14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the fact that the publisher has just announced a loss of 55.5 million dollars, industry analysts are rather positive on the outlook of Take Two, the company which publishes the highly popular series created by Rockstar. The belief is that the company will not lose money this year and that it will have a stellar 2010, potentially boosted even more if Take Two manages to announce that it will release GTA V in 2011.
Michael Pachter believes that “Despite the execution missteps, we think that Take-Two shares should be valued on next year’s earnings, and believe that solid profits next year and a GTA announcement will trigger outsized share appreciation.”
Pachter still has his surprise related to the fact that one of the three big games from Take Two, BioShock 2, Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3, could be released this year but he believes that the delay might be beneficial as the three titles will face far easier competition in the first half of 2010.
Of course, because Take Two does not yet have a big game announced, which could come in the final half of 2010, at least one of the above mentioned titles could be pushed back even more, with Max Payne 3 being the leading candidate for another delay.
Mike Hickey, who works for Janco Partners, believes that Red Dead Redemption, BioShock 2 and Max Payne 3 will together get more than 9 million copies sold and also has high hopes for games like Agent, a new Midnight Club racer and LA Noire.
He also raises the specter of another takeover offer for Take Two. Last year, Electronic Arts tried and failed to acquire the publisher but there are other players in the media business and in the videogaming industry who might be interested in it. If Disney can buy Marvel, then Warner Bros can certainly acquire Take Two, for example.