A lot of players are anxiously waiting for Rockstar to announce the release of Grand Theft Auto V on the Xbox One and PS4, but Wedbush's analysis of Take-Two suggests a next-gen release would result in low earnings for the company.
Analyst Michael Pachter believes that most players who intend to buy GTA V have already done so, and that a Xbox One/PS4 version of the game would mainly appeal to a tiny percentage of players who both bought a next-gen console and did not already buy GTA V.
He also doesn't believe GTA Online will result in high earnings, because it is only available to players who purchased GTA V. Of the $132.8 million Take-Two made in digital revenues this past quarter, Pachter estimates only $27 million came from GTA Online, and suggests the game would be more profitable if it were free.
We can't deny that he has some valid points—for one thing, there is no question that there are more Xbox 360/PS3 players currently than Xbox One/PS4 players—but a lot of current GTA V players would probably buy a next-gen version anyway. The clamor for PC and next-gen ports certainly suggests there is still an eager market for GTA V.
We'll just have to wait and see if this analysis has any impact on Rockstar's decisions.
