Take-Two Interactive today revealed their first quarter earnings for fiscal year 2012. Of course, Grand Theft Auto V was not announced, but some interesting points for their future were raised and questioned.
Statements included that they have some unannounced titles for release during the next fiscal year that we will hear about in the “coming months”. A particular statement, repeated from the last financial report, was that they expect to exceed a net income of $2 per share in fiscal year 2013 (April 2012 – March 2013).
Following the report, during a Q&A session, an attendee questioned how they expect to reach such a maximum without a GTA release that year. Strauss Zelnick, CEO of T2, evaded the question and diverted his answer to titles they have already announced for release that year such as BioShock Infinite and Borderlands 2.
To put these numbers in perspective, the last time T2 did reach such an income is during the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, in which they recorded $2.08 per share. In comparison, income reached $1.06 per share during the release of Red Dead Redemption and is projected to reach up to $0.35 for the current fiscal year, where LA Noire and Duke Nukem Forever have been their main new titles.
It is safe to say that the statement by T2 encourages shareholders to expect something big, or at least a high earner, during fiscal 2013. While we are not all accountants, the numbers are clear for us to draw out some speculation about a release date, and 2012-2013 has always been plausible amongst the community.