"We're going to give a firm date when we are utterly convinced that we have it and that isn't right now." – Take Two Interactive Software’s chairman Strauss Zelnick said about Grand Theft Auto IV during last week’s 2007 BMO Capital Markets Interactive Entertainment Summit from New York.

"We're not in the business of disappointing investors." But these words seem to have had a major impact for the popular video game’s fans and for all the interested ones. The Internet has been overwhelmed with reports that were suggesting Grand Theft Auto IV’s been struck by yet another release delay.

Even though the reports were nothing else then rumors, the video game’s fans were already disappointed, especially that this move would have come just days after another major controversy related to Take Two, involving this time Manhunt 2, which has recently raised a big wave of concerns and protests because of some scenes of high violence that the hackers managed to unlock for the PSP version of the game.

However, Strauss Zelnick, the publisher’s chairman has eventually stepped forward for clarifying his comments related to Grand Theft Auto IV and its release date.

“When asked about the release date [for GTA IV], I confirmed the previous release date we’d given, which is our second fiscal quarter. That’s to say sometime between the beginning of February and the end of April.” Strauss Zelnick was reported by GameSpot to have said.

So, now that the rumors were proved to have been wrong, it remains to be seen when exactly the game has been pushed back into the quarter 1 / quarter 2 2008. Strauss Zelnick however added that his company will announce the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV "as soon as we feel very comfortable that we know the exact date within that three-month period that we outlined".