Take-Two believes that their long-standing franchises like Grand Theft Auto will have a lasting appeal, with the franchise compared to the spy thriller James Bond.
In a speech at the Jefferies Virtual Global Interactive Entertainment Conference, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was more than happy to answer if he thinks the company’s core franchises have a shelf life. He was also asked if they can survive through industry changes and advancements in gaming tech.
Zelnick noted that games like GTA can have an appeal that lasts a long time. He likens his view towards his outlook with spy thriller James Bond, which is a beloved franchise since the 1950s.
GTA, Red Dead among publisher’s marquee franchises
In his speech, Zelnick notes that he wants their franchises to continue over time. He notes that there are only a few that will likely endure, many of which are staples in the gaming industry for decades now.
“If it’s really, really great it will keep going,” he said, with transcriptions from VGC. “I don’t 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.”
CEO believes other franchises can also qualify
Zelnick also implied in the interview that other Take-Two products may also qualify for such level of longevity. However, he notes that the “gating factor” for these will be the quality of the release.
Zelnick implies that the quality of the release for franchises like Bioshock, Civilization, and Borderlands can be a make-or-break detail for them.
“It also requires you to be thoughtful and be willing to rest a title so that you have a sense of ‘wow, this is a rare event’,” said Zelnick.
“I’ve always said that annualizing non-sports titles runs the risk of burning out intellectual property even if it’s good, so we take the time to make something that we think is incredibly phenomenal and we also rest titles intentionally so that there’s pent-up demand for that title so that it’s a special event.
“I go and see a Bond film because there isn’t another one in two months – I’m going to see every Bond film.”
Take-Two seems to be following this approach. GTA V came out in 2013 and is still around four years away, according to pundits. They also released the GTA Remastered Trilogy this week, only to pull it out due to the iffy quality of the release.
Featured image courtesy of Gamespot/Youtube Screenshot