Analyst gives three reasons why GTA V could be delayed

By: Musa Afridi

  |   September 22nd, 2012   |  

Uncategorized

Grand Theft Auto 5 could miss its rumoured March release date according to Baird analyst, Colin Sebastian, but it’s not a bad thing, apart from the extra wait of course.

If there is any series that can break Call of Duty’s stranglehold on the sales front in the industry, it is Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series. The long running open world sandbox series has sold more copies than many other popular games and many expect it to break records when it is released.

The question at this point has to do with the game’s release date, which is a matter of much speculation and rumour in the industry. All fingers point towards a 2013 release date with a number of sources claiming they are certain of a Q1 release date.

However, Colin Sebastian thinks those reports are very likely to be true but at the same time there is plenty of reason to think the release date could be after that as well.

He explained, “By no means am i convinced that Grand Theft Auto V will miss March,” however, there’s a saying that goes, ‘nothing before the word ‘but’ matter’, so in that spirit, “but there are a couple of factors to consider.”

Colin delivered his three point speech on why Grand Theft Auto V could potentially be released in Q2 2013, “One, we haven’t heard anything definitive from the company on release timing. Second, retailers typically would want four to six months lead time to prepare for a launch as large as GTA, and from what I understand, they haven’t heard anything.”

A very valid reason one might add, and lastly, “Third, Rockstar rightly prioritises game quality over release date, and this dynamic could shift timing.”

The third point is emphasized by the screenshots released by Rockstar in recent weeks, which show a high level of polish and attention to detail. The game has been in development for quite some time and from the many teasers that have been released by Rockstar so far, it seems that they are set to push the current generation of consoles to their absolute limits.

One can expect the PC version of the game to look prettier and run smoother than its console counterpart as PCs have finally taken over the consoles in terms of power.

With that one would expect the announcement of the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720 but both Sony and Microsoft have been quiet on that front, barring a few leaks of course.

But what about the readers; when do you think Grand Theft Auto V will be released? Let us know your predictions in the comments section below and no, ‘not soon enough’ does not qualify. Cheers.