Take-Two believes Rockstar franchises like Grand Theft Auto can have the same enduring appeal as James Bond, a series that has remained popular since the 1950s.
Speaking during the Jefferies Virtual Global Interactive Entertainment Conference this week, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked whether the publisherâs core franchises have a shelf life, or whether they can live on permanently through broader industry changes and technological advancements.
âIf itâs really, really great it will keep going,â he responded (transcribed by VGC). âI donât know if you saw it, I just saw the new Bond film, that was great. And you would like every franchise to be James Bond.
“There are precious few entertainment franchises of any sort that fall into that category, but they do exist. And I think GTA is one of them, I think Red Dead is one of them, NBA is obviously one of them because the game [of basketball] will continue to exist.â
Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online - PlayStation Showcase 2021 Trailer | PS5
Zelnick said he thinks that Borderlands, BioShock and Civilization can fit into the same category, but that the âgating factorâ to entry is the quality of the products.
âIt also requires you to be thoughtful and be willing to rest a title so that you have a sense of âwow, this is a rare eventâ,â he said.
âIâve always said that annualising non-sports titles runs the risk of burning out intellectual property even if itâs good, so we take the time to make something that we think is incredibly phenomenal and we also rest titles intentionally so that thereâs pent-up demand for that title so that itâs a special event.
“I go and see a Bond film because there isnât another one in two months â Iâm going to see every Bond film.â
Grand Theft Auto 5 launched in September 2013 and GTA 6 could still be four years away from release, according to reliable industry insiders.
Continuing his Bond analogy, Zelnick said building fan demand for new franchise entries is only a good strategy if the product hits the anticipated quality level.
âIf itâs bad Iâm going to be really upset, you know like a personal affront, because I believe that that IP is always just beyond.
“And thatâs the compact Rockstar has with its consumers and thatâs the compact 2K has with regard to NBA 2K, thatâs the compact that Gearbox and 2K has with Borderlands consumers, and Firaxis has with Civilization consumers, and I want to have more of that.
“It is so hard to deliver on that basis, it is so difficult to do that over and over again, but thatâs our goal and thatâs our job, thatâs what we aim to do.”
He added: âAnd yes, to answer your question, if you do that, are these franchises permanent? Look, nothingâs permanent, but they can be very, very long-lasting.
“That said, we donât bet on that, which is why weâre launching new intellectual properties, itâs why of our release schedule over the next three years, 56% of it is new intellectual property. Thatâs super risky, our hit ratio will be much lower than it would be if you went and did the franchises, it has to be, but we have to do it because our franchises are not permanent.â
Rockstar’s parent company said earlier this month that Grand Theft Auto V has now shipped 155 million units, ahead of the release of next-gen versions of the game in March 2022.
The wider series has shipped over 355 million units, Take-Two claimed. The latest release, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy â The Definitive Edition, arrived this Thursday and has suffered notable launch issues on PC.
In its quarterly earnings presentation this month, the company also said the Red Dead Redemption franchise has shipped almost 62 million units since its May 2010 launch, including over 39 million copies of Red Dead 2, which is the second best-selling title in the US over the past three years based on dollar sales.
Zelnick was also asked how the decisions to rest franchises are made âwhether developers come to him saying they want to work on other projects, whether the decisions are publisher led, or a combination.
âWe donât operate that way around here,â he responded. âFirst of all, no one comes to me because weâre in a constant dialogue as a company. And secondly, smart people who have the same goal generally arrive at the same conclusion. You can disagree about the tactics, but you generally donât disagree about the strategy.
âAnd weâre aligned around here, weâre aligned culturally and weâre aligned economically. We have economic alignment with everyone who can move the dial by rewarding people based on our actual success on an annual basis, and thatâs success including the cost profile.
âTherefore, weâre all aligned economically, that pulls people very magnetically in a particular direction, and then the culture is consistent with that magnetic pull. And now weâre just saying to each other, âok, well like how do we achieve this?â And undoubtedly, we could have disagreements or debates about what the best way to achieve that is, but I think a lot of what you do isnât that complicated, like the notion of creating consumer anticipation â to me thatâs sort of a no brainer.â
st1ck-n-m0ve on November 13rd, 2021 at 22:11 UTC »
GTA 5 came out not 1 but 2 console series ago. I bought it for the 360. Then it came out later on xbox one. Now its out for xbox series x… The series x is 2 consoles later. Its not even a remake of a past game its the same game through 3 consoles. That would be like when gta3 came out on ps2 they then released it on ps3 and then ps4. Ridiculous. Thats when you know its time to make a new one holy shit rockstar. Theyre milking the helllll out of this game. Just make freaking gta6 already. Gta3, sa, and vc ALL came out on ps2. Hell gta4 and 5 both came out on ps3/360. Even they got 2 games. Xbox one and ps4 didnt get a single new gta game and now series x/ps5 dont have a new gta either. Will they ever make gta6? They got wayyyy too complacent with gta online.
OrcBattleMage198 on November 13rd, 2021 at 20:18 UTC »
Can't wait until they release GTA V again in ten years but this time with only one single player dlc added
PatriarchSamael2 on November 13rd, 2021 at 19:33 UTC »
The CEO meant to say they plan on GTA V lasting as long as James Bond. Confirmed GTA VI in 2089.