Shares in Grand Theft Auto publisher and Rockstar parent company Take-Two have fallen, following negative analyst commentary on the company’s post
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas line-up.
The lack of confidence seems to relate to the fact that up to 50 percent of Take-Two’s revenue in the last quarter of this fiscal year and the first quarter of the next year is being attributed entirely to
San Andreas.
Quoted in influential CNN column 'Game Over', Bank of America Securities analyst Gary Cooper has said: "Now that
San Andreas has launched, we have decided to take an early exit off the highway largely due to a lack of product momentum for [Take Two] after
GTA: San Andreas. While it may be the largest video game of all time right now, there will be a day when
GTA is supplanted by another game." He added, in a note to clients reported by Reuters: "We have only moderate expectations for Rockstar's releases after San Andreas (such as
Midnight Club 3 and
The Warriors)."
We
recently reported that, according to separate analyst reports,
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas may sell as many as 4.5 million copies in its first week, on its way to perhaps 13-15 million copies over the life of the game. Despite this, both the Bank of America Securities and Southwest Securities have downgraded the company’s stock ratings in the last week. Stock prices themselves are currently at $31.49, close to a year low of $27.84.
