Edgy Games Drive Adults To Play More
Fri Apr 25,10:33 AM ET
By Patrick Seitz
For a year and a half, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NasdaqNM:TTWO - News) has ruled the video game sales charts with its violent and gritty "Grand Theft Auto" franchise.
Rivals have been slow to follow Take-Two's path in the mature-rated video game sector, but competition is coming.
Meanwhile, Take-Two is adding more weapons to its arsenal, says Chief Executive Jeffrey Lapin.
"I get this question all the time: 'How do we keep it up? How do we keep it going?' I think you just have to look at our track record," he said.
Take-Two's "Grand Theft Auto 3," released in October 2001 and "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," released in October 2002, have been megahits. The two titles, both produced by the company's Rockstar Games division, each have sold more than 8 million copies. It has another big hit in "Max Payne," which has sold over 3.5 million copies.
Take-Two's Rockstar unit is working on 10 new games, only two of which have been announced, Lapin says. They are "Manhunt," an action game akin to the movie "The Fugitive," and "The Warriors," a gang drama based on the 1979 movie. "Manhunt" is set for release in October and "The Warriors" and a "Max Payne" sequel are due out in the first half of 2005.
"We don't really announce the Rockstar games until very close to release because we don't want anybody copying us," Lapin said.
Take-Two has tapped into the hottest trend in console gaming - mature-themed crime adventure games. M-rated games are the fastest growing segment in the video game business today. They're meant for players 17 and older because of their adult content.
For instance, the Entertainment Software Rating Board gives "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" a Mature rating because it includes "blood and gore, strong language, strong sexual content and violence."
Take-Two's success has inspired other game publishers to come out with "me-too products," says James Lin, a securities analyst with Jeffries & Co. "Within the next 12 to 18 months, you're going to find a wide array of M-rated titles coming into the marketplace."
The single-player crime adventure segment will be the most dominant category, he says. Sony Corp.'s "The Getaway" is leading this new wave of imitators. It was the top-selling console game in February.
Last year, sales of M-rated games rose 37%, Lin says.
Electronic Arts Inc., the largest independent game publisher, is steering away from M-rated games. That's a mistake, says Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities.
EA has the developer talent and marketing muscle to take on Take-Two, but it's reluctant to do anything that might tarnish its family games brand, Pachter says. He compares EA to the Walt Disney Co., which belatedly entered the R-rated movie business in the late 1980s.
"The one company that could really compete (with Take-Two) is Electronic Arts, and they choose not to," Pachter said. EA Chief Executive Larry Probst has said his company makes "M-light" games compared to Take-Two's "M-dark" games.
EA is best known for popular sports games like "Madden NFL" and mainstream movie tie-ins, such as those featuring superspy James Bond and young wizard Harry Potter (news - web sites).
Meanwhile, Activision Inc. is readying its answer to "Grand Theft Auto" called "True Crime: Streets of L.A.," set for release in September.
One second-tier game publisher looking to get an edge from M-rated fare is Midway Games Inc. "They're the ones that are really going after it hard," Pachter said. Midway is readying three or four M-rated titles, including the prison survival horror game "The Suffering."
Retail sales tracker NPD Fumarolic says about 20 million M-rated console games were sold in 2002. That's 21.5% of all console games. In 2001, 9 million M-rated games were sold. That's about 18% of the total.
About 24% of games sold for Sony's market-leading PlayStation 2 console were M-rated last year. About 19% of games sold for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox (news - web sites) console were mature-rated, NPDsays
"Mature-rated games are truly what's connecting with what mature gamers are seeking, which is immersive, realistic game play," said NPD analyst Richard Ow. Much of this has to do with the fact that video game consoles have expanded into an older age group, he says.
NPD estimates that 78% of mature-rated games are sold to persons 18 and over. The rest are sold to players 17 and under.
Beyond crime adventure games, mature-rated categories include military shooter games, horror survival games and games with some nudity or sexual content. The Entertainment Software Rating Board, an industry self-regulatory body established by the Interactive Digital Software Association, rates games. Ratings include Early Childhood, Everyone, Teen, Mature and Adults Only.
Publishers are mistaken if they think that mature content alone will sell games, analysts say. A good example is Acclaim Entertainment Inc.'s "BMX XXX," which stirred up controversy last year with its nudity and raunchy humor. Analysts say it failed to sell well because its game play wasn't compelling.
Publishers will continue to test the bounds of what's acceptable content in video games.
"Sometimes you have to take a little risk and push the envelope," Ow said. "And in this case, it worked out great for Take-Two.
"How far publishers are willing to go and how successful (they'll be) is really up to the gamer community, whether they receive it and they like it," he said.
Violence and mature content in "Grand Theft Auto 3" and "Vice City" didn't make those games hits. It was great game play, Pachter says.
"What made 'Grand Theft Auto' great wasn't that you killed everybody. That's really not the point," Pachter says. "The point is that the game is completely free form. When you play most games you're on a tractor pull. You're pulled through the course."
The last two "Grand Theft Auto" games have provided an immersive story with multiple coinciding missions. The next one is due out in 2004. A month later, "Grand Theft Auto 3" and "Vice City" finish exclusive run on Sony's PlayStation 2 and will be available for Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube. "And they will sell, like, a jillion copies," Pachter said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not a big fan of these games but I thought Xbox and Gamecube owners might find this info interesting.
As for me, I'm still waiting on Halo 2!
Fri Apr 25,10:33 AM ET
By Patrick Seitz
For a year and a half, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NasdaqNM:TTWO - News) has ruled the video game sales charts with its violent and gritty "Grand Theft Auto" franchise.
Rivals have been slow to follow Take-Two's path in the mature-rated video game sector, but competition is coming.
Meanwhile, Take-Two is adding more weapons to its arsenal, says Chief Executive Jeffrey Lapin.
"I get this question all the time: 'How do we keep it up? How do we keep it going?' I think you just have to look at our track record," he said.
Take-Two's "Grand Theft Auto 3," released in October 2001 and "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," released in October 2002, have been megahits. The two titles, both produced by the company's Rockstar Games division, each have sold more than 8 million copies. It has another big hit in "Max Payne," which has sold over 3.5 million copies.
Take-Two's Rockstar unit is working on 10 new games, only two of which have been announced, Lapin says. They are "Manhunt," an action game akin to the movie "The Fugitive," and "The Warriors," a gang drama based on the 1979 movie. "Manhunt" is set for release in October and "The Warriors" and a "Max Payne" sequel are due out in the first half of 2005.
"We don't really announce the Rockstar games until very close to release because we don't want anybody copying us," Lapin said.
Take-Two has tapped into the hottest trend in console gaming - mature-themed crime adventure games. M-rated games are the fastest growing segment in the video game business today. They're meant for players 17 and older because of their adult content.
For instance, the Entertainment Software Rating Board gives "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" a Mature rating because it includes "blood and gore, strong language, strong sexual content and violence."
Take-Two's success has inspired other game publishers to come out with "me-too products," says James Lin, a securities analyst with Jeffries & Co. "Within the next 12 to 18 months, you're going to find a wide array of M-rated titles coming into the marketplace."
The single-player crime adventure segment will be the most dominant category, he says. Sony Corp.'s "The Getaway" is leading this new wave of imitators. It was the top-selling console game in February.
Last year, sales of M-rated games rose 37%, Lin says.
Electronic Arts Inc., the largest independent game publisher, is steering away from M-rated games. That's a mistake, says Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities.
EA has the developer talent and marketing muscle to take on Take-Two, but it's reluctant to do anything that might tarnish its family games brand, Pachter says. He compares EA to the Walt Disney Co., which belatedly entered the R-rated movie business in the late 1980s.
"The one company that could really compete (with Take-Two) is Electronic Arts, and they choose not to," Pachter said. EA Chief Executive Larry Probst has said his company makes "M-light" games compared to Take-Two's "M-dark" games.
EA is best known for popular sports games like "Madden NFL" and mainstream movie tie-ins, such as those featuring superspy James Bond and young wizard Harry Potter (news - web sites).
Meanwhile, Activision Inc. is readying its answer to "Grand Theft Auto" called "True Crime: Streets of L.A.," set for release in September.
One second-tier game publisher looking to get an edge from M-rated fare is Midway Games Inc. "They're the ones that are really going after it hard," Pachter said. Midway is readying three or four M-rated titles, including the prison survival horror game "The Suffering."
Retail sales tracker NPD Fumarolic says about 20 million M-rated console games were sold in 2002. That's 21.5% of all console games. In 2001, 9 million M-rated games were sold. That's about 18% of the total.
About 24% of games sold for Sony's market-leading PlayStation 2 console were M-rated last year. About 19% of games sold for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox (news - web sites) console were mature-rated, NPDsays
"Mature-rated games are truly what's connecting with what mature gamers are seeking, which is immersive, realistic game play," said NPD analyst Richard Ow. Much of this has to do with the fact that video game consoles have expanded into an older age group, he says.
NPD estimates that 78% of mature-rated games are sold to persons 18 and over. The rest are sold to players 17 and under.
Beyond crime adventure games, mature-rated categories include military shooter games, horror survival games and games with some nudity or sexual content. The Entertainment Software Rating Board, an industry self-regulatory body established by the Interactive Digital Software Association, rates games. Ratings include Early Childhood, Everyone, Teen, Mature and Adults Only.
Publishers are mistaken if they think that mature content alone will sell games, analysts say. A good example is Acclaim Entertainment Inc.'s "BMX XXX," which stirred up controversy last year with its nudity and raunchy humor. Analysts say it failed to sell well because its game play wasn't compelling.
Publishers will continue to test the bounds of what's acceptable content in video games.
"Sometimes you have to take a little risk and push the envelope," Ow said. "And in this case, it worked out great for Take-Two.
"How far publishers are willing to go and how successful (they'll be) is really up to the gamer community, whether they receive it and they like it," he said.
Violence and mature content in "Grand Theft Auto 3" and "Vice City" didn't make those games hits. It was great game play, Pachter says.
"What made 'Grand Theft Auto' great wasn't that you killed everybody. That's really not the point," Pachter says. "The point is that the game is completely free form. When you play most games you're on a tractor pull. You're pulled through the course."
The last two "Grand Theft Auto" games have provided an immersive story with multiple coinciding missions. The next one is due out in 2004. A month later, "Grand Theft Auto 3" and "Vice City" finish exclusive run on Sony's PlayStation 2 and will be available for Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube. "And they will sell, like, a jillion copies," Pachter said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not a big fan of these games but I thought Xbox and Gamecube owners might find this info interesting.
As for me, I'm still waiting on Halo 2!
