Peter Moore once described this year’s holiday lineup as the “perfect storm” of gaming, but now one of the industry’s most anticipated titles, Grand Theft Auto IV has severely dissipated said storm with a delay until Q2 2008.
Many felt that a GTA release this year was a sure-fire thing. So much of the gaming industry depends on the release date of GTA IV, now with an expected release date occurring after Take-Two’s second quarter of 2008’s fiscal year, the game will not be out anytime before February 1, 2008.
Developing on two platforms at the same time, as opposed to one seems to be the hiccup in GTA IV’s development process. Speaking with GameSpot, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick stated:
Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms.
It’s a hit to my personal gaming plans this holiday season, but it’s one worth taking. The development of this installment in the GTA series is the pivotal first step into the current generation of gaming, and will impact publisher Take-Two by a significant amount once this year’s annual earnings are collected.
Already suffering from getting roadblocked with Manhunt 2’s development, Take-Two is now set to take an estimated additional USD $200 million loss in earnings due to the game’s delay.
