Pachter: Mafia II "well below expectations," profit unlikely

2K Czech's long-developer crime action game won't turn a profit, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter has said in a note.

"Mafia II’s average Metacritic score of 74 is well below expectations, and consumer interest appears to be waning, as the game’s position has dropped in many best-seller lists in its first week. With six years in development, we believe the game is unlikely to achieve profitability," Pachter said.

Whoops. Long development times are adding stickiness to Take-Two's wicket, the analyst added.

"With longer development cycles, Take-Two has a profitability threshold higher than its peers. We believe that the company must focus on streamlining its development process and providing better visibility on future game releases.

"Despite a multitude of recent game announcements, Take-Two’s share price has taken a battering recently, reflecting investor disappointment that there has been no update on the next Grand Theft Auto, which appears to have potentially slipped to 2012."

Take-Two will report results for the quarter ending July 31 this Thursday, September 2.

The conference call takes place at 1.30pm PST.