Thar’s gold in dem dar cowboys!

Who needs modern day street thugs when you’ve got old west outlaws?  

Not Take-Two Interactive Software, it seems. “Red Dead Redemption” continues to be a retail bonanza for the publisher and is doing so much better than expected that the company is now forecasting it will turn a profit this year. That’s the first time in recent memory that it has done so in a year that didn’t have a “Grand Theft Auto” release.

“Red Dead Redemption” has shipped 6.9 million units to stores. (Note that shipments don’t equal sales.) Add in sales of catalog titles and the company posted a $12.4 million profit last quarter – versus a $58.3 million loss a year ago.

Of course, this means more “Red Dead” is on the way – and probably with a slightly quicker turnaround time than this installment (which took five years). In the meantime, Take-Two will attempt to keep the non-“GTA” momentum going with “L.A. Noire,” which was officially delayed until next year, and the just announced “Duke Nukem Forever”.