Recently, Take-Two's CEO Strauss Zelnick appeared at the MKM Partners Investor Day Conference, where he was extensively interviewed by Gamespot. Then a week ago, Zelnick spoke about how the massive success of GTA Online will not be changing the business strategy of Take-Two or Rockstar, and once again he revealed some of the tactical considerations of the company. Rockstar, and therefore Take-Two, have a lot riding on the GTA franchise. Being one of the most recognizable, and not to mention most lucrative name in the video game industry, Zelnick needs to make sure that the reputation of GTA is upheld.
Thing is, quality sells. Luckily for the brand name, Rockstar knows this, and didn't run their franchise into the ground like Activision did. Sure, Call of Duty was the big dog on the block a few years back, but the past four-ish games failed to make any sort of impression on the industry, nor did they sell particularly well. Rockstar, however, is playing the long-game. They know that no amount of marketing can beat word-of-mouth in the social media age, and no amount of publicity will trump the basic phenomenon of people simply liking the game.
We think with the non-sports titles, we are better served to create anticipation and demand. On the one hand to rest the title, and on the other hand to have the highest quality in the market, which takes time. You can't do that annually.
For a non-gamer, Zelnick really knows what goes into making a good game. Instead of pumping out a half-assed attempt every year, he has Rockstar sit on their games for a long, long time in order to release the most polished, content rich and professional product they can.
Are you guys satisfied with they way Take-Two Interactive is handling the GTA franchise?
