Archives for Grand Theft Auto IV category
Look, we totally get it. Video games are evil — they’re turning your kid into some kind of arsonist or blood-obsessed psycho killer or — in the case of one Boston area mom — a rebellious little rabble-rouser. A frustrated mother called police about her son’s overzealous gaming this past weekend, complaining the kid wouldn’t shut off his console and go to bed.
The call came in on 2:30 a.m. Saturday, when the mother complained her son was walking about the house, turning on all of the lights and failing to comply with her wishes. Two officers responded to the call and were able to diffuse the situation.
The Boston Herald — the outlet which broke the news — said the kid was apparently playing “Grand Theft Auto.”
Mom calls 911 over son’s gaming habit originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted on December 22nd, 2009 at 12:30am by David Hinkle
Filed Under: Boston, Grand Theft Auto IV, ap, associated-press, boston-herald, grand-theft-auto
While Take-Two has a number of solid properties, such as BioShock and Borderlands, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto is unquestionably its largest and most important franchise. However, sluggish sales of recent GTA efforts, from the handheld Chinatown Wars to the 360-exclusive DLC Episodes from Liberty City, have Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter worried about the future of Take-Two’s flagship brand.
“Has the Grand Theft Auto franchise peaked? Given the strength of GTA IV in 2008, the question may seem misplaced, but our concern is that the very highly rated new GTA content for Xbox as well as PSP and DS did not perform up to expectations in 2009,” Scahchter notes, while addressing potential criticisms to his claim. “Now, we very clearly understand that these do not represent ‘true’ new GTA titles. However, the fact is that these were compelling titles, attractively priced, and reasonably well-promoted, yet they fell relatively flat.”
Considering well over ten million people purchased GTA IV, the lackluster sales for these spin-off efforts is even more evident. Does the GTA name no longer carry the weight it once did? Or, are gamers simply waiting for a game that doesn’t take place in Liberty City?
Grand Theft Auto franchise may have ‘peaked,’ according to analyst originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted on December 7th, 2009 at 12:30pm by Andrew Yoon
Filed Under: Grand Theft Auto IV, analyst, ben-Schachter, business, grand-theft-auto, grand-theft-auto-chinatown-wars, take-two, take-two-interactive
Yes, we’re still talking MW2 on GamingAngels. The title is making all kinds of waves and today it’s the good kind… money. Modern Warfare 2 has shattered theatrical box office and video game sales for five-day worldwide sales. The new records for five days of sales is now $550 million according to initial Activision estimates.
$550 million is huge. To give you some sort of idea on comparisons with other forms of entertainment, Activision sent over a list of items that they beat out:
The largest reported five-day opening worldwide box office gross figures, held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($394 million)
The largest reported five-day opening domestic box office gross figures, held by The Dark Knight ($203.8 million)
The largest reported five-day worldwide video game sales record, previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (6 million units, $500 million)
The largest reported opening first-day domestic box office gross figures, held by The Dark Knight ($66.4 million)
The largest reported first-day book sales in dollars, held by Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows ($220 million)
The largest reported first-day worldwide video game sales record, previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV (3.6 million units, $310 million)
“In just five days of sell through Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has become the largest entertainment launch in history and a pop culture phenomenon,” said Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc. “The title’s success redefines entertainment as millions of consumers have chosen to play Modern Warfare 2 at unprecedented levels rather engage in other forms of media.”
I guess the last thing to see is if Modern Warfare 2 will beat out Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 12:49pm by GamingAngel
Filed Under: Dark Knight, Grand Theft Auto IV, Harry Potter, Modern Warfare 2, News, activision, activision-blizzard, twilight: new moon
Activision has announced that, according to its internal estimates, Modern Warfare 2 has racked up $550 million in its first five days on the market. Considering that $310 million of that was in the game’s first 24 hours, it means that it took another four days for the game to make another $240 million — a great example of the big-bang starts enjoyed by many blockbuster games before their sales steadily decline. Still, Infinity Ward’s latest managed to squeak by Grand Theft Auto 4’s five-day record by $50 million.
If there were any tears to shed about that, Activision could dry them with some other impressive statistics, such as 5.2 million multiplayer hours logged and 11 million achievements unlocked on the game’s first day. It could also presumably dry any tears with crisp bajillion dollar bills.
Activision: Modern Warfare 2 earned $550 million in first five days originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 9:45am by Justin McElroy
Filed Under: Grand Theft Auto IV, Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 2, activision, call-of-duty, call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2, fps
Despite slow to non-existent sales for several high-profile third-party Nintendo Wii titles, the company’s US head, Reggie Fils-Aime, still believes that third-party publishers on Nintendo’s console can be successful. Speaking with Kotaku, Fils-Aime says he’s “extremely disappointed” with the lack of major third party games on the Wii. He even goes so far as to say he’s spoken (presumably quite sternly) with “every publisher who makes content that is not available on my platform” about the subject.
When questioned as to why major titles like Grand Theft Auto IV and Assassin’s Creed 2 aren’t headed to his company’s console, he explains it as a measure of long lead times rather than technological inability. “Typically decisions are being made two years prior … and so the decisions two years ago were that those types of games would not be effective on the platform.” And though the subject isn’t directly broached, Fils-Aime remains steadfast that third-party titles can be successful on the Wii … with the right marketing. “High-quality, effectively marketed against our installed base, will sell. Period. End of story.”
It would appear then that Boom Blox, The Conduit, No More Heroes, and a mess of other third-party titles, had some truly ineffective marketing by Reggie’s standards.
Nintendo’s Fils-Aime: ‘effectively marketed’ third-party titles can sell on Wii originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted on November 17th, 2009 at 12:30pm by Ben Gilbert
Filed Under: Grand Theft Auto IV, assassins-creed-2, boom-blox, business, dead-space-extraction, gta-iv, house-of-the-dead-overkill, little-kings-story, marketing, no more heroes, reggie-fils-aime, the-conduit, third-party, zack-and-wiki
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