Take-Two Expects to Thrive in Next Gen

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick likes the company’s chances next generation. Speaking during a fourth quarter earnings call today, Zelnick said that transitions to a new hardware cycle can create challenges for some publishers and opportunities for others, and he believes Take-Two will fall into the latter category.

Zelnick said that those with strong technology, strong owned intellectual property and top talent thrive in a new console cycle, and he believes that describes Take-Two but not many of its competitors. “We expect to be at the front of the line,” he said.

This comes in the wake of disappointing losses for Take-Two, who saw net revenue of $148.1 million this quarter, roughly $34 million below 2011’s $182.3 million. For the year, Take-Two’s net loss was $108.8 million. Comparatively, the company saw a profit of $48 million in 2011.

“While our financial results were disappointing, the decisions we made position Take-Two for growth and profitability both this year and over the long-term,” Zelnick commented.

It wasn’t all bad news, though, as L.A. Noire and NBA 2K12 boosted earnings for the year. Both titles have shipped more than five million units to date, with LA Noire holding the honor of best-selling new IP in 2011. In the wake of BioShock Infinite’s recent delay to 2013, Zelnick also revealed that the BioShock franchise has shipped 9.5 million units to date. Meanwhile, Max Payne 3 has shipped three million units since its release last week.

“Fiscal 2013 kicked off with the successful launch of Max Payne 3, which received outstanding reviews and promises to be another hit for Rockstar Games,” Zelnick said. “We have a fantastic lineup of upcoming releases for the balance of the year and the strongest development pipeline in the company’s history.”

The company predicts a big year in 2013, with its current release calendar and some "titles yet to be announced” pushing expected revenue to $1.75 billion. While Zelnick wouldn’t reveal whether that prediction specifically included Grand Theft Auto V, he did add that the title is “in full development.”

Other news from Take Two’s earnings results includes a possible delay to 2014 for 2K Marin’s XCOM first-person shooter and the potential end of the MLB 2K series. The company also confirmed a few release dates for the upcoming fiscal year, as included below:

• Max Payne 3 (PC) – June 1, 2012

• Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods and Kings – June 19, 2012

• Spec Ops: The Line – June 26, 2012

• Borderlands 2 – September 18, 2012

• NBA 2K13 – October 2, 2012

• XCOM: Enemy Unknown – October 9, 2012

• BioShock Infinite – February 26, 2013

A release window for Grand Theft Auto V has still not been announced, though many analysts continue to predict that the game will be released in 2013.

Source : http://www.ign.com

MLB 2K12 Could be the Series' Last

The MLB 2K series may be on its last legs. Following parent company Take Two’s fourth quarter earnings call earlier today, 2K Sports has revealed that its agreement with Major League Baseball will come to an end during this fiscal year.

"Our legacy Major League Baseball agreement will sunset in fiscal 2013," a Take-Two spokesman said. "MLB 2K12 is our last offering under that agreement. At this time, we have no further comment."

While 2K could still renew that agreement or start a new one, comments by Take Two during today’s earnings call seem to indicate no future releases of the series. Specifically, Take Two CFO Lainie Goldstein commented that the company expects zero losses on the franchise within two years, which is a bold prediction if future titles are still on the way.

In the past, Take Two has commented that the future of its deal with MLB was uncertain, though the company has never outright announced that the deal won’t be renewed. Despite MLB 2K’s uncertain future, sales of the company’s other sports franchise, NBA 2K, remain strong and were responsible for boosting earnings this quarter.

2K Sports announced the winner of its MLB 2K12 million dollar challenge earlier this month. For a deeper look into that program’s success, check out our interview with 2K Sports head of marketing Jason Argent.

Source: Kotaku



Source : http://www.ign.com

EA: Digital Revenue Continues to Grow

EA announced today that it's made over 1.2 billion dollars in "digital revenue" during its fourth fiscal quarter. That is a massive 47 percent year-over-year growth.

Full game downloads were also up 76 percent year-over-year, pushed by Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3. This comes right alongside the news that EA's digital distribution service, Origin, has 11 million registered players, generating approximately $150 million in 10 months.

Digital revenue also gets a boost from EA's Play4Free group, whose lineup generates almost $2 million per week. The press release states that "several more EA brands will be introduced in the Play4Free portal in fiscal 13." Could we see a Dead Space or Mass Effect title in the works?

Digital sales are also helped by EA's acquisition of developer PopCap, whose newest Bejeweled game is EA's top selling title in Apple's AppStore.

EA further predicts that digital revenue will continue to grow, expanding by 40 percent in fiscal 2013.


Source : http://pc.ign.com/articles/122/1224462p1.html