GTA 5 News: Take-Two President Says Xbox One and PS4 Launches Prove Console Gaming is 'Alive and Well'

Grand Theft Auto 5 was seen by many to be the last big hurrah for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era of gaming. With the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One replacing those consoles and some claiming that the video game industry is about to take a nosedive, Take-Two president Karl Slatoff has taken a stand to praise the sales of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, claiming the sales numbers prove console gaming is alive and healthy.

Slatoff, whose company Take-Two is the publisher of Grand Theft Auto 5 developer Rockstar, said he was "pleased and very excited" about the next-gen console sales figures at the BMO Capital Markets conference, according to Gamespot. He claimed that, while there are some doom and gloom predictions for the new consoles, they appear to be on track for long-term success:

"...This was a little bit different because there is a lot of noise around the gaming industry in general and a lot of question about whether this console cycle will have the same juice as the previous console cycle. And there are a lot of doubters about whether or not the console market in general is dead...And I think the successful launches for the PS4 and the Xbox One have proven that obviously console gaming is alive and well."

Asked why Take-Two and Rockstar take such long breaks between Grand Theft Auto games, Slatoff said the companies need the time to ensure each new game develops into something that can raise the bar for quality across the industry. Slatoff also said that the breaks allow Take-Two to focus more on new IPs so the company has a more diverse roster of franchises:

"For us specifically, it's very important to invest in other products because we don't want to be ever in a situation where a product sort of runs its lifecycle and then there is nothing there to replace it. So we're very focused on new IP. So there is always an opportunity cost to dedicating all of your resources or the vast majority of your resources towards any one franchise...It may work really well in the short-term, but it's a very dangerous thing to do in the long-term and that is not something that we're interested in doing."

Slatoff also stated that Take-Two works on creating features that keep players engaged in a game for the years between releases, such as Grand Theft Auto Online:

"We have more tools in our disposal...And GTA Online is another example of that where we can keep the consumer engaged with the franchise in between these tentpole releases, so it doesn't matter quite as much when they come out."