Take-Two: 'Portfolio balancing' drove GTA IV DLC delay, partnerships possible
by Jason Dobson 
{ Jun 5th 2008 at 6:50PM }
Regarding the company's resolution to keep the GTA IV downloadable content out of players' hands until sometime between November 1 of this year and January 31, 2009, Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick calmly stated that the decision was based on "portfolio balancing," and that the delay was "not based on development issues." Even as our hearts ached for additional Liberty City shenanigans, Take-Two reps on the call remained enthusiastic, and for good reason, given that during the last quarter the GTA brand made up an impressive 78% of the firm's total publishing revenue.
Switching grears, and looking to the ongoing drama between Take-Two and EA, Zelnick expressed pride in his company, stating that "despite distractions, everyone had their heads down and a smile on their faces and were getting the job done." The exec added, however, that Take-Two is on the lookout for any potential fits for the company in terms of partnerships, adding that "we have our eyes open to anything to maximize stockholder value, including remaining independent."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
copa @ Jun 5th 2008 6:59PM
If Take-Two is 'delaying' the DLC until the biggest-selling week of the year (third week of November), then this makes sense to me.
I would not be surprised to see 'gift cards' (redeemable for GTA4 downloadable episodes) show up in retail shops at that time.
Knight Marquise @ Jun 5th 2008 7:15PM
That's a good point Copa. Although I see Gears taking most my free time by that point this year, hitting the Black Friday weekend would be good business as well as create some great marketig material.
CM @ Jun 5th 2008 7:03PM
How are there no comments on this yet?! Is everyone just stunned, or what?
CM @ Jun 5th 2008 7:15PM
Ahh... the culprit:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/grand-theft-auto-iv-dlc-delayed-until-fiscal-q1-2009/
I guess this story was soooo, like, 2hrs 22min ago...
LaughingTarget @ Jun 5th 2008 7:06PM
Makes no sense to me. Gears of War 2 vs GTA4 DLC. They need to release them regularly and in shirt order to keep people from forgetting.
Cyro @ Jun 5th 2008 7:24PM
GTA IV DLC in no way competes against GOW2.
Shagittarius @ Jun 5th 2008 7:15PM
Unless your getting your 360/ps3 at that time I can't imagine many people still being interested in extra content by then.
BeeDizz @ Jun 5th 2008 7:20PM
Are you kidding?
Shagittarius @ Jun 5th 2008 7:27PM
No. How long can you play the same game? Not counting all the other versions you already bought since GTA 3.
SEriously after I beat a game, it never returns to my console, each game has a lifespan of however long it takes to beat the single player campaign and a couple multi-player missions to make sure its the same old shit as all the rest.
Geoffrey Sperl @ Jun 5th 2008 8:01PM
Look, if you get what amounts to "GTA IV: Vice City" in the DLC, that's going to be a huge seller. Especially if the story picks up with Niko after either of the two endings. You might not return to a game once you are finished, but a lot of us do. And the DLC promises to be to GTA IV what Shivering Isles was for Oblivion. And Shivering Isles was well worth returning to that game ("Who puts a cat in a bag?!? Cats HATE bags!").
What will make it even more compelling is if the DLC uses your choice from the finale to spin its story further.
Granted, we might end up with "GTA IV Stories" or some crap that's best left in the studio, but if we end up with a Vice City or San Andreas analogue, the DLC will be well worth it.
I, personally, would like to see Niko go to Vice City and go up against Tommy Vercetti. Basically, I want to see Niko as an anti-hero who is trying to dismantle the organized crime bosses who have touched his life, even in the smallest of ways.
J.Goodwin @ Jun 5th 2008 7:16PM
Portfolio balancing means that they don't want to blow their wad with all their big titles in the same quarter.
The GTA4 DLC is on par with almost any retail title that they can deliver, and I would be not at all surprised to see it show up on store shelves like Shivering Isles did.
You heard it here first, I expect it to be 2400 points a shot online and $29.99 in stores, launching the same day.
Geoffrey Sperl @ Jun 5th 2008 7:48PM
Nor would I be surprised, given that the 360 is getting "exclusive DLC," to see that the PS3 gets the content on disc at the same time (just not on PSN). They're going to want to milk that segment of the market, too.
J.Goodwin @ Jun 5th 2008 7:53PM
Well, that I'm not so sure of, at least not day and date.
I use Shivering Isles as an example because it's also a Take2 title...it launched on 360 and PC as DLC on March 27. Hit 360 on disc in October, and didn't make PS3 until November.
And that's with no exclusivity deal.
Geoffrey Sperl @ Jun 5th 2008 8:03PM
But the PS3 has larger marketshare now and more installed units. Plus, we're talking GTA and not Elder Scrolls which, while popular, isn't the money-maker GTA is.
SharpBlade @ Jun 5th 2008 8:50PM
Geoffrey where are you getting your information?
1. If the PS3 get's any DLC it will not be in the form of episodic content and nothing on the level of the 360. MS didn't give them 50mil for something that will just in turn be released on the PS3.
2. The PS3 does not have a larger marketshare now. It is about 4-6million behind the 360.
I am personally disappointed by this announcement. By all means Take2 and MS overpromise and underdeliver yet again. If this comes out anywhere near Nov-Dec there is no way I will drop the coin on it when there are so many other titles coming out.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jun 5th 2008 11:15PM
SharpBlade:
Where are you getting your info?
Where did you get the info that any PS3 content will be guaranteed to be inferior to 360 content? Did I miss a press release?
gamerprophet @ Jun 5th 2008 9:46PM
This sounds like Sony is trying to pull some shit again.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jun 5th 2008 11:10PM
You mean like paying $50M for exclusive DLC?
Yeah, that'd be the kind of shit we really shouldn't put up with.
Pip @ Jun 5th 2008 10:58PM
The 360 DLC is exclusive to the system, they've been over this many times. PS3 will never see it.
The problem here is, people wont be interested in buying this DLC if some other big hit game has already come out. GTA4 will be long forgotten. People will pull the trigger to buy DLC when they're into the game, which is RIGHT NOW. Not a year from now. Microsoft got burned bad on this deal.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jun 5th 2008 11:14PM
Very true. The 360 DLC is exclusive to the 360. However, who is to say there isn't PS3 DLC that is exclusive to the PS3?
It may be MS didn't get the only exclusive content. If they paid $50M and didn't get a guarantee that this wouldn't be the case, then they deserve what they got.
13alder @ Jun 6th 2008 12:40AM
who can spot the ps3 fanboy? seriously, wake up,the PS3 isn't getting nearly the amount of DLC that the 360 is and anything that is released on PS3 is going to be released on the 360.
Brodie-san @ Jun 6th 2008 3:44AM
Would I like the PS3 version to have the same amount of content as the 360 version? Sure! Only a muppet would say "Less is more" when it comes to content in games.
But, and you can leap to your feet and shout "Fanboy!" if you want, it's not like there isn't HOURS/DAYS of gameplay in the non-DLC version. To be honest, I like GTA and I'm enjoying playing it but there are so many other great games to play that increasing its length with DLC is lost on me.
Seriously, let's say (in a hypothetical mirror-world™) the same DLC was "somehow" released on the PS3, say, 12 months from now and it's free to download (I know this is impossible, I understand what $50M buys you these days). I would honestly say, hand on heart, the chances of me downloading it is incredibly slim. Or, I'd download it to be a completist but never play it.
This content is for GTA fanboys. People who played GTAIII for months non-stop, got the 100 packages, got the Apache, got EVERYTHING and STILL played it non-stop because they love the genre. If you're that guy for the love of God get this game on the 360 because when the DLC hits - you're going to lose your mind with new things to do.
For me, I'm not that guy so, while parity across the consoles would be great, that's not how econmics works and, in this instance, it doesn't bother me in the least that there is exclusive DLC for a console I don't own.
Just my 2c.
Ethan @ Jun 6th 2008 6:22AM
It's gonna hurt Microsoft this Christmas. No Doubt.
koehler83 @ Jun 6th 2008 7:07AM
@13yearold
"who can spot the ps3 fanboy? seriously, wake up,the PS3 isn't getting nearly the amount of DLC that the 360 is and anything that is released on PS3 is going to be released on the 360."
*facepalm* Did I miss a meeting where being a 360 fanboy was given legs to rise above being a PS3 fanboy?
googoogachoo @ Jun 6th 2008 7:33AM
I don't think it hurts MS that much. Yeah, they paid 50 million and will get their DLC. However, people that bought the game day one based on DLC potential probably already got it, and the game will still be selling well through Christmas.
I would rather have companies take months to put out top notch DLC than finish the game and carve off a bit of that for DLC release. Shit like paying 300 MS points for a plane in Ace Combat is annoying. Waiting for months for an expansion pack isn't.
Mullinsmcd @ Jun 6th 2008 9:18AM
I dunno about everyone else but I'm still only 30% in and I feel like I still have too much to do. I think I will be happy with this game until the next full game iteration comes out in a few years (based on the GTA4 engine of course)