As part of its fiscal 2009 financial results, Take 2 Interactive has mentioned an unannounced triple-A title that it’s delaying and seemingly pushing into the company’s 2011 fiscal year (between November 1st 2010 and October 31st 2011).
The financial report explains why Take 2 is forecasting a loss for its 2010 fiscal year (ending October 31st 2010) and then drops in this juicy nugget: “The company’s expected fiscal 2010 results primarily reflect the movement of one triple-A title out of the fiscal year.”
In addition to the movement of this mystery triple-A title out of the 2010 fiscal year, Take 2 is also forecasting a net loss for the year, which is a clear indication that 2010 will not be a GTA year for Take 2 Interactive and Rockstar.
Take 2′s financial past shows that the publisher has struggled to post a profit in years where it hasn’t had a triple-A GTA release. With the company stating that this year’s forecasted losses “primarily reflect the movement of one triple-A title out of the fiscal year”, this could mean that the triple-A title in question is a GTA release.
“We’re certainly not saying that we can’t be profitable in a non-GTA release year,” said Take 2′s Chairman, Strauss Zelnick in a post-earnings conference call when asked whether investors should assume that the publisher won’t turn a profit in a non-GTA year.
“We remain committed to that goal and naturally we’re disappointed that we’re not projecting to achieve that goal in 2010,” Zelnick continued. “Frankly we believe that goal is achievable, we know the steps we need to take to achieve it and we are – although this may not be the moment to say it – quite proud of the progress we’ve added in that direction.”
Zelnick was also quick to dismiss the idea that GTA could be made into an annually released series (like Activision’s Call of Duty games). “We don’t feel that GTA ought to be an annualised franchise.” Zelnick stated. “I have a strong point of view about annualisation which we’ve talked about before.”
“Of course there’s a balance between how long it takes to develop such an incredible title and meet consumer expectations,” he continued, “and how long you need to make sure that an appetite has been both satisfied and whetted for the next franchise. That’s something I think the company has historically done rather well and I think the high profitability and resiliency of the franchise reflects that. So I wouldn’t see that changing.”
Getting back to the mystery triple-A title that Take 2 mentioned, Zelnick wasn’t revealing any details. “We have not previously announced the title so we can’t give you more colour on it,” he said. It sounds suspiciously like GTA V to us. As always, we welcome your thoughts in the comments…