In the wake of the recent GTA fueled quarter for Take-Two Interactive, analysts have weighed in on the publisher's future. UBS analyst Ben Schachter and Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter both mention management's belief that GTA IV could ultimately outsell its predecessor GTA: San Andreas, which would mean the blockbuster title would sell over 23 million units. To date, the game has shipped around 11 million units and sold through 10 million to consumers.

"In our view, the 1 million units remaining at retail will be sufficient to satisfy consumer demand for the balance of this quarter," noted Pachter. "While we expect some reorders in Q1:09, we expect orders to approximate 30% of hardware sales in Take-Two's addressable market, or around 2.5 million additional units."

If GTA IV goes on to outsell San Andreas, Schachter said it would be an impressive feat "considering that GTA IV is not currently offered on the most popular console of this cycle (the Wii), though we note a large chunk of future GTA IV sales will occur at lower average price points."

Still, with 60 percent of Take-Two's publishing revenues coming from the GTA franchise, analysts remain skeptical about the company's prospects in non-GTA years. "What happens in a non-GTA year? – TTWO's management team have done a great job of overseeing/executing the launch of a key franchise title. Can they repeat the success in a year that may not have a major GTA release?" asked Schachter.

One area where Pachter and Schachter clearly disagree is on the possibility of a buyout by EA. Schachter doesn't see it happening: "We still believe ERTS could raise its offer to the $26-$28 level, but we don't see much upside nor do we have a high degree of confidence that a deal will be completed."

Pachter, on the other hand, "remains convinced that EA will prevail in its bid for Take-Two."

"Now that EA has received FTC approval for the combination, the company is not under any pressure to keep the negotiations alive. Now that the 'GTA trade' is behind us, we think that EA may decide to demonstrate its leverage by threatening to walk away. Earlier this week, Take-Two shares tumbled on speculation that the company would do just that, and we believe that it can complete a deal at a lower price by breaking off negotiations and cooling its heels for a few weeks. However, we think that EA has 'deal lust', and vastly prefers a friendly deal. Thus, we expect the company to increase its bid by a modest amount (likely $1 – 2) in order to complete a friendly deal," Pachter continued.

"Both parties continue to posture. EA's CEO commented at a conference this week that the company would not overpay for acquisitions. Take-Two management commented during the call about actively conducting formal discussions with other parties, implying that there are, in fact, other bidders. We don't believe that there are any bidders willing to pay more than $25.74, and expect the posturing to end when either Take-Two management negotiates a price close to EA's bid, or when EA walks away."