During Take-Two’s recent earnings call, CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked if he thought there was something about Red Dead Redemption 2 that would make it better for a summer launch versus a winter one. In response, Zelnick said he doesn’t think it really matters when Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out, as people consume entertainment year-round:
For a title like this, I don’t think the launch window really matters. And obviously, Red Dead Redemption went out in May and was an extraordinarily successful title. Consumers are consuming entertainment year round. Now they don’t stop in the summer months. And we believe that if you give people an extraordinary experience, they will show up for it.
Zelnick also addressed the decision to delay Red Dead Redemption 2 from fall 2017 to spring 2018, which he says was due to ensuring it was the best experience possible, and not because there have been issues during development: I think the purpose of the delay for Red Dead Redemption 2 is to make sure that we deliver the most extraordinary experience we’re capable of providing. We haven’t gone into particular issues. We are building a new game from the ground up for the first time for new generation consoles, and the pressure that we put on ourselves to deliver excellence and to delight consumers is extraordinary. And we want to make sure that the appropriate time is taken to do the very best job we can, and I think that’s what consumers expec...