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"Grand Theft Auto IV" launches today for Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The long-awaited, super-violent and well-regarded game was already expected to exceed the record $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft's "Halo 3." Now, Reuters reports that the CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software, parent of "GTA" publisher Rockstar Games, believes analysts may be underestimating its potential.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 "GTA IV" box covers.
It wouldn't be the first time that the series has broken records. According to NPD Group data, "GTA: San Andreas" and "GTA: Vice City" are both in the top 5 of all-time game sales. ("San Andreas" is No. 1.) "The franchise clearly has staying power and a proven track record," wrote Anita Frazier, an NPD analyst, in an e-mail last week.
Today's launch is also notable because it's the first time that a game in the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise has debuted simultaneously for Microsoft and Sony consoles. I explored that issue in this story in Monday's newspaper. As noted in the story, Microsoft's larger market share gives the Xbox 360 a natural advantage in the race to sell more copies of the game. But Sony is looking at the game as an opportunity to get fans of the earlier "GTA" games on PlayStation 2 to move to PS3.
"There is a definite history there, and a definite affinity there that is undeniable between the PS2 and 'Grand Theft Auto,' " said Scott Steinberg, Sony Computer Entertainment America's vice president of product marketing, when I spoke with him last week. "We've been slicing and dicing our database and marketing directly to the folks who are eligible for PS3 and a 'Grand Theft Auto IV' message."
Microsoft will also be trying to lure PS2 owners, hoping to get them to switch to the Xbox 360. Working to its advantage will be the exclusive deal, reportedly worth $50 million, that Microsoft struck with Rockstar Games to offer Xbox Live users a chance to purchase additional "GTA IV" episodes starting in the fall. Microsoft declined to disclose any further details about the plans for that extra content.
From the P-I:
Video game violence: Do parents overreact?
Game On: 'Grand Theft Auto IV'
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Posted by boogietime at 4/29/08 6:55 a.m.
PC version?