Mr. Michael Pachter – everyone's favorite clairvoyant video game analyst – has a knack for making headlines. Whether it's "Pachter snubs pal Lohan in Viper Club debacle" or "EA could delay GTA IV's April 29 release" we tend to take notice. On the latest episode of Bonus Round, Pachter told host Geoff Keighley, "I think if EA takes over Take-Two, they have an economic incentive to delay [Grand Theft Auto IV]." What economic incentive might that be? Why, to hold the release until the far more lucrative fourth quarter. As for why Take-Two isn't simply doing that itself, the Pach explains, "Take-Two, financially, has to get that game out ... they need the money. They need to get it out."
That's all well and good but, you see, it's just that we've had April 29th circled on our Strauss Zelnick pinup calendar (in permanent marker no less) for over two months and, since Peter Moore really dropped the ball, we also went ahead and got that date tattooed on our far less impressive biceps. So, to recap, if EA manages to merge their giant family with Take-Two's impressive roster, your plans for May are shot and we're going to have a funny tattoo story to tell the grandkids.
Reader Comments (82)
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 11:35PM Klitorisaurus said
If EA delays GTA they deserve to get coopered hardcore! I don't think EA would be that stupid though, with all of the ad revenue already spent on it. Not to mention that fact that they'll make themselves look more like fascists then they already do.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2008 9:28AM Jomolungma said
If EA delayed this game, angry gamers might still play GTAIV on April 29th.... it'll just be for real and at EA's HQ.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2008 10:20AM Streeks1984 said
I dont believe EA would be that foolish and do this because we already hate them....now the casual market will hate them as well making them hated by all.
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 7:45PM LiqwidZero said
All of the people I know up at GameStop have told me that GTA IV has had enough pre-orders to do a midnight launch, and that hasn't happened here since Halo 3.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2008 9:05AM (Unverified) said
eff you guys!
we make shit up because 99% of you are retards!
Reply
we make shit up because 99% of you are retards!
Posted: Apr 7th 2008 9:31AM Jomolungma said
My Gamestopper told me the same thing... as he was giving me the new COD4 maps for free, just 'cuz... so not all Gamestoppers are evil... based on the two shops in my area, I'd say the ratio is 5 out of 7 are complete &*$holes.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2008 2:57PM LiqwidZero said
What's funny is that the people I know up at GameStop are actually know what they're talking about and are gamers. And they don't ask if you want to pre-order something every 20 minutes, like the generic GameStop employee. They're just cool people.
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 7:49PM (Unverified) said
OH WORDS WORDS WORDS EA SUCK WORDS WORDS WORDS CORPORATE WORDS BLAH BLAH BLAH MAD MAD ANGRY!
(I just summarized 99.9% of the comments that'll be on here, the other % will be someone asking for gameplay tips on how to do johnny cage's fatality on mortal kombat for the Sega GameGear)
Reply
(I just summarized 99.9% of the comments that'll be on here, the other % will be someone asking for gameplay tips on how to do johnny cage's fatality on mortal kombat for the Sega GameGear)
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 7:54PM (Unverified) said
Forward, Forward, Forward + '1' while close.
Now that the important issue is out of the way we can all get back to making noises about Pachter and EA.
Reply
Now that the important issue is out of the way we can all get back to making noises about Pachter and EA.
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 7:51PM DonaldMick said
Pachter's lost it if he thinks this game is getting delayed. I'm pretty sure it's already gone gold and the process for getting the game into retailers has already begun.
If this game isn't ready for a 4/29 release, the lawsuits will fly like eagles.
Reply
If this game isn't ready for a 4/29 release, the lawsuits will fly like eagles.
Posted: Apr 7th 2008 1:03AM (Unverified) said
Your right...Plus they already have commercials showing the release date.... Pushing it bak again would make everyone hate them and leave us with Saints Row...again?
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 9:23PM (Unverified) said
To be fair, Pachter said this during Bonus Round on Game Trailers which was recorded a month ago (if not longer). This kind of stuff happens all the time on Bonus Round because they split it into weekly segments even though it's all taped in one session, so you get things like Cliffy B refusing to ackowledge that he's working on Gears 2 two weeks after it's already been revealed officially.
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 11:42PM DonaldMick said
Really? Damn, I didn't think to find out if it was pre-taped.
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 7:52PM JohnDM said
Someone explain to me why possibly moving probably the biggest game of the year to a date that gets jam packed with other games? It's going to sell huge anyway, and right now there is NOTHING that can possibly rival it. Good going EA, you've somehow managed to slip back into a sinkhole you've made.
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 7:58PM (Unverified) said
I severaly doubt that will happen, it would do more harm to PR than possible revenue could be gained. Also its not like GTA4 is one of those mass market games(ie. all ages.) Really I think those would be the ones they would delay. A GTA4 delay would be a bitch slap to fans and might even detur some fans from buying it in protest in EA's worst case scenario.
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 8:45PM SoCoolCurt said
i think you hit the nail on the head there. the only reason to hold a game off until the Q4 is to take advantage of the parents with loose wallets from the holiday spirit. yes everyone plays GTA (just about) but releasing the game so all the uninformed (yea i know lol...) parents could buy it for their underaged kids would be another problem entirely. this game is going to sell like hotcakes from the get go and i expect it be break all kinds of records mostly because this one is releasing multiplat from day one.
just think, the majority of those sales from the previous generation came from 1 console (albeit a massively leading 1), now replace that PS2 with the 360 and add PS3 sales for flavor and you have the recipe for record setting success. there is no need for a delay til Q4, this game could (and probably will) single handedly save Take2.
Reply
just think, the majority of those sales from the previous generation came from 1 console (albeit a massively leading 1), now replace that PS2 with the 360 and add PS3 sales for flavor and you have the recipe for record setting success. there is no need for a delay til Q4, this game could (and probably will) single handedly save Take2.
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 7:58PM (Unverified) said
He's wrong.
He's stating what EA would have done if they had managed to by Take Two... a few months back, at the latest. Now, it's too late.
Would be a smart business move-- GTA IV could sell amazingly in the fall. But GTA games tend to keep selling.
Reply
He's stating what EA would have done if they had managed to by Take Two... a few months back, at the latest. Now, it's too late.
Would be a smart business move-- GTA IV could sell amazingly in the fall. But GTA games tend to keep selling.
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 8:01PM SheppyReturns said
GTAIV will continue to sell amazingly in the fall.
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 10:36PM (Unverified) said
Absolutely. Combine that with the fact that Taketwo needs money, and that it was already delayed, and is thus probably extremely published... and holding off til fall looks even less intelligent.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2008 9:35AM Jomolungma said
You're right, GTAIV will sell amazing in the fall, right when the exclusive DLC for 360 hits. Sell it on 4/29 for a killing, then release DLC in the fall and sell all of that for a killing, then sell more GTAIV's to those that didn't buy it in the spring but now want to because the DLC is great for a triple-killing... in terms of balance sheets, much better to show this kind of steady income throughout the year than leave it all at the end... plus, if they wait to release the game until about when the DLC is coming out, they'll lose some DLC sales because gamers will still be going through the main game at that time...
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2008 10:15AM SoCoolCurt said
does anyone know what the exclusive DLC is going to be yet? i am curious as to how much i may be missing out on. i mean if its extra missions, i wouldnt care anyway since i barely finish the ones the games come with (running around wreaking havoc is too much fun). but if it's like another city map to romp through or extra weapons or something i may turn pretty green with envy lol. just curious as to if anyone knew yet.
(P.S. i probably wont come back on here to check anyway so its just me thinking out loud mostly lol)
Reply
(P.S. i probably wont come back on here to check anyway so its just me thinking out loud mostly lol)
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 8:00PM (Unverified) said
John M.: Yes, ONE GUY makes a prediction that MAYBE the delay will happen IF EA gets T2 - and of course EA is now a "sinkhole" and all... Look above, the lolocopter is dropping the ROTFL bombs!
Reply
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 8:05PM Mr Khan said
So its a race...
The Nintendo fanboy in me kinda wants it delayed (less competition for Mario Kart), but the nice person in me doesn't want it delayed that long, it'd be a heartbreaker for a lot of friends of mine
But Jeff is right, release it now and it sells well now AND in the 4th quarter, what's to be gained waiting?
Reply
The Nintendo fanboy in me kinda wants it delayed (less competition for Mario Kart), but the nice person in me doesn't want it delayed that long, it'd be a heartbreaker for a lot of friends of mine
But Jeff is right, release it now and it sells well now AND in the 4th quarter, what's to be gained waiting?
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 8:07PM (Unverified) said
"When GTA 3 came out, I had a 325,000 unit estimate, so I only missed by about 20 million units." - Michael Pachter
"Warcraft is so good and so good-looking that it got this immediate attraction; everybody who would ever consider playing an online game said, 'This is the one. I gotta try it.' And what'll happen is inevitably, like the health club model, after you pay your 30 bucks a month for 3 or 4 months and you only go once a week, you realize it's not worth it and you split. That's what will happen with Warcraft ... I think it's going to roll back to a million. I'm not predicting it's going to happen in three weeks; I'd guess it has a half-life of 6 months to a year," - Michael Pachter
Reply
"Warcraft is so good and so good-looking that it got this immediate attraction; everybody who would ever consider playing an online game said, 'This is the one. I gotta try it.' And what'll happen is inevitably, like the health club model, after you pay your 30 bucks a month for 3 or 4 months and you only go once a week, you realize it's not worth it and you split. That's what will happen with Warcraft ... I think it's going to roll back to a million. I'm not predicting it's going to happen in three weeks; I'd guess it has a half-life of 6 months to a year," - Michael Pachter
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 8:11PM (Unverified) said
Dear Mr. (Fudge) Pachter,
Please stop.
Love, playwhutyalike
Reply
Please stop.
Love, playwhutyalike
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 8:12PM (Unverified) said
Conspiracy theorist view:
Now that MS and EA have exchanged CEOs, there is coercion from MS going forward. MS has much more competition with Sony this year, much more than last year in terms of lineup(that EA has no part of). MS NEEDS GTA4 to do well for them and it will. They are just repositioning their chess pieces for the year. But only if T2 accepts EA's offer. MS needs that to happen.
Reply
Now that MS and EA have exchanged CEOs, there is coercion from MS going forward. MS has much more competition with Sony this year, much more than last year in terms of lineup(that EA has no part of). MS NEEDS GTA4 to do well for them and it will. They are just repositioning their chess pieces for the year. But only if T2 accepts EA's offer. MS needs that to happen.
Posted: Apr 6th 2008 8:15PM One Stomy Night go watch it said
is pachter part of rockstar or take two? i see him alot on take two related stuff but the man seems not within the company.
all i can say is if i hear its delayed...im aiming for mr. badluck!
Reply
all i can say is if i hear its delayed...im aiming for mr. badluck!
Sorry, you must be logged in to leave a comment.
Featured Stories
The most popular posts
in the last 7 days
- Vita 'UMD Passport' won't be offered in US 221 comments
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning review: A tempting fate 153 comments
- David Jaffe leaves Eat Sleep Play, layoffs hit developer [Update] 107 comments
- Blizzard taking Valve to court over 'DOTA' trademark 96 comments
- Don't call it a remake: Final Fantasy X is a 'remaster,' to be clear 95 comments









