Joystiq have posted some details of the research undertaken by Jason Kraft and Chris Kwak which has analysed the valud of the Grand Theft Auto gaming franchise. They put the value at around $900million, or in terms of the overall value of the take-Two company, around 70% of the company’s worth. With rumours of the company being under threat financially, having a single game franchise that dominates the company’s books is a risky proposition, given that the game may not have as much direction and life left in it as some would hope.

Perhaps the most interesting point they talk about is the franchise’s future on the PSP.

“First, they anticipate only two next-gen GTA games hitting the consoles in the next five years, versus the three current-gen titles. In the same period, they say “there is potential for up to six PSP titles (five, post Liberty City Stories) over the next five years,” continuing, “Take-Two could develop unique PSP games between major next-gen console releases or ports of existing titles. Shorter development cycles on PSP enable Take-Two to release PSP titles more frequently. The regularity with which Take-Two releases GTA titles on PSP will be critical to the franchise’s revenue growth in the next-gen cycle and underlies our revenue growth forecast.”

This statement implies that Take-Two could produce a further five GTA games for the PSP over the next five years, most likely being a mix between ports of previous GTA titles on other gaming consoles and new GTA titles.

So for PSP fans who like to play a bit of GTA, the future looks bright indeed. For those who think that the GTA series has perhaps reached its peak, and there is only so much milk you can get from a cow, Take-Two’s predictions of growth for the series over the next 5 years may fil you with dread.