Take Two Posts Losses, Strong Sales

Take Two has released its financial results for the quarter that ended on January 31. The company says that it has seen an increase of 7% when it comes to year over year revenues, to 256 million dollars, but that did not help when it comes to losses, as they also increased by 32%, going up to 50.4 million dollars. The publisher has blamed this negative aspect on the usual “higher marketing, legal, and research and development expenses.”

Analysts predicted that Take Two would face a tough 2009, after the stellar 2008, marked by the release of Grand Theft Auto IV in May. The game continues to sell well but the bulk of the revenue derived from it came in 2008. Now, Take Two is trying to rise revenue by launching two episodic content packs for the Xbox 360 version of the game. The first one has already arrived and is said to be able to reach 2 million units sold this year, while the second pack has been set to launch before October 31.

The other videogames that made an impact in sales are Carnival Games for the Nintendo Wii and the DS, NBA 2K9 and Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Strauss Zelnick, who is the boss of Take Two, stated that “Looking to the balance of the year, the economy remains challenging and uncertain, and our industry will not be immune to this environment. Consumers will continue to be highly selective in their purchases, including interactive entertainment. We need to deliver innovative, exceptionally compelling products to compete for this more limited consumer spending, and we are confident in our ability to do so.”

Analysts believe that Take Two really needs to diversify its games line up in order to break its addiction to Grand Theft Auto-based revenue and to have good prospects for a successful 2009.