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E3 Prediction: Rockstar Skips The Festivities
With Max Payne 3 out the door, we assume the core leadership group of Sam Houser, Dan Houser, Leslie Benzies, and Jeronimo Berrera that sits atop the Rockstar Studios infrastructure is now shifting its focus to Grand Theft Auto V. E3 sounds like a natural place to drum up enthusiasm for the long-awaited sequel. So why are we so confident that Rockstar won’t be there?
As anyone who has followed the company could tell you, Rockstar does things its own way. While publishers and developers line up to peddle their wares to the press and retail buyers at E3, the creators of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption go about their business as if the trade show didn’t exist. Why fight to rise above the cacophony of game announcements when you can have all the media attention for yourself on any day of your choosing throughout the year? With a juggernaut franchise like Grand Theft Auto in its library, Rockstar Games has that luxury.
The studio hasn’t had a showfloor presence since the 2005 E3, when it showed off Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Bully, and The Warriors. Since then Rockstar has occasionally been mentioned during the E3 press conferences for platform holders – Sony featured an early L.A. Noire video, Microsoft announced exclusive DLC for Grand Theft Auto IV, and Nintendo proudly boasted Rockstar was making Chinatown Wars for the DS – but its modern modus operandi has been to ignore the showfloor altogether.
Take Two’s aggressive revenue goals for the fiscal year ending in March 2013 have analysts speculating that Grand Theft Auto V will release sometime before the closing of the fourth quarter. If that’s the case, we expect Rockstar may start sharing more information about the game beyond the original teaser trailer in the late summer, post-E3 vacuum where game releases and new announcements are scarce. As confident as some of the analysts are, we wouldn't be surprised if GTA V eventually slid into the April/May release window, since that's when GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, and Max Payne 3 all launched. Rockstar won't rush the development of its crown jewel, and the added time would give it even more time to roll out the GTA V marketing campaign.
As for Agent, the PlayStation exclusive, globe-trotting espionage Rockstar title that Sony teased at the 2007 E3, your guess is as good as ours. The official Rockstar website claims it’s “coming soon,” but we’d be surprised if details started rolling out before the full Grand Theft Auto V media blitz gets going. What are your thoughts?
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