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SAN FRANCISCO: “Grand Theft Auto: IV” blew away
video-game and Hollywood records as its
creators reported last week that it raked in an unprecedented $500
million in its opening week. Take-Two Interactive said approximately
six million copies of “GTA IV: Liberty City Stories” have sold
worldwide, with more than half of those games snatched up within 24
hours of the game that hit store shelves on April 29.
Larger than movies
“Grand Theft Auto IV’s first
week performance represents the largest launch in the history of
interactive entertainment,” said Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick.
“We believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music
launch to date.”
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead
Man’s Chest took in $196 million in its first week to seize the
Hollywood crown for top-grossing film opening, according to Box
Office Mojo.
Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst
Michael Pachter expects “GTA: IV” to be the second-bestselling
videogame behind its predecessor “GTA: San Andreas,” which has
sold 23 million copies.
“I’m sure ‘GTA: IV’ beats
Hollywood movie opening weeks,” Pachter told AFP. “But it
depends how one looks at it. I’m sure more people saw Ironman than
played ‘Grand Theft Auto’ in the past week but fewer dollars
changed hands.”
The Ironman film based on the
Marvel Comics character opened in US theaters on May 9.
Violent game
The “GTA” franchise is the
work of Take-Two’s Rockstar Games studio and is an epicenter for
outrage over violence in videogames because players triumph with
acts such as carjacking, thuggery and killing. The Entertainment
Software Rating Board stamped a “Mature” label on “GTA: IV,”
banning US retailers from selling the game to anyone less than 17
years old.
--AFP
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