games. Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms. We all recognize that perfecting the game is vital and I can assure everyone it will be worth the wait. We owe it to the game's millions of fans, to our dedicated development team, and to our shareholders to make sure that Grand Theft Auto IV is a groundbreaking gaming experience that takes maximum advantage of next generation technology."

Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games, added, "The new consoles are allowing us to create the Grand Theft Auto game we always dreamed about. Every aspect of the game and its design has been completely transformed. The game is huge and is pushing the hardware platforms to their absolute limits. The top engineers from Sony and Microsoft are working closely with the team in Edinburgh right now, helping us to fully leverage the power of both platforms. As always, our goal is to surpass even the wildest expectations of the game's fans, and to create the ultimate high definition video game experience."

Product Pipeline

Following is Take-Two's updated release schedule for the remainder of fiscal 2007:

Title Platform Expected Release (Fiscal Period)
------------------ ------------------ --------------------------------

BioShock Xbox 360, PC Fourth quarter 2007
Carnival Games Wii Fourth quarter 2007
Table Tennis Wii Fourth quarter 2007
Elder Scrolls IV:
Oblivion (GOTY Xbox 360, PC Fourth quarter 2007
edition)
NBA 2K8 Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 Fourth quarter 2007
NHL 2K8 Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 Fourth quarter 2007

Take-Two's product line up announced to date for fiscal 2008 includes the following titles:

Title Platform
----------------------------------------------- ----------------------

Beaterator PSP
Bully: Scholarship Edition Xbox 360, Wii
College Hoops 2K8 Xbox 360, PS3, PS2
Grand Theft Auto IV Xbox 360, PS3
Grand Theft Auto IV - Episodic Content Xbox 360
L.A. Noire PS3
Midnight Club: Los Angeles Xbox 360, PS3
Major League Baseball 2K8 Multiple Platforms
NBA 2K9 Multiple Platforms
NHL 2K9 Multiple Platforms
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution Xbox 360, PS2, DS, Wii
Top Spin 3 Xbox 360, PS3
--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://ir.take2games.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=258238

Personally, I'm glad they arn't shoving it out the door and having it look like ass like most Rockstar titles. Kinda glad, now I can get something else this holiday instead :D

[RockTheCasba]

i saw this one coming

[HaZarD SFD]

I dont mind the pushback. We already know its going to be a kickass game. Now it will just be better because they are working harder on it and making it perfect! :cuss:

[mattgame]

Saves me money actually. I was trying to figure out where all this money was coming from to buy all of these great games coming out.

[Variation-XBA]

Saves me money actually. I was trying to figure out where all this money was coming from to buy all of these great games coming out.

Amen brother. that's 2 more games I can get now (collector edition pricing)

[Spinoff90]

Yeah there is so much coming out that this doesn't really bother me. Also not a huge GTA fan though but still plan to get it when it does come out.

[Variation-XBA]

This made me chuckle:

Pachter: You Can Blame the PS3 for the GTA IV Delay

Take-Two wasn't prepared to give the "real" reason for the delay to GTA IV yesterday, but Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter is convinced the title was pushed back due to contractual obligations to Sony. He also thinks the new management really screwed up on this one...

The news hit the gaming world like a ton of bricks late yesterday when Take-Two suddenly announced that the much anticipated GTA IV would be pushed back into 2008. While executives in a conference call said the delay was "almost strictly because of technological challenges," Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter has another theory.

"We can only surmise what happened. We think it is likely that the Rockstar team had difficulty in building an exceptionally complicated game for the PS3, and failed to recognize how far away from completion the game truly was until recently," he said. "We think it is also likely that Take-Two had a contractual commitment to Sony that it would not favor competitor Microsoft by launching the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV prior to launching the PS3 version, and believe that any delay of the PS3 version necessitated a delay of the Xbox 360 version. In our view, this is the only plausible explanation of what happened, but management was reticent to provide any details during the conference call."

Pachter also views the delay as a major misstep for Take-Two's new management. "Take-Two management stumbled badly for the first time during their tenure. While the delay of GTA IV was clearly not the fault of new management, we believe that it should have been better understood several months ago, and should have been communicated to investors much earlier than today. The game was scheduled for release in 10 weeks, and management reiterated its belief that the game would ship on time only three weeks ago at E3," he explained.

His criticism continued: "We think that new management is doing many things right, but believe that some structural obstacles remain. The company has begun an initiative to improve the green light process for new projects, but given the delays of Manhunt and GTA, its process for monitoring projects under development appears to be a failure. Until we see evidence of better controls over work in process and greater diligence in project selection, we are not confident that the company will gain market share in future years. Our current estimate reflects 15% publishing revenue growth in FY:08 over and above the expected contribution from GTA, suggesting that the company will maintain market share. We believe that it can only achieve this level with better game selection decisions and better control over the game development process.

"In our view, it is far from certain that GTA (or any other major franchise) will arrive on schedule, nor is it certain that any other franchise will be regularly repeated. We have not seen an installment of the Max Payne or Red Dead Revolver franchises in four years, and next year's Midnight Club will arrive three years after the prior installment. We think that investors have (until today) given new management way too much credit for being able to manage this business effectively, and think that investors should require management to demonstrate its ability first."

Todd Greenwald of Nollenberger Capital Partners was equally critical: "For investors who have endured a seemingly endless string of disappointments ('Hot Coffee' scandal, SEC investigations, District Attorney subpoenas, class-action lawsuits, earnings warnings, management/board turmoil, Manhunt delay, to name a few), the release of GTA IV this holiday was their one last glimmer of hope... We believe the lack of GTA IV this holiday is a clear positive for TTWO's competitors, namely EA and ATVI. We estimate that roughly $400 to $500 million in consumers wallets will be freed up to spend on other hard-core games, which could boost sales of titles like Call of Duty 4, Medal of Honor, Crysis, Need For Speed (as well as Halo, Assassins' Creed, Haze, Stranglehold, etc). It will also allow retailers more shelf space to heavily promote these titles."

He added, "While we recognize that this [GTA] delay is mainly a timing issue, and don't think the franchise will be weakened, it is yet another disappointment will lead to will 2 to 3 more quarters of weak results, in our opinion."

[Shawn-XBA]

Yeah, I agree I was also having a hard time picking out what games to buy this holiday season so this helps out a little. I'm also glad to here that they are putting more time into the game.

[Ainokeatoo]

Lmfao I encountered two very pissed of rsv players yesterday just because they pushed that back xD through their frustrations I owned them in sharpshooter a whole ten matches xD

[Whisper]

Good, saves me 70 bucks in October after I have to spend 70 in September for Halo.

Not so good, being that I ****ing wanted the game :( and so did all my friends.. they were going to FINALLY buy an xbox when this game launched.

[Ainokeatoo]

Good, saves me 70 bucks in October after I have to spend 70 in September for Halo.

Not so good, being that I ****ing wanted the game :( and so did all my friends.. they were going to FINALLY buy an xbox when this game launched.

lmfao that sucks xD why not have them buy it now, then they can save their money for when the game does come out xD *predicts gta will have a halo 2ish kinda pushback xD*

[Whisper]

Because all stores around here offer good deals if you buy 2 games with the system. Had 2 people convinced and 1 possible to buy the system, Halo 3, and GTA4 in October.

[Variation-XBA]

There is a hell of a lot more than GTA and Halo this holiday though.