Take Two boss shrugs off GTA V delay

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Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is confident that GTA V’s September release won’t be overshadowed by the expected arrival of next-gen consoles a few months later, adding that September is an open field for the game’s release.Speaking in a conference call following the release of Take Two’s latest financials results, Zelnick explained that the longer than expected wait for GTA V was to ensure the title lives up to the hype.“Grand Theft Auto stands alone – it’s a unique property and I think we’re all extraordinarily excited about this title and we think it’s just going to blow people away, at a level I don’t think anyone properly anticipates yet,” he said. “And the reason the title is is coming out in September is because that’s the time required to make sure it’s everything everyone expects, and then some. As it happens, I think September’s a great window, it’s a very open field that early in the fall.”He also remained confident that the company won’t miss out by releasing its biggest forthcoming title just as next-gen consoles are expected to arrive. “There’s not one gamer who’s going sit it out on Grand Theft Auto 5 and wait for something better,” he added. “Grand Theft Auto 5 is going to blow everyone away and it will be in the market in September. In terms of strategy around current-gen and next-gen, we have to wait for the announcements. We’re planning as well as we can, and we think we’re very well positioned.”Take Two hailed the performance of NBA 2K13, Borderlands 2 (http://www.edge-online.com/review/borderlands-2-review/), XCOM: Enemy Unknown (http://www.edge-online.com/review/xcom-enemy-unknown-review/) and back-catalogue sales of Grand Theft Auto IV (http://www.edge-online.com/review/grand-theft-auto-iv-review/) and Red Dead Redemption (http://www.edge-online.com/review/review-red-dead-redemption/) in its latest financial report for the three months up to the end of December 2012. Borderlands 2, in particular, helped the company post a huge boost in digital revenues, up 244% year-over-year. GAAP net revenue was $415.8 million, up from $236.3 million for the same period the previous year. Non-GAAP net revenue was $405.0 million, as compared to $236.3 million a year ago.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/take-two-boss-shrugs-off-gta-v-delay/