GTA IV expected to rake in $400 million opening weekend between Xbox 360, PS3
By Triston McIntyre
Though many anticipate Grand Theft Auto IV to be one of the most-played titles in gaming history, it might come as a surprise that Take Two (creators of the Grand Theft Auto series) anticipate the game to gross an astounding $400 million in unit sales during the opening weekend alone.
That is according to Variety, which claims sources close to Take Two have it on good authority that the studio expects to sell some 6 million units the first 6 days out the gates; though it may seem strange to refer to games as having opening weekends as they usually debut on Tuesdays, the use of such terminology is a definite indicator that major motion pictures have serious competition with video games at this point in time.
Projections are likely based on pre-orders from retail locations like GameStop and other electronic retailers, as well as industry polls and analyst predictions. If Grand Theft Auto IV actually grosses $400 million during opening weekend, that would make it the most successful video game launch in history; Halo 3, which currently holds the best opening weekend numbers of $300 million, would be eclipsed by a hefty 25%.
The reason the predictions are so high are also due to the fact that Grand Theft Auto IV will be debuting on both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3; Halo 3 was an Xbox 360 exclusive title.
The Iron Man film, which will be debuting the Friday of GTA IV’s opening weekend, might truly have some staunch competition after all.
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Tips N4G
April 16th, 2008
That’s a lot of clams.
April 17th, 2008
I’ll be sure to go see Iron Man at least twice.
April 17th, 2008
Iron who?, Nah, j/k, I’ll see the Iron Man movie, but not in theatres, I’ll wait for the Blu Ray version to come out.
April 17th, 2008
HAHA I just heard that the real Gran Turismo 5 won’t be released until Summer 2009!!! Aren’t you PS3 owners tired of waiting for games???
April 18th, 2008
@ winner, nope, I’m playing GT5:P, MGO beta on Monday, GTA4, the following week and I’m still playing R6:V2, Not much waiting here, In fact, I don’t know when I’m going to find time to play all of these games.
April 18th, 2008
Gerry,
I’m actually having the same problem. Between my PS3 and PSP, I just don’t have the time I want to focus on all the different games on my list.
-Arvis
April 18th, 2008
big bucks!! here’s hoping it’s worth it. I see your point, winner, even tho the ps3 fanboys won’t admit it; GT5 was supposed to be a system seller this year and now supposedly ps3 owners are happy playing a gimped version of GT5 as a substitute. I think they’re in for a rude awakening with MGS online, as their is already reports of problems requiring a patch, and a very, very long install process involved. Will MGS be the 2008 system seller that was promised? sony sure had better hope so.
April 18th, 2008
kev, GT5 was never “promised” to come out this year, if you actually knew anything you’d, well, know that. But your a delusional fanboy who can’t see beyond the confines of the “box” your stuck in.
I’ll fill you in on something: The reason we have GT5 Prologue is because PD asked the fans and consumers if they would like a Prologue version to hold them over until the full one came out, because GT5 was taking so long., the results of that vote were an overwhelming YES, but you go ahead and keep thinking you know things about games you’ve never played.
Calling the game “gimped” is very stupid, It may not be a full game, but it certaintly isn’t “gimped”
April 18th, 2008
http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps3/games/reviews/177310.shtml
nuff said.
April 18th, 2008
Kaz contacted ps3 gamers and asked if they wanted a GT5 demo? wow..when did he ask and how? he would have had to ask at least a year ago since it takes that long to design a game, minimum. Unless he’s using the same tired, bumpercar, physics engine of last gen. When the final version has HUDREDS of cars, and prologue has DOZENS, the final version is said to have accurate damage, while prologue doesn’t, it sounds pretty gimped to me. I’m sure if you think hard enough, you’ll see more deficiencies in prologue that’s supposed to be in the final version. Why are they charging almost full game prices for a game that isn’t a full game? it’s okay tho; it’s not like you ps3 fans have a lot of choices. really tho; it’s sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than anyone. I, too, would need a lot of convincing to pay for basically the same game, twice in a little more than a year.
April 18th, 2008
Prologue is just a demo. And you fools are paying $$$ for a demo!!! Are you all that desperate for a decent racing game that you’ll pay money for a demo???
Forza is better anyway.