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Take-Two CEO: GTA remasters must make sense creatively

The company won't release HD versions of old games for quick cash grabs.

May 18, 2016 4:45 PM

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed that Grand Theft Auto 5 has shipped 65 million copies across all platforms, and that the game's developer, Rockstar Games, has new projects coming down the line.

For those reasons, he told investors during today's earnings call, Take-Two won't push Rockstar to remaster old GTA games released on PS2—Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas—unless the developers decide those games "look great creatively," per GameSpot.

Zelnick elaborated, saying that remaster projects must hold the potential to excite customers in order to move forward. "And if the answer is yes, then it may well be a compelling opportunity. But if the answer is indifferent or no then even if we have an opportunity to make a few bucks we probably would decline."

He then stated that all final decisions regarding projects are made by development studios under Take-Two's label, such as 2K and Rockstar, rather than from on high at Take-Two.

During the call, Zelnick also shared his belief that the future looks bright for console upgrades like PlayStation 4 Neo, and Nintendo's upcoming NX.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

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May 18, 2016 4:45 PM

David Craddock posted a new article, Take-Two CEO: GTA remasters must make sense creatively
- Turd Ferguson
  
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  May 18, 2016 4:46 PM
  
  Said while shoveling sub par phone ports at a rate of knots.
  - Thresher
    
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    May 18, 2016 5:34 PM
    
    I think they have a small team that just ports stuff over to mobile devices. They can't do that with GTA IV or V because the engine would take a complete re-write for mobile. I imagine if they could virtualize it, they would.
- ryuuseki
  
   reply
  May 18, 2016 4:50 PM
  
  I loved the last two games but one area they fell supremely short was the empire building aspects of vice city. Having content like that post endgame really made for an enjoyable experience to dick around in far past the expiration date.