iTWire - GTA IV set to beat Halo 3 record

IT NEWS Sustainability Get JOB ALERTS that match your skills

GTA IV set to beat Halo 3 record

by Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 02 April 2008
! It is a fast moving world, none less so than in the video gaming arena, Analysts are already predicting big things for Grand Theft Auto IV when it is released this month. Microsoft especially are hoping for the lions share of the action on the Xbox 360 Rumour: NVIDIA driven MacBooks out October 14th? Horde of new Resident Evil 5 screenshots unleashed Gamers get car insurance discount Sleepy teens awake still hooked up to tech toys Market turmoil hits video games industry hard Having spent a rumoured US$50 million for exclusive Xbox 360 episodic content, it is unnecessary to say that many Microsoft eggs will be carried in the Grand Theft Auto IV basket. In a recent interview on Jason Hills ScreenPlay blog , Australian Xbox Product Marketing Manager Jeremy Hinton was asked how important GTA IV would be to the Xbox 360: “I think it's very important to the market generally. We talk about, Microsoft has spoken about for the last couple of years, about broadening titles and broadening the platform. But if you look at it purely statistically, there is no broader title in the market than GTA IV, or the Grand Theft Auto franchise. It's far and away the most successful property here in Australia and certainly popular around the world. I think it's very much a core driver and a core reason for people to upgrade to the next generation. From what I've seen of the game it is certainly a next-generation gaming experience. People will see it and understand what the next generation is really about if they haven't already seen a reason to jump in. I think its going to drive a lot of people to buy consoles, and no doubt also plonk down a large amount of cash in order to secure additional exclusive content. So we see GTA IV as a key driver of our platform.” He said. Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey believes betting on GTA IV success is a pretty sure wager for Microsoft;” Grand Theft Auto IV could sell 5.8 million copies in its first week, giving it retail sales of US$360 million, which would be bigger than the US$300 million Halo 3 did in its first week last year” Due for release on April 29th GTA IV is expected to do big things for the coffers of not only Microsoft, but also Sony (with the PS3 version), developer RockStar as well as publisher, and take over target Take-Two. Take-Two are continuing to plead to shareholders to stand firm on rejecting increased offers from gaming behemoth Electronic Arts.. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to post your comment! Tags See All Tags Consoles Games Microsoft Mike Bantick PlayStation Sony Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now