14 DAY TRIAL // Grand Theft Auto IV is dubbed as the biggest game of the year and I really doubt that is a secret for anyone on this planet. Also, Rockstar's game is estimated to generate some $450 million only in the first week, even though the developers say that these figures are actually low. So, one thing is clear: GTA IV will sell lots of copies and it will probably manage to break quite some records.
And it seems it has started with the UK, since ChartTrack published the numbers and stated that Grand Theft Auto IV has just become the best selling title ever released in the UK on a 24 hour basis. The game sold 609,000 copies, over 100,000 more than the previous record holder, another title in the GTA franchise: San Andreas (with 24 hour sales of 501,000). Also, ChartTrack said that Xbox 360 copies of the game outsold the PS3 ones by 61,000 (in other words, the Xbox 360 version got 55% of the sales, while the PS3 only got 45%).
So, as it was expected, Grand Theft Auto IV is bringing the big bucks to the developers. However, a very interesting article posted on website alleyinsider.com compares Rockstar's game to the Hollywood blockbusters, trying to see if the video games industry can really be compared to the movie industry, as many people suggest.
Taking a look at the all time box office movie charts and considering GTA IV will sell as it has been suggested it would ($450 million income), the website found out that the game would be the 77th on that list, right ahead of Pearl Harbor and immediately behind Ocean's Eleven. However, GTA's $450 million mean almost nothing compared with Titanic's income of $1,845 million or even 10th placed Jurassic Park, with $914 million. So, it seems that not even a game as big as Grand Theft Auto IV can't compete against the blockbusters. But, at least, it tries and definitely brings more hours of fun than each of the movies listed there.