Analyst Predicts GTA IV Delay

By Nick Mokey June 3, 2007

Analyst Predicts GTA IV Delay

Rabid Grand Theft Auto fans may have to wait a little longer than expected to get their fix. Although there has been no official announcement of a delay, analyst Michael Patcher of Wedbush Morgan Securities predicts that the game’s publisher, Take-Two Interactive, may push back the release of Grand Theft Auto IV to better compete with Halo 3.

Halo 3 is slated to drop on September 25, while GTA IV is scheduled for October 16, leaving only a three week hole between the two. "We believe that a two-week delay would provide a reasonable gap between the launch of Halo 3 and the launch of GTA IV, and would actually help sales of both games," Patcher said.

Although two weeks may not be that great a difference to the average Joe, it represents a bigger shift in the financial world, since it would push the game’s release from the 2007 financial year to the 2008 financial year. "We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ‘throw in the towel’ on financial year 07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company’s prospects for financial year 08," Patcher said.

The company’s second quarter financial results are due out June 11, which may help analysts make further sense of the situation.

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