GTA delay?

Industry analyst Michael Pachter has announced his belief that EA will delay the highly anticipated Grad Theft Auto 4 from it's 4/29 release date until sometime in the fall. This done in order to take advantage of the lucrative fourth quarter shopping season. And, of course, it should be pointed out that EA doesn't yet own Take Two- the company that actually owns GTA, so this all seems a bit premature. Especially since TT want no part of a merger.

Nonetheless, Pacter believes the only reason Take Two would drop GTA 4 in April would be because the company needs money so badly that they can't wait any longer. I personally don't see it that way (even if it rings true). With a fall release, GTA would be going up against, among others, Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2- both mega-blockbusters for their respective platforms. Not really the best idea.

But I don't understand why this is even being discussed at all. There's no deal in place yet to combine the companies! Bottom line? Hopefully the game will release on time and we'll all have our GTA fix for the spring/summer. That and EA doesn't need to absorb any more companies. Really. They don't need to be no richer.