Take-Two Q3s: Red Dead Redemption sells 8 million

News by Staff Contributor

Published on Feb. 8, 2011

Take-Two's announced its Q3 financial results, confirming that Red Dead Redemption has sold 8 million units.

The Rockstar western went on sale last May for PS3 and 360, with major DLC expansion Undead Nightmare releasing last fall digitally and at retail. However, Take-Two would not go into specifics regarding the sales split between the disc version of Undead Nightmare and the retail version.

Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two said Rockstar has proved it knows how to make hits, continue to make hits and continue supporting it's games post release.

For the third quarter ending on December 31, net revenue was down 7 percent year-over-year, compared to $334.3 million, which is better than the company's expected $290 to $315 million for the period. Net profits were up 7 percent to $40.8 million for the period.

The strongest contributors to net revenue and profitability in the third quarter this year included NBA 2K11, Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete, Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition, and Sid Meier's Civilization V.

Catalog titles that contributed to the strength in the recent period were led by the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Digitally delivered content also continued to be an important component of Take-Two's sales, particularly driven by strong sales offerings for Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands and Sid Meier's Civilization V.

Nine-month revenue up 80 percent

For the nine-months ending on December 31, net revenue increased 80 percent year-over-year to $954.6 million. Non-GAAP income from continuing operations increased to $108.8 million, compared to a loss of $67.5 million for the year-ago period.

Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two said it was the fifth consecutive quarter the firm has met its financial expectations: "Strong holiday sales enabled Take-Two to continue to deliver
better-than-expected revenue and earnings in the third quarter. Our results year-to-date clearly demonstrate the Company's ability to translate its world-class creative resources and diverse portfolio of triple-A franchises into meaningful profits.

"We have no update on Max Payne 3 at this time."

"Looking ahead to the balance of the year and fiscal 2012, I have never been more enthusiastic about our diverse line-up of upcoming releases. In addition to producing triple-A titles focused on the traditional console market, we are also actively pursuing opportunities to grow our revenues by leveraging the strength of our brands in emerging markets and across new platforms and distribution channels. These include opportunities in Asia and Latin America, evolving downloadable content models and online multiplayer experiences."

As far as the new handhelds were concerned, Zelnick said the firm is looking hard at NGP and 3DS, but is not ready to announce anything for either until it is "ready to do so."

Take-Two's COO Karl Slatoff said the market is continuing to grow, whether it be the installed base of consoles or digital content, and Take-Two plans to continue to be part of both in the future.

Current games slate for Take-Two: