Grand Theft Auto 5 represents the vast majority of Take Two’s revenue this quarter. During the same quarter, IHS expects EA to generate 47% of its revenue from digital and mobile sales; Activision Blizzard to generate 62% from digital sales; and Ubisoft to generate 34% of its sales from digital and mobile.
“In this context, Take Two has far to go before its heavy reliance on retail sales is mitigated by diversification into digital, online and mobile opportunities,” Arrington said.
“Monetising the online portion of GTA 5 offers Take Two the opportunity to build its digital business relatively quickly and to claw back its position against its direct competition.
“However, the problems Take Two has experienced in deployment and roll-out of GTA Online highlights the expertise gap that needs to be filled when implementing ambitious online games experiences across significant user bases,” the analyst said.