Bad news for all you Max Payne 3 fans out there eager to spew bullets in slow-mo: Take-Two Interactive released their second quarter 2010 financial report today revealing several key points regarding their 2010 release schedule.
The (not so astonishing) bombshell that was wedged in the Financial Guidance portion of the report stated the release of Max Payne 3 would be pushed back to 2011. No further information is added regarding the quarter they’ve pushed it to next year, however it does go on to state that L.A. Noire, Mafia II and Civilization V are all still set on a fall release schedule for this year.
This is not too surprising considering the hints that were dropped by Take-Two back in March, sharing similar sentiments to, “the Company’s fiscal year 2010 guidance reflects the potential movement of one of these titles into fiscal 2011.” Back then it was anyone’s guess which game would get the shove, but considering the mediocre response to Max Payne 2 in 2003, and the mismanagement Max Payne 3 has encountered, it almost seems like a nervous move by Take-Two to position the game’s release in a less competitive quarter.
I’m really hoping that this doesn’t represent their feelings on the quality of the game. To ease our worries, CEO Ben Feder made a statement that the delay is in fact due to the success of Red Dead Redemption. Like Red Dead, Max Payne 3 would also benefit from an increased development time in order to “fulfill its potential in the marketplace”.
As a gamer, it’s hard to say whether that statement is true due to the fact that we’ve only seen slight glimpses of a homeless looking Bruce Willis in pre-staged screenshots, and no gameplay footage to base it on. I’ve been a fan of the hard-boiled noir action epic since it first appeared on the PC and I am very much looking forward to the next installment, though to be honest I am a bit curious to see the new direction they have decided to take the franchise in.
What do you guys think about Max Payne 3’s delay? Do you think it has to do with development issues or is Take-Two just being cagey about the release?
