Episodic GTA IV content expected late 2008 - analyst

While Take Two has remained quiet on the release of exclusive episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter believes it won't appear on the Xbox 360 until at least the fourth quarter of 2008.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Theft Auto IV were originally due for release this October, with chief financial officer Laine Goldstein previously revealing that the first of two exclusive packages for Microsoft would follow in March next year.

However, since the release of the highly-anticipated crime sim was pushed back until at least April 2008, any release date for the downloadable episodes — which Microsoft reportedly paid USD 25 million each for — has been up in the air.

"We note that the USD 50 million deferred revenue for GTA episodic content was reclassified as 'long term,' implying a release date no earlier than Q4 2008," commented Pachter in a note to investors following publisher Take Two's latest financial results.

Wedbush Morgan predicts that Grand Theft Auto IV will sell around 8 million units at full-price, generating revenues of USD 400 million. And despite the the fact that future titles in the series could sell even more units, the analyst remain sceptical of the franchises profitability.

"We do believe that the GTA franchise has a great deal of potential, and think that future versions will sell more than the 8 million units we expect from GTA IV.

"However, we remain sceptical that future versions will be as profitable as past versions, as the Rockstar team has apparently taken its studio name to heart," commented Pachter.