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May 7, 2008 10:46 AM

"Grand Theft Auto IV" jacks title of biggest entertainment launch from "Halo 3"

Posted by Benjamin J. Romano

Take-Two Interactive today announced that "Grand Theft Auto IV" sold about 3.6 million units in its first day of sales. That works out to about $310 million. But here's the thing: Those are global sales figures. When Bungie and Microsoft delivered "Halo 3" last fall, they touted first-day sales of $170 million, but that was only in the U.S.

We get a better comparison by looking at first week sales. Microsoft announced in October that "Halo 3 has officially become a global phenomenon, garnering more than $300 million in sales in the first week alone." OK, so that doesn't explicitly say $300 million worldwide in the first week, but you'd think it would have to be in order to justify the "global phenomenon" phrase.

"GTAIV," in its first week on the market, which ended yesterday, sold 6 million units globally worth more than $500 million.

It will be interesting to see the NPD Group gaming industry report for April, which should give us insight into which console -- Sony's PlayStation 3 or Microsoft's Xbox 360 -- accounted for the lion's share of "GTAIV" sales.

Anyone care to share their opinion on which is the better game and why?

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Posted by Kaddis

11:59 AM, May 07, 2008

Are you asking which is the better game as in... Halo to GTA IV? Or are you asking us to share our opinons on which version is better of GTA IV (PS3 vs 360) ?

If it's Halo to GTA IV, you're comparing apples and oranges. But if it's versions, well then I'll break it down for you.

While the PS3 version of GTA IV has a slightly brighter color pallette, the two versions are identical. Though, which I'm highly surprised you didn't put in your article, Microsoft has signed and exclusive deal with Rockstar to obtain downloadable content (DLC) in the near future, apparently worth a little over $50 million.

Message board rumors are suggesting that this DLC will be a whole new island/city. I'm not willing to doubt those rumors but I'm keeping my door open for more theories. GTA IV: London anyone? Hell, might as well put Francis International Airport to use in a more beneficial way...

Posted by Benjamin Romano

12:18 PM, May 07, 2008

Good point, Kaddis. And thanks for the reminder about the extra "GTA IV" content available via download on Xbox 360. It looks like that's scheduled for release this fall.

I should have been more precise with my question, but I'm actually interested in your opinions on both: Which platform is superior for "GTA IV" and which game do people prefer, "GTA IV" or "Halo 3".

And if the games truly are not comparable -- apples to oranges -- that's fine. But which one do you think you'll spend more time playing?

Posted by Kaddis

1:31 PM, May 07, 2008

Being the competitive gamer I am (at times...) I've tend to get more sucked into an online match going up against other actual players. While GTA does offer a tremendous amount of multiplayer game types, I personally haven't found them all that enthralling.

Reason being, and I could be wrong with this assumption, but I feel that it takes far less skill to compete in these multiplayer modes (GTA) then lets say Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4. I find myself getting bored trying to play strategically in GTA as it's taking place in such a large environment.

Being the achievement whore that I am though I see myself plugging in countless hours playing GTA when I'm not at work or spending time with the fiance'. But once I've completed the achievements and have finished the story, I don't see myself going back to play it's multiplayer modes but I will not be going back to Halo 3 anytime soon as I feel I've already proven myself and I am now looking forward to the next multiplayer powerhouse. What will that next game be? I don't know... Soul Calibur 4, Street Fighter 4, Dragonball Z: Burst Limit.... we'll see, though I'm feeling a bit burned out on the FPS genre.