Take-Two Q1: BioShock Infinite sales pass 4 million units
Take-Two has reported its financials for Q1 fiscal year 2014 and announced during a call to investors this evening that BioShock Infinite moved over 4 million units.
For the quarter ending June 30, 2013 net revenue reported was $142.7 million, compared to $226.1 million year-over-year - a period which benefited from the release of Max Payne 3 and Spec Ops The Line. The firm reported a net loss of $61.9 million compared to $110.8 million year-over-year.
The largest contributors to net revenue were: Borderlands 2, NBA 2K13, Grand Theft Auto 4, and BioShock Infinite.
Catalog sales accounted for 60% of net revenue led by the Borderlands, Grand Theft Auto, and Red Dead Redemption franchises.
Revenue from digitally delivered content grew 128% year-over-year and accounted for 52% of revenue - driven by offerings for Borderlands 2, the Grand Theft Auto franchise, NBA 2K13, and BioShock Infinite.
“Our better-than-expected first quarter results demonstrate that the market remains strong for the highest-quality interactive entertainment,” said Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two. “We continue to benefit from robust demand for our recent genre-leading releases, iconic catalog titles and growing portfolio of innovative digitally delivered offerings.
“With Grand Theft Auto 5 launching on September 17, followed by the releases of NBA 2K14 and WWE2K14, fiscal 2014 is poised to be one of our best years ever.
"Looking ahead, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the upcoming launches of the next-generation consoles. We have an extensive development pipeline, highlighted by proven franchises and groundbreaking new intellectual property. As a result, we expect to continue to deliver profits in fiscal 2015 and for the foreseeable future.”
Zelnick said during the call that while he won't comment on next-gen, he said even if the systems hypothetically made development more efficient, easier or faster he is not interested in his teams churning out content too fast as it "burns the customer out."
He said while he would like to see franchise sequels release closer to the last offering, he prefers quality over quickness.
"I think in certain instances, we'd like to see releases paced a little more closely together," he said. "I don't really think next-gen is going to change the production approach sufficiently that, that will be the difference that makes the difference."
Take-Two's lineup of future titles announced to date includes: The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, Grand Theft Auto 5, NBA 2K14, WWE 2K14, Borderlands 2: Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2: Digistruct Peak Challenge (DLC), NBA 2K14, and BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea (DLC).
For the three months ending June 30, 2013, 60% of revenue came from North American sales, compared to 47% year-over-year. International sales accounted for 40% of sales, compared with 53% yoy.
The platform revenue mix for the quarter came in as follows: console 73% compared to 84% year over year; PC and other accounted for 25% - up from 14% the prior year, and handheld games revenue remained flat at 2%.
Neither Take-Two nor its CEO Strauss Zelnick have a history of sharing much information, but once the transcript from the call is release tomorrow we'll see if we can pull a few nuggets out for you.