When publishers realize that they have a solid property on their hands, the temptation to milk that franchise with annual releases often kicks in. That's a recipe for disaster, if you ask Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, he commented that while Take-Two can do better with its release schedule, the publisher won't speed up development cycles to the detriment of its IP.
"We can make quality video games and release them in a somewhat more orderly fashion than we have done historically," Zelnick said. "We'll stop short of a strictly annual schedule, however, because I think that is the enemy of pushing the envelope creatively."
Zelnick appears to be reiterating part of what he said last year when he remarked that Take-Two definitely would not seek to annualize its Grand Theft Auto franchise. "There's a balance between how long it takes to develop such an incredible title... and how long you wait for the [customer's] appetite to be both satisfied and whetted for the next title. That's something I think the company has done well," he said at the time.
Major 'AAA' titles typically take 2-3 years to make, so to expect a BioShock, GTA or Borderlands every year is simply not realistic, and if the teams are pushed to meet such ridiculous deadlines, the games will not live up to the high expectations today's consumers have.
Speaking of BioShock and Borderlands, these are two successful IP that have enabled Take-Two to broaden its portfolio, but from a business perspective, GTA is still the driving force for the company. "We have a worldwide distribution and publishing footprint, and in a GTA year that cost basis is fine, but in a non-GTA year it's too high. We need to get bigger," Zelnick said. "The barometer is when we are profitable in a non-GTA year. I think we can get there. I certainly aspire to it."
