Pachter: GTAV Must Be Take-Two's Top Priority
See Full ImageTake-Two Interactive had a good year despite the lack of a new Grand Theft Auto. But of course, GTA remains the publisher's bread and butter.
And provided the company keeps its priorities straight, GTAV could become the biggest video game in history. So says analyst Michael Pachter, who first spoke about the estimated release window for the new GTA installment, which he pegs at "no later than early 2012."
The reason for that is because the three key players in the game's development (Les Benzies, Sam and Dan Houser) see their contracts expire in January 2012. And unsurprisingly, Pachter and Co. believe it would be very beneficial for the trio to deliver the new GTA before their contract comes up for renegotiation... As for a status update:
""We are highly confident that a next version is well into its development, especially given that the prior version was ready on the Xbox 360 in August 2007, and its release was delayed until April 2008 only because of technical problems with the PS3 version (and a contractual obligation not to release on one platform before the other). We estimate that over 200 people work full-time on the game, and estimate that fewer than 30 were required to continue working on the prior version past August 2007. To their credit, Mr. Benzies and both Mr. Housers have a reputation for being workaholics, and for expecting the same from their employees. We find it unfathomable that work on the next Grand Theft Auto began any later than September 2007, so the game will have been under development for four years by the middle of Take-Two’s FY:12. We understand that the team is using the same game engine (the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine, or RAGE), and although we expect the next game to be the biggest and deepest ever, we don’t think it is likely that the team will take more than four years to deliver it."
But there is one small caveat: as the publisher attempts to branch out and focus on other potentially big projects, Pachter says those new titles "distract the key members of the Grand Theft AutoM team." And though they expect both L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3 to be big, they don't expect either to sell more than 5 million units, while the next GTA might be capable of 20 million+.
The number of people who own consoles in early 2012 will be very high, and GTAV will be available to many, many millions around the world. But we're certainly interested in those other projects, too...
Tags: gtav, grand theft auto v, pachter, rockstar, take two
12/20/2010 8:55:46 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (39 posts)
Inception
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 10:25:45 PM
0 up, 5 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 10:46:34 PM
6 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 11:03:52 PM
2 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 1:25:17 AM
1 up, 0 down
Killa Tequilla
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 9:50:57 PM
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This is good news for me.
1 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 9:54:45 PM
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All I care about is Agent at this point. eeeh...and I guess I care a little about L.A. Noir.
1 up, 4 down
Inception
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 10:26:39 PM
1 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 10:42:18 PM
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 11:02:46 PM
1 up, 0 down
Killa Tequilla
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 12:13:46 AM
0 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 12:20:58 AM
2 up, 1 down
Alienange
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 10:20:45 PM
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3 up, 0 down
556pineapple
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 10:26:56 PM
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I pretty much know what to expect from GTA V, and as good as it will be, I'd like to see something new more. I guess what I'm saying is I'm looking forward to L.A. Noir and Agent more because I don't know what to expect.
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 10:44:24 PM
Reply
2 up, 1 down
Qubex
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 11:08:13 PM
Why can't games be a little cheaper, they would sell many more of them...
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
0 up, 0 down
StangMan80
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 11:39:04 PM
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1 up, 0 down
StangMan80
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 11:44:14 PM
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1 up, 0 down
Kevin555
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 12:28:18 AM
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Any small drops & drips of info be it official or unofficial regarding GTAV, i am all ears.
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___________
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 12:59:54 AM
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they have Agent, LA Noire and max payne 3 for next year i think thats more than enough to keep them afloat!
GTAV for 2012, maybe 2013 but all i can say is if its anything like GTAIV please R*, PLEASE dont release it!
GTAIV was already enough of a heartbreak, i dont think i can take another.
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Scarecrow
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 1:08:53 AM
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Take Two should do whatever they want to do. Who's this guy to tell them what their priority should be?
God I can't stand people like this guy who view it all entirely from a business perspective. Out of touch.
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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 1:16:03 AM
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That being said, R* has nine different development studios. Two of which are basically QA. Still, it seems ridiculous to say that their games can be affecting each other with that number of developers. What's their officially announced line-up?
L.A. Noire, developed by Team Bondi, a third party studio.
Max Payne 3, which is being done by the Vancouver studio.
Agent, the developer of which is R* North.
We can guess that they have another portable game in the works, which is probably developed by Leeds. Potentially a new Midnight Club, and Red Dead, both of which have been developed by San Diego. I think that the MC franchise will be handed off to the London studio. Which leaves two studios. New England, which I have no idea about. And Toronto.
Now, R* North has typically handled GTA, but considering that they are reportedly working on Agent, it makes sense that the next GTA has been handed over to Toronto. Why would I say this? It was that studio that handled the PS3 port of the Episodes, so they have some background.
Perhaps Agent didn't start development until shortly before its announcement? This could mean that North worked on it for over a year before giving it to Toronto, and so it could be a good way along in development by now. I would be very surprised if the nect GTA doesn't come out before mid-2012. It just isn't likely.
But of course, this is all conjecture based on history and guesswork, so I could be, and probably am, way off the mark.
Peace.
0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 1:31:03 AM
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0 up, 0 down
MadPowerBomber
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 3:16:32 AM
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I could'a swore I read something from him along those lines.
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Kiryu
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 7:16:07 AM
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2 up, 0 down
PorkChopGamer
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 7:42:20 AM
1 up, 0 down
Scarecrow
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 8:41:12 AM
If people were captivated by Shenmue, and love Asian/Japanese flicks this is a great game to get.
Heck the storyline alone brings the game together very well, solid series.
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Amazingskillz
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 9:14:19 AM
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sha4dowknight05
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 10:43:12 AM
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RebelJD
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 12:23:58 PM
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1 up, 0 down
Snaaaake
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 1:19:20 PM
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And no, with the way Activision advertise CoD, no way GTA can surpass CoD now.
The "There's a soldier in us" commercial was well done.
Not to mention CoD comes every year and will be twice a year eventually.
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StangMan80
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 3:45:45 PM
1 up, 0 down
JLB1
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 4:29:52 PM
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0 up, 0 down
GuyverLT
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 6:37:59 PM
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Last edited by GuyverLT on 12/21/2010 6:40:21 PM
1 up, 0 down
SilentMassacre
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 @ 8:10:54 PM
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We need a deep story and hopefully more interactivity with the environment. Better online features with maps specifically made for the online portion of the game. Not sure where else it can improve... Definitely can't wait to see what they have in store for us
0 up, 1 down
BTNwarrior
Reply
Monday, December 20, 2010 @ 9:50:39 PM