Take 2 CEO Ben Feder has stated that the current phase of the hardware cycle means that his firm’s catalogue titles are all the more important – and next week’s release of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars marks the beginning of the onslaught.

The highest profile title is 2K Games’ Bioshock 2, whose PR campaign is already underway.

Red Dead Revolver, which is due out this autumn, is Rockstar San Diego’s sequel to its 1.5m selling Xbox original, and will utilise the GTA IV game engine RAGE. It’s in development for 360 and PS3.

Gearbox is developing sci-fi title Borderlands, which will be published on the 2K label. Take 2’s 2K Czech studio is working on Mafia 2, a sequel to the 2m selling original.

Also on the way is a second downloadable outing for  Grand Theft Auto IV, which will again be a Xbox 360 exclusive. On the sporting front the publisher will also release The Bigs 2, 2K10 and NBA 2K10.

“We're maintaining our focus on creating the most innovative triple-A games in the industry today, are committed to nurturing the talent of our 1,500 developers across 15 studios who continue to set new benchmarks in the video game industry,” Feder added in a conference call reproduced by Seeking Alpha.

“The current phase of this hardware cycles places greater importance on catalogue titles. Take-Two's track record of developing triple-A titles means that over time we're adding strong products to our catalog to generate higher margins, provide incremental visibility to our business, and reduce volatility in our top line.”