Associated Press has released a report today, in which they predict that GTA IV will sell at least 9,000,000 sales upon tomorrow's release.
The run-up to "Grand Theft Auto IV" has been considerably less ballyhooed than last year's over-the-top "Halo 3" debut. Yet when "GTA IV" parks on store shelves on April 29, the latest entry in the controversial video game franchise could be the most lucrative launch in entertainment history — and one that many people may not even know about.
Analysts predict Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games' open-world, action-driving game will easily top last year's record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft and Bungee Studios' first-person shooter "Halo 3" — and without a similar marketing bonanza. With the launch of "GTA IV" on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Rockstar is seemingly steering in one direction: the downlow.
"Rockstar wants to control the message all the time," says Sam Kennedy, editorial director for the gaming site 1UP.com. "They want this to be seen and perceived exactly the way they want. That's why — outside of the official trailers they released — people haven't seen a lot of gameplay footage in advance of 'GTA IV' shipping. They want to build that hype."
Such sales would beat the record held by "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," the previous "GTA" console game that sold over 9 million copies when it was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, according to NPD Group, which tracks video game sales. To meet the demand, retailers such as GameStop and Best Buy are opening their doors at midnight for special "GTA IV" launch events.
"I would expect April to be a monster sales month for the video game industry, one that is likely to break all sorts of previous records," says Anita Frazier, video game analyst for NPD Group. "We release our April sales data on May 15, and I get goosebumps thinking of the numbers we'll see on that day."
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Analysts predict Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games' open-world, action-driving game will easily top last year's record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft and Bungee Studios' first-person shooter "Halo 3" — and without a similar marketing bonanza. With the launch of "GTA IV" on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Rockstar is seemingly steering in one direction: the downlow.
"Rockstar wants to control the message all the time," says Sam Kennedy, editorial director for the gaming site 1UP.com. "They want this to be seen and perceived exactly the way they want. That's why — outside of the official trailers they released — people haven't seen a lot of gameplay footage in advance of 'GTA IV' shipping. They want to build that hype."
Such sales would beat the record held by "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," the previous "GTA" console game that sold over 9 million copies when it was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, according to NPD Group, which tracks video game sales. To meet the demand, retailers such as GameStop and Best Buy are opening their doors at midnight for special "GTA IV" launch events.
"I would expect April to be a monster sales month for the video game industry, one that is likely to break all sorts of previous records," says Anita Frazier, video game analyst for NPD Group. "We release our April sales data on May 15, and I get goosebumps thinking of the numbers we'll see on that day."
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