Take-Two aims to launch games on tablets 'day-and-date' with console and PC versions

The publisher of Grand Theft Auto, Borderlands, XCOM and BioShock is getting closer to launching its games on mobile platforms, specifically tablets, day-and-date with their console and PC equivalents, says Take-Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick.

Speaking at the Cowen and Company Technology, Media and Telecom Conference today, Zelnick said Take-Two is speeding up the process of bringing its core games to tablets and smartphones as mobile hardware becomes more powerful.

"We continue to believe that video games will be more and more important to consumers on mobile platforms, especially tablets," Zelnick said. "We think tablets are going to be as good as PCs. We think they're a great entertainment device already. They're not quite there from a processing power POV, but they will get there."

Zelnick explained how Take-Two is bringing older, core catalog games, like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Max Payne and Civilization Revolution, that are "less complex" to mobile platforms.

Now, Zelnick says, "We're closer and closer to actually delivering current product that way."

"For example, we're going to release a full mobile version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown this summer," he said. "That's obviously a great way to make money, because we're repurposing old content that's already paid for, and the marketing expenses are low.

"As tablets gets smarter and more robust, we figure we'll have day-and-date releases on tablets in the same way that we do on PC. That also mitigates any risk related to the launch of the next hardware generation."

Zelnick later said he expects tablets and smartphones to match the speed and graphics capabilities of next-gen platforms like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in the next three years.