Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has a new tone when it comes to ports, remakes, and remasters of the companies’ games.
Speaking to IGN, Zelnick was pressed on the topic of remasters and remakes. Here’s what he had to say:
“It depends on the vision that the creative teams have for a title, and in the absence of having a powerful vision, for something that we would do with a title, we might bring it in its original form, we’ve done that, and in certain instances we might remaster or remake, so it really depends on the title and how the label feels about it, the platform, and what we think the opportunity is for consumers.”
So, let’s go ahead and review what Zelnick said on this topic in 2021:
“I’m not sure there’ll be a bigger part of the strategy. Remastering has always been a part of the strategy.
We’ve done differently than the competition – we don’t just port titles over, we actually take the time to do the very best job we can making the title different for the new release, for the new technology that we’re launching it on.
So, we improve the technology, we upgrade the visuals, and we make performance enhancements. And that’s why I think our remastered titles typically do so well.”
One can argue that Zelnick could be saying this about any game, but really, there’s a tonal shift on what he emphasizes than, and now. And it reflects on the games that Take-Two had rereleased at the time.
In 2021, Zelnick had the benefit of talking about the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S ports of Grand Theft Auto V. Take Two and Rockstar clearly spared no expense to bring the game over, going so far as to integrate systems for players to move their progress over between platforms.
And there’s no surprise there – Grand Theft Auto V, and most especially Grand Theft Auto Online. Take Two and Rockstar was able to get the income flowing through constant Grand Theft Auto Onlineupdates, and that whole game’s entire monetization.
But when it comes to celebrating Grand Theft Auto’s legacy, Take-Two had famously faltered. The release of Grand Theft Auto The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition came not just with bugs, but a general air of disappointment over how little Take Two invested in the project. While much of the blame has been thrown at developer Grove Street Games, the limited scope and development period that Take Two allotted to Grove Street is what led to its poor release.
With Red Dead Redemption, it does look like Take-Two has at least learned a few things. A barebones port will definitely be better than a botched HD version or remastering of the game, but gamers are also not wrong to be disappointed.
Zelnick’s words ring hollow to gamers who not only have nostalgia for Take-Two’s library, but also appreciate their relevance in the industry’s history. If Zelnick himself doesn’t have that ‘vision’ to build what gamers want to see in these rereleases, he should hire people who have it.
