“Take-Two (NSDQ: TTWO) has made a very intrepid move by putting gamers before investors, an act most publishers wouldn’t usually consider ... Now, I expect them to dominate fiscal 2010,” Divinch said, rattling off a list of titles, including BioShock 2, Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption, that the publisher would be releasing next year. “As far as I am concerned, Take-Two is just moving numbers from one financial year to another.”

The decision to push back for the sake of game quality does make sense—particularly if Take-Two wants to get out from under the bias that its a “one-trick pony” beholden to strong GTA sales if it wants to survive. A critically-acclaimed, well-received BioShock 2 could drive record-breaking sales next year; a game released this year full of bugs or otherwise subpar gameplay could have ended up tarnishing Take-Two’s brand equity—and stunting sales of its future titles. Release.