.....if we werent in a 'recession'? hehe

'Grand Theft Auto IV' makes a killing in first week

The fourth edition of Take-Two's franchise video game Grand Theft Auto had a killer first week at retail, beating out even Halo 3. For a gallery about the game, click on the image above.

(Credit: Take-Two Interactive Software)UPDATED, 5/7 9 a.m. PDT with official announcement from company.

First-week sales of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV made a killing, knocking off records and blowing away analyst expectations.

Take-Two Interactive Software, the game's publisher, sold 6 million copies and raked in $500 million in its first seven days on the streets, the company announced Wednesday. The game sold 3.6 million copies its first day on the market.

Analysts had expected GTA IV, which has been criticized as excessively violent, to sell 5 million copies during its first two weeks and 9 million copies total. GTA IV's first-week sales beat the previous record held by last year's release of Halo 3, which earned $300 million its first week on the market.

Shares of Take-Two have been trading higher, thanks to the excitement surrounding the game's release. On Tuesday, Take-Two's shares closed at $26.35, up 29 cents. The first-week sales success gives a boost to the game publisher, targeted for a hostile takeover by Electronic Arts in March. Take-Two rejected that offer, calling it "inadequate."

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I'm one of the nerds that got it day one

Escapism is an indication of dysfunction.

I don't see how you equate video game sales w/ Economic "good times".

Particularly a game as vile as the GTA franchise which contains scenes like beating up prostitutes and killing police officers....essentially glamourizing criminal behavior.

One thing I'm curious about is how accurate the review was in this week's Newsweek. The author said that the game was somehow more humanizing... The main character has more personality, there's a friendship element, and characters who are wounded show more signs of being human...
It could just be that the guy's an overly nice guy like me (I can't bring myself to be a dictator or sacrifice citizens in Civ games) and reading too much into it.

But if he's right, I'd like to see how humanization affects games. Would it lead to more of a sensitization to violence to counter years of desensitization... would it lead to even more desensitization as players ignore the sensibilities brought up... or for the most part, do most people have a clear emotional line between games and reality?
I've often thought the reason "horror" movies have turned into comedies where people root for the killer is because of lacking character development and creation of character sympathy, so I think theoretically video games should work similarly... not that I think games or movies lead to violence- just desensitization.

Just food for thought. Somebody let me know if the character development really does make the game feel different, if you would though.
And here's the link to the review I mentioned:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/135372

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"It's never over... BOY!"
The Tall Man, Phantasm III

Where did I say 'good times' my freind?

What am implying is that things arent as dire as they are portrayed,thats all.

I like video games,I buy them but they are discretionary items,plain and simple.500 million dollar haul in a week,seems like someone out there has got some money to burn.Given your low approval of the games worth,Id expect you to be even more surprised at the publics desire to buy it.This game is a special release for sure but in March-w/o GTA,the video game market smashed all its own records for units and total sales.

The same thing with Disneys profits I showed yesterday.Discretionary-do you feed the kids or drop 3-4 thou to take them to see Mickey.These kinds of things that economists/analysts use to gage public consumerism.May seem trivial but there are not.

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Assuming that the people who bought this game are not living beyond their means...
I'm not certain that is a safe assumption.

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"It's never over... BOY!"
The Tall Man, Phantasm III

Why would you assume that the 6 million people who bought it are stretched and using money they dont have?

Things arent as bad as they are portrayed.

More crisis=more liberal nanny state initiatives.Are you surprised the MSM hypes the 'recession' so?

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Well, the thing is, if I really want something, even if I know I'm going to be screwed money wise for a little bit, I get it anyways. I think a lot of Americans are like that truthfully.

Also, a lot of people are being hit hard in different areas of the country, while others are doing just fine and in some cases, better I'd pressume.

However, I'm more concerened about the direction our government is taking with regards to debt and future entitlement payments with regards to baby-boomers and so forth.

Once that debt comes a knocking, we will fall.

I don't see crisis... but I do see a lot of people spending beyond their means... which isn't a good thing by any stretch (actually our economy seems dependent on it- that's where it might get a little scary down the road).

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"It's never over... BOY!"
The Tall Man, Phantasm III

We'll get over the hump and then it's smooth sailing.
Maybe it will mean something we don't like (either we pay more taxes or boomers take lower benefits)... but we'll get through it.

The country's economy is resilient enough to make it through "crises". Don't want to undermine that there are real concerns, but there's nothing debilitating on the horizon barring some huge catastrophic worldwide event.

__________________
"It's never over... BOY!"
The Tall Man, Phantasm III