Pachter: GTAIV to sell 9 million overall, 6 million on 360
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Mar 12th 2008 at 7:30PM }
Anywho, buried in this prediction is another prediction that the Xbox 360 version of GTAIV will sell 6 million copies, leaving 3 million for the PS3. The 6 million estimate is raised concerning the 360 exclusive downloadable content. Pachter doesn't see the DLC as something that's likely to succeed, as it would require a download by 50% of GTAIV owners who are also Live members. Not impossible, but not a sure thing either. Pachter concludes by noting that GTAIV looks like the only bright spot in Take Two's 2008 lineup, saying, "This is clearly a company that is losing market share, and as we review the lineup for the balance of 2008 and 2009, we see more of the same type of games we have seen over the last three years." We guess releasing the same games repeatedly doesn't work for everyone.
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
soul899er @ Mar 12th 2008 8:28PM
this is a mistake! im blind from Fanboyism! LOL get a freaking life patcher, it wont sell that much, or maybe it will.. NOT!
soul899er @ Mar 12th 2008 8:30PM
guys never mind my Fanboyism, i was being stupid rabid fanboy, >_> delete this please
djrussell @ Mar 12th 2008 9:12PM
Ahh.. no. This guy doesnt know what he's talking about.. i love my 360, but its common knowledge that the PS3 has sold almost twice as many copies already (pre-orders) as the 360 version. Which isnt suprising cause the marketing campaign (or lack of) for the DLC on the 360 version isnt going anywhere.. and people are turning to the PS3 version.
ScottyGEE32 @ Mar 12th 2008 9:17PM
Microsoft needs to up the ante with marketing of GTA4.
Make a bundle lower prices, advertise DLC and bam instawinnar.
Anticrawl @ Mar 12th 2008 11:23PM
My god, I sure as hell hope they don't sell that many copies.
Rockstar has milked thier tried and true templets to death, but still they continue to tug on the teat which does explain the sour milk. Reminds me of one of those classic emotionally scarring Disney movies we watched when we were young like Bambi and the Fox and the Hound. But on to my point, they need to get off that cow and move on to the next one. If the shooter genre can inovate in the slightest and if DICE can make a game that doesn't involve war or guns then Rockstar can surely do something "new and exciting."
Haha **Warning NSFW**
I have to say my initial post was going to involve a bull and suggest moving to a cow. It was very appropriate considering how luke warm and sloppy their games tend to be. In the end I figured it would be to graphic but I needed to atleast summerize it in a very suggestive manner.
Anticrawl @ Mar 12th 2008 11:28PM
Also to the pricks above Richard stated it was a prediction, nothing more. I would really like to know exactly where you are "pulling" your numbers from unnecessarily angry poster djrussell. I personally could care less about the stats but there is no reason to go around attacking our trusty hard working blog posters. There are only two and a half of them. (Do you know who the half is?)
Matt @ Mar 13th 2008 12:15AM
djrussell, your comment seems to imply that there will be more PS3 copies of GTAIV sold than Xbox 360? Are you smoking crack? There's no fanboyism in my comment, I'm just using common sense and history. Pretty much every big release on both systems is selling 3 to 1 in favor of the 360. Obviously, there are more 360's out there, so it's not brain surgery.
Ejab @ Mar 13th 2008 12:28AM
Drussell is probably a troll, he just signed up to write that stupid post.
Dac @ Mar 13th 2008 10:45AM
Milked to death? its your opinion, but I think this GTA will be a unique departure for the rest of the series. Have you read any hands on previews? No more amunation, harder to get vehicles, combat system, the NPC characters evolve with the game depending on how you treat them. Where as games like Saints Row are the ones that leave me feeling like I've already done all of this before.
I just hope its as different as projected.
Neuromancer @ Mar 13th 2008 11:20AM
Yes truly a departure from the GTA we've known, loved and played over and over again. The differences are endless. In the past you've gotten to play such amazing characters as guy with a gun who runs around stealing cars and shooting people; guy in a hawaiian shirt with a gun who runs around stealing cars and shooting people; and black guy with a gun who runs around stealing cars and shooting people. Now you get to play as a Russian guy with a gun who runs around stealing cars and shooting people- AMAZING
ZeroCorpse @ Mar 13th 2008 4:29PM
Oh, yes. Milked to death. Because Halo hasn't been drawn out at ALL, and because the Devil May Cry series, the Resident Evil series, and the Metal Gear Solid series aren't milking ANYthing at all, nope.
Look, I don't buy many new games. I wait until they're cheap because I can rarely justify $60 for a game, and happen to think $30 is a much better (though not ideal) price. With that in mind, there are THREE games for 360 that warrant(ed) a pre-order and a full-price purchase. For me, those are Oblivion, Dead Rising, and Grand Theft Auto IV... With Star Wars The Force Unleashed maybe getting purchased a week or two after positive reviews are published.
Why do I pre-order and pay full price for GTA games? Because RockStar delivers. I like games that don't put you on a track and are over before the weekend. I like games that encourage exploration and innovation. I like games with lots to do.
I like the concept of an MMO, but I hate the fact that most MMO worlds are populated by morons talking about their MySpace page and "pwning" people. Open-world, sandbox games like GTA, Oblivion, and even Dead Rising (to an extent) are like an MMO without the other people. A whole world to explore, and I don't have to listen to some dumbass spamming everybody or talking trash.
It's also about release. I'm an adult. I work in customer service (usually) and I *love* being able to come home after a rough day and run amok in a virtual city where there's no danger, no loss, and no real harm done. I *love* being able to run other cars off the road, and drive the wrong way on the freeway without it leading to arrest or death. I would never do these things in real life, but in a virtual world where no risk is involved? Hell yeah!
My only problem is that the GTA games aren't very realistic. Death isn't permanent. Arrest isn't permanent either. The pedestrians bleed, but they don't evoke an emotional response from the player. if they were more realistic, people might not be as quick to murder them. If they each had a personality and a story, and could act independently and speak freely, you might not be so quick to take a chainsaw to them... But as they are, they're just people-shaped robots.
And buildings should burn-- really burn! When you start a fire, it should threaten to engulf the building, and people should flee in terror. The results should be lasting.
When bad things happen, the people in GTA games are freaked out for a moment, and then go about their business. The cops are stupid and forget about you if you change your clothes or paint your car. There's little or no accountability or risk involved.
I think it would be great if there WERE risk. I want the decision of whether or not to shoot a cop or civilian in the game show real lasting impact. If you're a mass murderer, people will recognize you!
I'd also like to see RockStar make a game where you play a serial killer. You have to come up with a unique MO, and you have to stick to it. You stalk people and kill them, and try not to get caught. You have to bait the police, and avoid them while still putting on a horrific show for the media. You get points for killing people in shocking, showy ways. The more unique the murder, the more infamy you gain.
At the end, you can get caught and put to death (gotta have consequences) but the infamy you gain determines whether you're a in tiny report in a local newspaper, or in national news or on a serial killer trading card.
Think about that: In our society, we actually have people who are famous (well, infamous, anyway) for KILLING PEOPLE. Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, and so on. They did nothing else to warrant their fame-- They just caused deaths and in doing so provided a bizarre, twisted form of entertainment to the public at large.
I'm telling you, "Serial Killer" would be a big hit, and it would stick in Jack Thompson's craw, too.