Slightly down is the new up, says Zelnick

Dec 8, 2008 12:01 GMT  ·  By

Take Two is one of the most popular companies in the gaming industry today, as it has a lot of interesting studios in its portfolio. From 2K Games, the creators of BioShock, to Rockstar, the team behind the very popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, Take Two has quite a lot of cult games under the hood.

But all these popular games are the only things keeping the company profitable these days, as other titles aren't confirming their true potential. This has fueled the speculations behind the fact that an acquisition might take place, but the negotiations between Electronic Arts and Take Two didn't materialize into anything concrete.

Now, as Black Friday sales were pretty good for Take Two, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Strauss Zelnick, talked at the Reuters Media Summit in New York about the trends sales would have in the following period, and in the next year. He went on to say that his company was also cautiously optimistic about the following year, and that slightly down in terms of profits might be the new up for quite a lot of firms.

“I think everyone was encouraged by Black Friday. It was better than expectations, but it's pretty hard these days -- being slightly down is the new up. Everyone's at best cautiously optimistic. You're unlikely to be celebrating, but you'll be OK,” said Take Two’s CEO while addressing the impact of the financial crisis on the gaming industry.

Some very realistic statements made by Zelnick, as he is quite aware that his company won't register massive sales in the following period, at least not until BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams gets launched, which might bring a surge in sales for Take Two. Let's just hope that the financial crisis won't affect this popular game maker anytime soon.