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Is Take-Two Nintendo's Key to the Core?

Kris Graft's picture

By Kris Graft

January 29, 2009

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Microsoft and Sony are trying to appeal more to the casual audience; Nintendo has the opposite problem.

According to analyst Doug Creutz with Cowen and Company, Nintendo is looking to one of the masters of mature-themed games, Take-Two, to bring hardcore gamers to happy-go-lucky Wii and DS platforms.

After a meeting with Take-Two chair Ben Feder, Creutz asserted in a note, "The upcoming launch of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS will be an important test of Take-Two’s ability to make inroads on Nintendo’s wildly successful DS and Wii platforms.

"Nintendo wants their platforms to appeal to all gamer segments (not just casual/family) and views Take-Two’s IP as an important driver of core gamer interest."

Chinatown Wars, slated for release on March 17, is an M-rated (17 and up) game for the DS, a handheld whose biggest sellers include titles such as Pokemon and Mario Kart. The Rockstar-developed Chinatown Wars will feature drug dealing and other mature themes that GTA players are wholly aware of.

Creutz also said Take-Two management is "frustrated" by used game sales at specialty retailers such as GameStop, as publishers see no return on secondhand transactions. According to the analyst, Take-Two "is examining ways to ameliorate the problem, which includes strategies around online play and downloadable content which extend the lifespan of AAA titles."

elocinanna's picture
On January 30th elocinanna said:

If they wanted it to apeal to a mature audience (as opposed to immature) they shouldn't have named the restaurant sum yung guy. It seems like the humour in this is going to be lowest common denominator even to a 15 year old.

Belcaw's picture
On January 29th Belcaw said:

I'm not too interested in DS games because Nintendo has an outrageous replacement policy. I have the choice of getting a refirbed replacement for something like $100 or if I'd like them to try to fix my actual unit, it'll cost $90, but it will take over a month and if they can't fix it, they end up sending a refirb anyway.

Seems like I'd be better off selling it and using the exchange rate to buy a fancy new colored one. Why can't I just get the microphone replaced for a reasonable price? I don't want to buy any games with a broken microphone because you never know when a game is going to require the mic or not. I have a handful of games that I just can't play at all because of this.

Well, I guess I'll stick to my other systems, and I'll wait to see if the new DS tempts me otherwise.

-belcaw

Dan_Chippendale's picture
On January 29th Dan_Chippendale said:

I'm sure this game will sell well but I'm not sure if I'll pick it up. GTA4 got a little boring for me and I'm not sure my carpel tunnel can take retrying the same mission over and over. Although this does seem to be the only game due for DS that remotely interests me. Not used my DS for about a year. Will I buy this game. Hmm. It's a tough one