Halo 3 might cause GTA IV delay
For real? Perhaps. Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities believes that Take-Two Interactive might consider pushing back the release date of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Don’t worry GTA fans, it’s not like you won’t get your hands on GTA IV this year.
Pachter thinks Master Chief has something to do with this delay, but it’s not because of some dubious derrière display. If you’ve lived like veal for the past year, here’s the lowdown: Halo 3 is coming out on September 25. GTA IV, on the other hand, will hit store shelves on October 16—exactly three weeks after Halo 3’s launch.
Releasing two huge products in close intervals is a business no-no because it would affect the sales of both. Notice how film companies try to get out of Sony’s way when they release a Spider-Man movie? Same thing here. Putting distance between Halo 3 and GTA IV is actually good for the sales of both games, so this decision by Take-Two is likely.
So how long will Halo 3 make GTA fans wait?
Pachter predicts a two-week delay. Peanuts. This decision would affect Take-Two’s fiscal earnings for ‘07, but their prospects for the ’08 FY are looking good. Let’s just hope they don’t pull off another Hot Coffee this time.
If they wanted to delay it, so that Halo 3 and GTA don’t overlap, then they might as well have delayed it by more than two weeks. Perhaps they are trying to take a leaf out of Hollywood this northern summer, where a number of the blockbusters (Spiderman 3, Pirates of Caribbean 3, Shrek the Third) are being released, but with at least a week’s break between them.
Hmm. You brought up a good point, but I think you misunderstood. :) I initially said they’re three weeks apart. I think Take-Two meant adding a space of two more weeks, making a grand total of five weeks.
Your point made me think though: would five weeks be enough to avoid cannibalizing of sales? I can’t say.