Take-Two blames GTA-less quarter for slipping sales

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Sep 10, 2007 4:26 pm PT

Publisher's revenues sink, but loss narrows alongside announcement of casual and family-friendly 2K Play label, Nickelodeon publishing deal.

Take-Two Interactive's financial fortunes have run hot and cold since the announcement of a delay for Grand Theft Auto IV. Disappointment at the publisher's biggest game being pushed back into next year was offset partially by news that Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 had been cleared for a North American release next month and an avalanche of glowing reviews for 2K Boston's BioShock.

Today the publisher announced its financial results for its fiscal third quarter, which ended just days before the GTAIV delay started the stock's roller coaster ride. For the three months ended July 31, Take-Two posted revenues of $206 million, down from $241 million from the same period of 2006. However, the company's losses narrowed nearly as much, with Take-Two losing nearly $59 million for the quarter, a significantly better showing than the $91 million it lost in last year's third quarter.

As for why sales were down, Take-Two blamed it on tough comparisons against the previous third quarter, when Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories launched on the PlayStation 2. Partially offsetting that were a line of new releases including The Darkness, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, The BIGS, and All-Pro Football 2K8. Combined new releases brought in $44.5 million more than the new releases take for last year's third quarter (minus Liberty City Stories), which consisted of Prey, The Da Vinci Code, and Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis.

The company also gave its preliminary expectations for its 2008 fiscal year, which runs from November 1, 2007 to October 31, 2008. Take-Two expects to pull in between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion for fiscal 2008, compared to the $950 million to $1 billion it projects to tally by the end of its current financial year.

It wasn't all numbers for Take-Two today, as the company also announced a new deal with Nickelodeon and the formation of a family-friendly and casual-gamer-focused publishing label. 2K Play will launch this fall with a pair of games based on the Nick Jr. shows Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go!. The new label will also play host to future installments in the company's Carnival Games and Deal or No Deal brands.

Take-Two did not specify the full range of properties for which it can make games, but it appears to be limited to those targeting children under the age of 6. Rival publisher THQ has had an "exclusive worldwide partnership [with Nickelodeon]...to publish games based on all existing and future animated TV and movie properties targeting kids ages 6-14 across all viable game systems" for years.

In a postearnings report conference call with analysts, Take-Two executives also talked about BioShock, L.A. Noire, and Beaterator. The publisher touted 2K Boston's latest shipping figures and declared its intention to turn it into a strong franchise with new installments created as frequently as every other year. At the same time, it announced that Rockstar's seedy crime actioner and Timbaland-fronted rhythm game have been delayed to Take-Two's 2009 fiscal year (which runs from November 1, 2008, to October 31, 2009).

On the 2K Sports front, the publisher said the label will turn a profit for the first time in fiscal 2009, and addressed the future of its All-Pro Football franchise. Despite sluggish sales, Take-Two intends to ship it again next year, "although we are looking at it carefully." Specifically, the company is looking at different price points and release dates as potential ways to make it more successful than this year's installment.

49 Comments

  • londonrider

    Posted Jan 11, 2008 7:05 am PT

    Maybe "Dora the Explorer of Rapture" would do then?

  • valdarez

    Posted Oct 3, 2007 1:06 am PT

    For 2k Football, they don't need to look at sales and pricepoints, they need to look at better marketing.

  • RE4_Tipsters

    Posted Sep 21, 2007 7:00 pm PT

    I don't think parents will trust the guys who made GTA San Andreas to make Dora the Explorer.

  • therejectx

    Posted Sep 16, 2007 4:21 pm PT

    well its good thing that there will be a label out there that will cater to all those 6 year old gamers that have been waiting to get their hands on games like dora the explorer.

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Sep 16, 2007 2:39 pm PT

    I want GTA IV!

  • jacob-goodlich

    Posted Sep 15, 2007 11:10 pm PT

    la noir delayed till 2009............thats ok i will just wait around for a couple of years....(sobs)

  • gtafighter0

    Posted Sep 15, 2007 9:07 pm PT

    im so gonna snag me a copy of Dora the Explorer lol

  • coolcat888

    Posted Sep 11, 2007 6:22 pm PT

    Maybe the loss is because they keep publising crappy games like Fantastic 4.

  • ElHypno

    Posted Sep 11, 2007 11:04 am PT

    Oh no..... not Dora the Explora ManHunt edition. When does Kill Diego Kill come out? Please dont tell me there is a Dora Hot Coffee mod....

  • Homerj

    Posted Sep 11, 2007 9:39 am PT

    Boo-hoo for T2. Hard to feel sorry for a company that made a conscious decision to delay just beacause they cant get GTAIV to run on the PS3. Doesnt make any business sense to delay for PS3...over half of all PS3 owners in North America would have to buy a copy just to make that version a million seller. GTA might be popular, but since the software sell-through for PS3 is somewhere around 1.2 games per console, I really doubt they get numbers that high.

  • Hvac0120

    Posted Sep 11, 2007 8:40 am PT

    I am actually excited to see the Nickelodeon deal. My daughter sleeps with her Diego doll every night while she's wrapped in her Dora pajamas. We are sure to have a good time with those games. We already play some of the nickjr.com games.

  • ebookerd1

    Posted Sep 11, 2007 8:00 am PT

    it is hard for me to believe that they had such a large financial loss this year with the games that came out I think All pro is at a total dissadvantage due to the the madden Lock down. I personally think that is illegal and garbage to remove competition that way. The need a die hard title that will possibly supply multiplayer. I am iffy on the only MP games unless they are MMO's. But multiplayer games sell like hot cakes on the market.

  • Reetesh

    Posted Sep 11, 2007 4:48 am PT

    Going MP for a largely selling game, is the way to earn more money if in troubles, obviously they know that because of what they did with LCS and VCS, but if they so some nice quality porting it should turn out good for them

  • hilltops

    Posted Sep 10, 2007 11:46 pm PT

    Here, Here..Get the games on the shelves you wouldnt have facts and figures if you didn't make games, focus on projected games and how they are doing as oppose to projected sales etc. In my opinion anywayz...
    ps GTA4 Killed it for them though, It will be good though, of course they will do new stuff with it..they have more time now..
    "Get it right or right now..they chose to get it right..| hope."

  • vass86

    Posted Sep 10, 2007 11:44 pm PT

    "Oh, so they are expecting Dora the Explorer to make up for these sales??"

    LOL

  • boobush

    Posted Sep 10, 2007 8:59 pm PT

    Even so that I agree, it's stupid blaming something that happened because of them.

  • Chiyou

    Posted Sep 10, 2007 8:58 pm PT

    GTA V will do well but eventually people will get sick of GTA unless they put some revolutionary new things into the game. Bioshock should bring their numbers up! thats probably their best title to date!

  • BraindeadRacr

    Posted Sep 10, 2007 7:54 pm PT

    That's what you get when your goldmine gets pushed into 2008.

The Bigs Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum | Check Prices

Check Prices: $12.75 – 33.99

GameStop $19.99 SHOP ›
Amazon.com $33.99 SHOP ›
eBay $29.89 SHOP ›
advertisement
The Bigs Boxshot Enlarge the boxshot
The Bigs

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    4,887 of 77,247
    (up by 427)
    WII Rank:
    503 of 2,030
    Tracking:
    404 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    163 Wish It»
  • Player Reviews:
    62
    Player Ratings:
    639
    Users Now Playing:
    94
  • Game Universe:
  • Number of Players:

    1-4, 4 Online | Offline Modes: Competitive, Cooperative, Team Oriented

  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. the bigs
    2. baseball
    3. wii
    4. 2k sports
    5. bigs
  • Everyone Rating Description

    Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement