GTA V Will 'Steal Everyone's Attention' In Front of E3 2012
GTA V took the industry by storm today with its first trailer, lighting up PCs and laptops around the world. The reaction to the modern day setting and a return to San Andreas has been quite positive, but we still don't have a release date, and why did Rockstar choose to unveil the game now, right in the midst of one of the most busy holiday seasons ever?
According to Mike Hickey, analyst with National Alliance Capital Markets, Rockstar's intent is to have a sizable marketing window leading up to next year's release, so getting the ball rolling now - even if mind share is on big games like this week's Uncharted 3 and the upcoming launch of Modern Warfare 3 - makes complete sense.
"Rockstar does what they want and when they want to."
"We believe Rockstar Games is modeling a 4 to 6 month marketing window for their upcoming GTA V release, suggesting a Summer '12 launch period," he told IndustryGamers.
Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter agrees. In fact, he believes Rockstar will attempt to steal the limelight from next year's E3 Expo. "Would guess it does pretty well when it launches in June. They want to steal everyone's attention, and will do so with a launch in front of E3," he remarked.
Pachter was very impressed by what he saw in the trailer too: "I think the LA setting is interesting, and the scope was large (ocean, desert, mountains, vineyards, city), so they revealed a pretty huge game. The graphics looked like a movie, so they won't disappoint there. I thought the story reveal (older family man being dragged back into the gang) was also interesting, suggesting the 'one last heist' story line and adding the element of family to make the story more compelling."
Billy Pidgeon of M2 Research also makes a very good point; rather than be concerned with people's attention being paid to other hot video game properties, Rockstar is actually leveraging high video game awareness overall at this time of year to gain great exposure for this first trailer reveal. And it's also very positive to remind investors before Take-Two's next fiscal report.
"I think it's smart to kick off the GTA V campaign now. Take-Two has a quarterly financials release coming up next week. Also the trailer can gain some altitude on EA's and Activision's dimes from the increased video game excitement this week, with Battlefield 3 out now and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 coming soon. When a franchise is as important as GTA, competitive campaigns that would bury a lesser game may in fact increase visibility. With the GTA V trailer promoting an as yet undated release out before THQ's Saints Row: The Third ad campaign kicks into high gear, the action-adventure sandbox genre with a crime-oriented theme gets promoted, and both games will likely benefit," Pidgeon explained.
That's all well and good, but IndustryGamers almost gets the sense that Rockstar and the Housers are enjoying another side of unveiling the trailer now - it's as if they're saying, "Enjoy your triple-A packed holiday, but remember who's your daddy." As EEDAR's Jesse Divnich commented to us, "Rockstar North is one of the most talented developers in our industry. When they speak, everyone listens... Rockstar does what they want and when they want to."
Indeed, and we all lap it up. IndustryGamers can't wait to see more of GTA V.
