Things are not looking too great for software development company Take-Two Interactive after the release of “Max Payne 2” became the latest of their games to be delayed, and the share values of their company continued to slide. Industry watchers have slammed Take-Two for their endless delaying of announced releases and general inability to make money without relying on the “Grand Theft Auto” series.
Evan Wilson of Pacific Crest Securities blasted the company, saying that confidence in its management “can not get any lower”. “We believe there are better ways to invest in video games via names that are not inextricably tied to a single franchise with a management team that has not established an investable track record,” Wilson stormed, conceding that while delaying games was sometimes necessary to ensure the quality of the final product, when it happens “to nearly every game released, structural problems likely exist at the company. Take-Two seems to remind investors every quarter that it falls into this category.” Mike Hickey of Janco Partners’ was equally scathing of Take-Two, lambasting them for demonstrating “a profound misunderstanding of the company’s profitability potential.” Hickey said that “We are astonished at the level of disconnect between street expectations and management’s guidance…
Management credibility has been meaningfully compromised, in our view; although ultimate performance is profit-centric, we remain alarmed provided the lack of clarity.” Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities’ seems to be the lone voice of dissent, considering that in his opinion, “We perceive the problem to be an overly ambitious development schedule, with high expectations and high quality standards leading to inevitable delays.”
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I couldn’t disagree more. I think management made an excellent decision to proactively release NBA2k10 among others for Wii for the holiday season. Wii is fastest growing Video game platform with 50% market share. NBA2k10 is receiving excellent reviews and has created a new standard for Sports games on the Wii. I only see upside for Take Two.
first lets get things right is max payne 3 not 2 that is delay plus take-two is not only one delaying games, final fantasy 13 in been a long development cycles plus if a company puts all is weight on one product and does not spreed the weight it will sooner or later cave in and won´t be able to recover at all even thought there trying to make sure that there are not the one hit wonder dilema plus give them credit for trying to have multiple quality products. them just one they have talented people working hard to make this products shine and also created revenue if there needs to be delay in order to have quality I´m in.