Isn’t that a shame? Take-Two has announced that they’ve shifted the launch date for BioShock 2 to fiscal year 2010. Citing “several factors”, the publisher felt it necessary to push out BS2 so that it can get additional development time. While the original launch date of November 3 falls under Take-Two’s fiscal year of 2010, it’s being pushed back even further to an undetermined date.
Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two, stated, “We recognize that our revised outlook for the balance of fiscal year 2009, due to both internal and external factors, is a disappointment. That said, we concluded that moving the release of BioShock 2 into fiscal year 2010 was the right decision for the product. We believe the result will be a more compelling consumer experience and a better performing product in the marketplace. At the same time, near term retail conditions have proven to be more challenging for our business than the assumptions built into our prior outlook. We remain confident in the long term potential for Take-Two’s business, and our ability to capitalize on that potential through our exceptional creative talent and solid balance sheet.”
Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two, commented, “The decision to shift a release date is never an easy one, especially with a product as highly anticipated as BioShock 2. We felt that it was essential to invest the additional time to ensure that this title will deliver what its fans expect and deserve. As a result, we will now be launching sequels to several of our strongest franchises – including BioShock 2, Mafia II, Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption – during the next fiscal year. These titles will anchor our lineup for fiscal 2010, and along with other products planned for next year, provide a platform for enhanced financial performance in what we hope will be an improved retail environment.”
That really stinks, but Take-Two is going to have a killer lineup of AAA titles next year. I’m pretty stoked on Mafia II.
Currently waiting on the conference call to start and I’ll update this post if any new details emerge.
Update: All the above titles will be released in the first half of the 2010 calendar year. No multi-platform GTA in 2010.