Considering the fact that Rockstar Games has yet to show us much on Grand Theft Auto V beyond what we’ve seen from the launch trailer, it’s safe to assume that it won’t be launching this year. However, even if that weren’t the case and GTA V did release this year, analyst Colin Sebastian doesn’t believe it would be enough to spike game sales out of the red.
In an interview with VentureBeat, the Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst explained:
I am not confident that it will be out this year, and even if it did, we would still likely see a modest decline in console software sales. Given the current momentum of the market, I doubt any major releases, even one of GTA V’s size, would push the physical markets back into the positives.
Jesse Divnich, an analyst at EEDAR echoed Sebastian’s comments, saying that “given the current momentum of the market, I doubt any major releases, even one of GTA V‘s size, would push the physical markets back into the positives.” According to Divnich, “the traditional gaming sector is under an enormous amount of downward pressure at the moment, and it will require a strong catalyst to shift that momentum.”
Perhaps new hardware would give the industry the jump it needs? C’mon Sony, where is the PlayStation 4?
