Home Gaming Big game releases shouldn’t be annualised says Take-Two

Big game releases shouldn’t be annualised says Take-Two

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multiplicity

It used to be that hearing of a new game was a big surprise. These days however? It’s not often that your jaw will drop when you hear about the latest game that is coming out. And that’s because most big games these days are sticking to an annual release schedule. Something that Take-Two wants to avoid with their library of titles.

Speaking about the company’s fiscal third quarter earnings via Game Informer, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke about the trend to annualise big-name games. “I don’t think we think about pacing in a traditional way,” Zelnick says. “We have said that we think big tentpole releases should not be annualized except for sports titles.”

A comment that refers to the NBA 2K and WWE 2K games that Take-Two publishes, while other franchises such as Rockstar property GTA, Civilization and Borderlands tend to have much longer lead times. “We think it’s valuable to build anticipation and because it takes some time to make the highest quality products in the business,” Zelnick explained.

We bring the titles to market when they are ready to be marketed.

That’s pretty much a solid game-plan. While games such as Call Of Duty and Assassin’s Creed rotate development teams in order to provide a fresh experience, the end result still winds up being a less excited audience. There’s something to be said for allowing a game to be forgotten, and then having those memories rekindled with news of a new entry in the franchise.

Take Mortal Kombat for instance. The ninth core instalment in that franchise came out in 2011, with Mortal Kombat X only being announced late in 2014. That’s roughly a three year gap. And on the day that Mortal Kombat X was announced, people were buzzing. People were excited and happy. Something you don’t see much of in gaming these days.

Last Updated: February 5, 2015

39 Comments

  1. If your games are the highest quality products why are they the only ones to make my PC blue screen? Go home, you’re an obnoxious drunk.

    Although he does make a good point about annual releases.

    Reply

    • Rock789

      February 6, 2015 at 07:03

      Maybe coz your PC is soft…? **runs**

      😉 😛

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        February 6, 2015 at 07:39

        Reply

  2. Captain JJ the crafter

    February 5, 2015 at 15:34

    Those are a lot of Bruce Waynes

    Reply

    • Matewis Jubilai

      February 5, 2015 at 15:35

      respect…

      Reply

    • Tosh MA

      February 5, 2015 at 15:45

      Betcha Andy McDowell had lots of fun there. A 5-some that isn’t cheating? Hell yeah!

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the crafter

        February 5, 2015 at 15:54

        Haha.

        ps. I think it’s Andie*

        Reply

        • Tosh MA

          February 5, 2015 at 15:55

          *Andie MacDowell

          I do stand corrected. 😛

          Reply

        • Rock789

          February 6, 2015 at 07:03

          Hey… It could’ve been “Andy” back in the day… Who are we to judge?! :p

          Reply

  3. Milesh Bhana

    February 5, 2015 at 15:40

    In other news, water is wet.

    Reply

  4. Hammersteyn

    February 5, 2015 at 15:41

    • Captain JJ the crafter

      February 5, 2015 at 15:42

      Haha. Take all the upvotes!!

      Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      February 5, 2015 at 15:42

      EA & Ubi together…

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        February 5, 2015 at 15:43

        Also Activision

        Reply

        • Blood Emperor Trevor

          February 5, 2015 at 15:43

          I forget about them all the time.

          Reply

      • Captain JJ the crafter

        February 5, 2015 at 15:43

        Except Ubi’s reaction is glitched.

        Reply

  5. Ghost In The Rift

    February 5, 2015 at 15:49

    Well at least i’m buzzing for some next Mass Effect news/Gameplay footage.

    Reply

  6. Admiral Chief

    February 5, 2015 at 15:49

    Well duh!

    Reply

  7. Captain JJ the crafter

    February 5, 2015 at 15:55

    Or you could always take a long time and then bring out a fail like TESO.

    Reply

    • Tosh MA

      February 5, 2015 at 15:56

      Duke Nukem Forever.
      Aliens Colonial Marines.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        February 5, 2015 at 15:59

        Don’t take too long?

        Reply

        • Captain JJ the crafter

          February 5, 2015 at 16:00

          Take your time, but don’t be an idiot. 🙂

          Reply

          • Rock789

            February 6, 2015 at 07:05

            Yeah – take your time, but don’t be ridiculous!! Don’t wait across console / PC generations… When you started development when a Pentium 1 was the in thing and, when you released, we were up to i5 cores, then you know something’s majorly wrong!

      • Matewis Jubilai

        February 5, 2015 at 16:00

        Duke Nukem Forever had one part that was fun though – the kitchen fight!

        Reply

        • Tosh MA

          February 5, 2015 at 16:02

          The best part of Duke Nukem Forever was me not buying it 😀

          Reply

        • Blood Emperor Trevor

          February 5, 2015 at 16:02

          I giggled my ass off at your gung-ho companion when he was shrunk & yelling in his squeaky little voice. That’s probably because I’m immature though.

          I think the pieces where you were shrunk were the best ones.

          Reply

          • Tosh MA

            February 5, 2015 at 16:03

            Because you can relate? *RUNS

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            February 5, 2015 at 16:05

            IT’S COLD OKAY!

          • Captain JJ the crafter

            February 5, 2015 at 16:12

            Yes, very cold. In the middle of summer.

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            February 5, 2015 at 16:14

            What do seasons have to do with the temperature? :/

          • Captain JJ the crafter

            February 5, 2015 at 16:16

            It is the Western Cape after all. You can never really tell.

          • Matewis Jubilai

            February 5, 2015 at 16:05

            and, unfortunately, the only good ones 😛 (although I did like the final boss)

          • Spathi

            February 5, 2015 at 16:16

            BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

          • Spathi

            February 5, 2015 at 16:18

            *Refresh for the above*

  8. Travis

    February 5, 2015 at 15:55

    Well I am going to go beserk when Fallout 4 is anounced 😀

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      February 5, 2015 at 15:59

      Same here, at least it is not annual, so we know it will be good

      Reply

      • CaptainNemo42

        February 5, 2015 at 18:55

        Good? Like the buggy Beta version of Skyrim that Bethesda released? 😐

        Reply

    • Captain JJ the crafter

      February 5, 2015 at 15:59

      Total aapkak

      Reply

  9. CAE9872

    February 5, 2015 at 16:37

    Such wise words! That guy should be a CEO.

    Reply

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