A bit of sad news today, as Take-Two Interactive once again delays Rockstar Games' Max Payne 3. The was originally slated for fall 2009 (a date very few had faith in at all), then it was pushed to the first half of 2010; now Take-Two says the balding, Brazil exploring detective won't see his time in the spotlight until "fiscal Q4 2010," or sometime between August and late October. Bummer. Looks like Ubisoft was right.
"Take-Two anticipates that its results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2009 will be below its prior guidance due to several factors, the largest being the performance of its Major League Baseball titles in the fourth quarter ... The Company also incurred inventory write downs in its distribution business primarily related to prior generation software ... and realized lower than expected initial performance of several of its key holiday releases."
"Our anticipated results for the balance of fiscal 2009 primarily reflect the challenges related to our Major League Baseball business, inventory write downs in our distribution business, and retail conditions that have proven to be more difficult than the assumptions built into our prior outlook. These factors were partially offset by the performance of our catalog business and a number of our holiday titles, as shown by the successful launch of Borderlands and the leading ratings and market share of NBA 2K10. Looking ahead, we remain committed to our goal of operating profitably on a non-GAAP basis; however, we do not currently expect to achieve that goal in fiscal 2010. We have an outstanding product portfolio, exceptional creative talent and a solid balance sheet, and are confident that these strengths will provide a sound foundation for improved performance," said chairman, Strauss Zelnick.
On a brighter note, none of the company's other major titles have been affected. Yet. This includes the likes of Red Dead Redemption, BioShock 2 and Mafia II. More interesting, though, was CEO Ben Feder's statements confirming that an unanounced "AAA title" has been delayed as well.
"We decided to move one AAA title that was originally part of our 2010 projections out of the 2010 fiscal year. We have not previously announced the title. We do have this distinction, pretty much across the board, when we put out a AAA title it's a profit contributor of meaningful proportion."
Hmm. What could it be? 2K's Spec Ops? That's getting announced at the VGAs. The sequel to The Darkness? A new GTA? Elder Scrolls V?
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