Take-Two Interactive has just announced that the company has delayed the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV from its October release to a new date "second quarter of fiscal 2008." The second quarter for Take-Two starts in February and ends in April.

Very little explanation was given for the delay. Take-Two simply said that "additional development time [is] required to complete the title."

Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games, commented, "The new consoles are allowing us to create the Grand Theft Auto game we always dreamed about. Every aspect of the game and its design has been completely transformed. The game is huge and is pushing the hardware platforms to their absolute limits. The top engineers from Sony and Microsoft are working closely with the team in Edinburgh right now, helping us to fully leverage the power of both platforms. As always, our goal is to surpass even the wildest expectations of the game's fans, and to create the ultimate high definition video game experience."

The delay to GTA IV has also resulted in Take-Two having to reduce its guidance for fiscal 2007. For the year ending October 31, the publisher is anticipating revenue in the range of $950 million to $1.0 billion with a net loss per share in the range of $1.25 to $1.35. For the fourth quarter, Take-Two is expecting net revenue in the range of $275 million to $300 million, with a net loss per share in the range of $0.05 to $0.10.

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