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GTA franchise nabs over $700 million in 2008
Yesterday, following the release of its quarterly report, Take-Two Interactive CFO Lainie Goldstein announced the Grand Theft Auto franchise has brought in $710 million in 2008 during a conference call. According to a report by our second-cousin site GameDaily, GTA's 2008 skrilla accounts for about 60% of the company's publishing sales. In the, ever important, fourth quarter, GTA netted $40 million -- about 17% of the company's total sales.Surprise kids! GTA makes money and Take-Two is bloated like a midnight launch line. Maybe Take-Two should consider locking Rockstar down for the future. Oh, they did? You know what our mothers used to say, "Great minds think alike and fools seldom differ." Hey, we just got that. Someone isn't getting their holiday greeting card this year.[via Joystiq]
Rockstar vets cement long-term deal with Take-Two
For brothers who've become popular creating games starring characters who seek out freedom from society's corporate machine this is a strange move but not unexpected. Take-Two Interactive have announced a new long-term agreement with "key members of the creative team" behind Grand Theft Auto IV, including Sam (pictured) and Dan Houser. Terms of the agreement would see the team locked into an publishing deal with Take-Two until January 31, 2012. The arrangement also includes a new incentive compensation program for the Rockstar Games label and an agreement from Take-Two "to fund the future development of certain new intellectual property to be owned by a newly formed company controlled by key Rockstar Games team members." Our guess? Lemmings Kart Racing. Believe.
GTAIV 'Lost and Damned' to debut at Spike VGAs
Spike TV must be on a television ratings mission, because they not only have secured a few game debuts for their VGA award show, but we're told that Grand Theft Auto IV's Lost and Damned episodic content will premier at the award show as well. The press release doesn't tell us much more than that, so we're not exactly sure what or how much Lost and Damned will be shown. Then again, it doesn't really matter, because our interest is piqued and we'll be tuning in on December 14th at 9:00PM eastern.%Gallery-37703%[Via Joystiq]
Presenting the GTAIV key to Liberty City
Way back when Grand Theft Auto IV launched in April, Rockstar hosted a contest to award keys to the city to the most dedicated players, specifically those who could reach a 100% completion rating. It looks like Rockstar is finally shipping out those fabulous keys, and X3F tipster Joe F. was kind enough to send us pictures of his personal key to Liberty City. Check out the gallery below and covet what you cannot have (unless you managed to snag one yourself, of course).%Gallery-36812%
Wii Fit set to outpace Grand Theft Auto IV -- gamer geeks weep, gnash teeth
Unafraid to incite elitist gamer geek unrest, respected video game industry analyst Michael Pachter has supported a prediction by GigaOM that Wii Fit will outsell Grand Theft Auto IV this year. Yeah, you read right: the latest entry into what is arguably the biggest hardcore video game franchise around is gonna get whooped by an exercise tool -- we're not shocked, we're just laughing. GTA4 was dominating at first, but with time interest has waned while Wii Fit and its included Balance Board peripheral have stayed hot despite supply shortages. Nintendo's hardware-focused strategy seems to be working; the Balance Board install base is approaching 12 million, or roughly 30% of all Wii owners. You can bet it'll be put to good use in future games and other, less mainstream applications even after folks have given up on losing weight and resigned themselves once more to lifelong loneliness.
NPD: Top 5 best-selling PS3 games from January to August 08
The NPD, in collaboration with Gamasutra, disclosed the top 5 bestsellers for each platform today, including the PS3. Without further ado, let's take a look at what they are: Grand Theft Auto IV Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Madden NFL 09 Gran Turismo 5: Prologue Note that specific sales numbers were not provided and the final tally does not include any collector's editions, games sold via digital distribution or games bundled with a system. No one is really surprised that GTA IV, MGS4 and Madden 09 made it to the top of the charts. However, Gamasutra remarks on the tremendous momentum Call of Duty 4 has had so far in 2008, especially considering the game was released early November of 2007. They were also surprised to see Gran Turismo 5: Prologue beating out Devil May Cry 4; they even speculate that if the sales on the PS Store for Gran Turismo 5: Prologue were counted, it might have even trumped the sales of the PS3 version of Madden 09. Did any of these games surprise you guys? Is there a game you would have liked to see on the chart? Fire away in the comments below.
Pachter predicts bidding war over Rockstar's Houser brothers
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter sees another challenge for Take-Two Interactive, suggesting that the company could lose the talent behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise. In Pachter's latest analyst note, he details the possible loss of Sam and Dan Houser of Rockstar when their contract expires this upcoming February.Pachter expects that when their contracts expire this February, Sam and Dan Houser of Rockstar could either depart Take-Two -- robbing the company of the driving force force behind its best-selling series -- or stay on at considerable expense. The analyst explains that a Houser departure would be analogous to EA's Medal of Honor team departing to produce Activision's Call of Duty franchise -- GTA would still live on, but it probably wouldn't be the same sales powerhouse sans the Houser brothers.
ASA dismisses GTA IV telly ad complaints
The Advertising Standards Authority of the Ü-K said it ain't seein' nothing wrong with Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV ads across its domain. GI.biz reports the organization received complaints from ten viewers about the violence in the ad, while seven others objected to the time the commercial aired. The ASA stated the ad was slotted in appropriate times and it saw no "direct harmful influence on children or young people" in the commercial.The UK advert for GTA IV was very similar to the US version ... just with a British voice over at the end and some squiggly mark in front of the price tag that looks like this: £. We've been told it means lbs., but that seems silly, because pounds are a measure of weight. Anyway, the commercial can be found after the break for a refresher.
Pixeloo returns with the Real Niko Bellic
The artist known as Pixeloo delivers once again with his "real" rendition of Grand Theft Auto IV antihero Niko Bellic. Thankfully, Niko's character design is that of a standard human, so we don't get the abomination of Pixeloo's not-safe-for-sanity "Real Mario."The artist says he did the piece for Official Playstation Magazine UK's latest issue. Another impressive piece by Pixeloo, and unlike Real Mario, the Real Niko won't cause us to wake up screaming for two weeks and shudder every time we even think about the portly plumber.
Analysts: GTAIV was not a console seller
No matter how much retailers, Microsoft or general sales figures have correlated Grand Theft Auto IV's stellar sales success with new hardware sales, the ever knowledgeable video game industry analysts just aren't buying it.In a preview of May's NPD sales, the analytical crew over at Lazard Capital Markets and Wedbush Morgan securities are reporting that GTAIV's tremendous software sales in May did not result in a "meaningful increase" for either the Xbox 360 or PS3 as was previously expected. "We do not believe the recent release of GTA IV has generated meaningful incremental demand for the Xbox 360 or PS3 platforms" commented Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets, suggesting that an actual hardware price cut would generate a more noticeable increase in demand.Sounds to us like GTAIV wasn't the big console seller that Microsoft wanted to be, which is too bad. Though, we have a hunch Rockstar is more than happy with the truckloads of cash GTAIV has dumped on their lap.
Rockstar Social Club adds multiplayer stat tracking
Being knee-deep in big news yesterday blinded us to the fact that Rockstar Games has finally updated their Social Club page to include multiplayer stats.Now, criminal masterminds in Grand Theft Auto IV can hit the website and check out detailed leaderboards and statistis for the each of the 14 basic multiplayer modes.While some bugs are still being ironed out, the Social Club update is an important step to growning the GTAIV community as it awaits news on the highly anticipated downloadable content, exclusively coming to Xbox Live Marketplace this fall.Now, go back to car jacking. It's been like 7-seconds since I heard a siren.[Thanks, StLouisRibs7734]
GTAIV boosts UK 360 sales over PS3
Having already announced that the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV was the week one sales winner in the UK, Chart-Track has now told Eurogamer that the game also heavily boosted sales of the Xbox 360 console. Since Grand Theft Auto IV's launch last month, sales of the Xbox 360 are up 18% over the Playstation 3 in the UK. ChartTrack also notes that sales of the Xbox 360 have increased 47% over the month prior to GTAIV's launch, whereas PS3 sales have seen an increase of only 8%. Furthermore, a full 57% of all copies of GTAIV sold in the UK were sold for the Xbox 360, leaving 43% for the Playstation 3.It's not all sunshine and roses for the Xbox 360 though, as the Playstation 3 still holds the lead in overall UK sales for 2008 thus far. As it stands, there still remains a 10% gap between the consoles, though it's worth noting that the gap stood at 20% before the launch of GTAIV.[Via Joystiq]Update: Ahem, the numbers are for the UK, not all of Europe.
The voice of GTAIV's Roman is broke, rent him
Those keeping up on Grand Theft Auto IV (that's all of you, right?) will remember that a few weeks ago Michael Hollick, best known as the voice of Niko Bellic in GTAIV, was covered by the New York Times in an article pointing out that the actor will receive no residuals or royalties of any kind for his performance. It's important to note that he doesn't point the finger at Rockstar but rather the Screen Actors Guild, which does not have specific rules regarding electronic performances. While Hollick may have landed the New York Times, Jason Zumwalt, the voice of Niko's cousin Roman, has turned to YouTube. Where it could be argued that Hollick's approach to the matter had a certain degree of tact, Zumwalt's approach is a bit ... different. Essentially, he's asking gamers to "Rent Roman." It's all a little hard to explain. Maybe you should just watch the video. Find it after the break (NSFW thanks to some salty language).
Zero Punctuation visits Liberty City
Yahtzee's latest Zero Punctuation review this week is none other than everyone's favorite crime simulator, Grand Theft Auto IV. While he (of course) does his best to pick the game's fault apart one by one, Yahtzee still comes across as actually liking the game. Fans of ZP will know that this is high praise indeed (though we imagine it will still spark nasty, hate-filled emails from GTA fanboys). As for the negatives, the review makes note of wonky driving, escort missions, and the constant need to entertain Niko's friends. Beyond such criticisms though, the review deigns to call Grand Theft Auto IV "really good." Find the review embedded after the break.[Thanks, webster1990]
GTAIV boasts 40% attach rate with new 360s
Grand Theft Auto IV is selling very well (perhaps you've heard), but did you know that it's also moving Xbox 360s at a blistering pace? On a recent Major Nelson podcast, co-host "e" revealed that GTAIV boasted a 40% attach rate with new 360s during its first week of availability. "The game is attaching well to new consoles, roughly 40 percent of 360s going out the door had a copy of GTA IV going with them," said 'e'. With only the UK sales numbers for GTAIV currently revealed, we'll have to wait for the worldwide 360 numbers before the full significance of the attach rate really means. Whatever the actual figure, we're willing to bet that 40% of all 360 copies of GTAIV represents a lot of consoles.While there's no way to prove that consumers bought their new consoles specifically to play GTAIV, there's no denying that it helped drive sales. We'll have to wait for the latest NPD numbers to see just how big the GTAIV effect was.[Via Joystiq]Update: Corrected basic mathematical error. The blogger responsible has been sentenced to 5 hours of Rocketmen: Axis of Evil.
HIPerSpace monitor wall makes a great Grand Theft Auto IV canvas
Rolling around jacking up innocents and tossing Molotov cocktails is pretty enthralling on your vanilla 46-inch HDTV, but can you even imagine the rush of swiping a hot dog, burning out in someone else's whip and then snagging a new pair of kicks on this? Researchers (and gamers, obviously) down at UC San Diego have re-engineered their middleware to enable such masterpieces as this to be played on the big monolithic HIPerSpace screen, and needless to say, we can't imagine much real work getting done with this new functionality coming to light. Head on down to the gallery to see what you're missing -- science, research and 4.0 GPAs are such beautiful things. %Gallery-22388%
GTA IV gets 1.01 patch, freezing not fixed [Update]
Looks like Grand Theft Auto IV got a little band-aid patchwork today with a 1.01 update. It's a small little tweak at 18 MB, and it supposedly will fix up those freezing problems everyone's been getting antsy over. So far, we've been playing with the new patch for the past few minutes and everything seems to be going smoothly.[Update: Looks like the freezing issue has not been fixed after all. Many gamers are stating the problem is persisting. Apparently, this update is supposed to fix multiplayer connectivity issues which cause the game to lockup. Eurogamer notes: "reducing the loads on the servers at GameSpy and hopefully the completely random hangs that some users have seen".][Thanks Lee!]
UK GTAIV first week sales: 926,000 copies
Hey, remember those ridiculously high Grand Theft Auto IV sales estimates Chart-Track provided for the UK? It looks like they weren't ridiculously high enough, as the final numbers have now been released. Sales for the first week of GTAIV availability in the UK reached a whopping 926,000 copies (approximately) with 631,000 being sold on the first day, handily topping the original day one estimate of 609,000. Of the 926,000 copies sold during the first week, 514,000 were for Xbox 360 with the remaining 413,000 going to the Playstation 3.The game also managed to drive console sales, raising Xbox 360 sales by 125 percent and PS3 sales by 127 percent from the previous week. Perhaps most impressive of all, in its first week of sales GTAIV has already surpassed all but the top three UK titles of 2007 (FIFA 08, Brain Training, and Call of Duty 4). Just to clarify, that's one week sales versus total sales for 2007. One last statistic: GTAIV is now the record holder for one week sales for a multiplatform game in the UK.Yow.[Via Joystiq]Note: You may have noticed that 413,000 and 514,000 don't add up to 926,000. We're guessing that the numbers are the result of rounding one way or another.
GTA IV sells 926,000 units first week in UK
Although we're going to have to wait until next month's NPD report for the US info, Chart-Track revealed that GTA IV sold 926,000 copies during its first week on sale in the UK. Gi.biz reports this means GTA IV has broken the "all format" record, while the "individual format" record still belongs to GTA: San Andreas with 677,000 units sold its first week on the PS2.We previously had Chart-Track's estimates on GTA IV's first-day sales, but the official tally was 631,000 units. During the first week, 514,000 copies were sold for Xbox 360, while 413,000 sold for PS3 -- a 55/45 split. We really wish Take-Two would just give the global figure already.Update: Yes, we know the math doesn't work (514k + 413k ≠ 926k), so we're guessing Chart-Track rounded up somewhere and rounded down somewhere else.
GTA IV is new king of Xbox Live hill
Niko Bellic apparently isn't stopping with conquering with Liberty City, he's now extended his dominion as Grand Theft Auto IV took the top slot on the weekly Xbox Live activity charts, dethroning longtime king Call of Duty 4. The rest of the top five was rounded out by Halo 3, Guitar Hero III and that old stalwart, Gears of War.To anyone who's grown accustomed to their friends list just being a solid column of "GTA IV" this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. But we'll be interested to see if the game's multiplayer can help it hang on in the charts even after fans start finishing Niko's story en masse.
