Grand Theft Auto IV Predicted To Sell Nine Million Copies

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Grand Theft Auto IV Predicted To Sell Nine Million Copies


Grand Theft Auto IV [http://www.wedbush.com] to sell over nine million units during the course of the fiscal year, but also criticized the publisher for failing to properly leverage its top franchises.

Pachter further predicted Take-Two to ship six million units of Grand Theft Auto IV in the first week of the game's release, and said the greatly anticipated title will provide $450 million of the company's expected $1.073 billion publishing revenue. But that success, he said, would not be enough to compensate for an otherwise flat game catalog for 2008 and 2009, caused largely by Take-Two's failure to provide timely sequels to its top franchises.

"As we look at Take-Two's lineup, we see GTA IV, and several games that look much like Take-Two games from past years," Pachter said in a report by Need for Speed [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=34042] window as ill-advised. We also note that the Q4 2008 launch of Midnight Club will mark three and a half years between versions of the game, highlighting Take-Two's failure to "sequelize" its key franchises on a regular basis."

He also expressed skepticism about upcoming Take-Two releases including Top Spin 3, Don King Presents: Prizefighter and Carnival Games: Mini Golf. "These games appear to us like the Manhunt, BIGS, All-Pro Football, Ghost Rider and Fantastic Four games of last year," he said, "when the company generated a net operating loss of more than $100 million."


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