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Much to the dismay of gamers everywhere, analyst Michael Pachter believes that the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV will be delayed by a couple of weeks. He believes that Take-Two might make this decision for both financial reasons and to distance themselves from the also highly anticipated Halo 3, which releases on September 26 while GTA IV releases on October 19.
“We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ‘throw in the towel’ on FY:07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company’s prospects for FY:08,” Pachter stated. “We believe that a two-week delay would provide a reasonable gap between the launch of Halo 3 and the launch of GTA IV, and would actually help sales of both games. In addition, a delay of the ‘normal’ SKU for GTA IV by two or three weeks could allow Take-Two to maximize revenues from the $89.99 Collector’s Edition of the game by shipping that SKU on October 17, and to increase overall profitability.”
Rockstar has yet to confirm or deny these claims, but we’ll keep you posted as news becomes available.