Like a washed up superstar, Grand Theft Auto IV continues to drop in NPD figures. This Axl Rose of video games came on strong and sputtered out into oblivion with barely a notice, leaving the spotlight and all hype behind it. This drastic fall may hurt any negotiations “behind closed doors” with Electronic Arts and their constant attempts to take over Take-Two.
Prior to the release of GTA IV we, in our gaming podcast, predicted a huge launch would up the anti against the bids on Take-Two from EA but things didn’t work out exactly as we expected. Although the game has sold 8.5-million units, it might not add any new bargaining power to the back door negotiations.
A game company is only as good as their games. A hit title which dies out quick helps financially guide the future of the company; technically the future isn’t so bright. With the title quickly falling off the top game sales charts we may never see it hit record sales figures to match that of smaller titles. Having one hot title every four years that “breaks records” for a week isn’t a strong weapon against a low bid from a larger publisher.
While EA may not have any record setting “one week” sales titles yet, they do have a consistently strong set of titles which stick on the charts for months with newer titles arriving to take their spot when they fade. The same can be said for a few other notable publishers, Activision and Ubisoft. To survive in the hot game industry, especially with market downturns, one must have a cycle of great games to publish throughout the year consistently year-over-year in order to provide evidence of their financial stability.
Assuming the bid won’t raise for GTA IV, where does that leave Take-Two? Perhaps Take-Two is better off under the umbrella of Electronic Arts after all. The waters are getting more hostile in the industry as companies compete for gamers attention with 100-million dollar titles and casual games and game consoles (read: Wii) start to build a whole new none-gamer-style momentum.
Is Take-Two better off under the EA brand?
@Super Pitfall
Erm, the youtube video didn’t look THAT bad …
@“Super-slim” PS3 will be a no-show at Gamescom
Meh … not a console user, don’t plan to buy one, not a PS3 at least.
@UbiSoft claims lack of new consoles penalizes creativity
… again with the lack of new consoles? Enough with blaming the hardware manufacturers for the bad choices developers/publishers make. The producers/developers are not being held at gunpoint to release only Call of Duty, it is their damned choice >:(.
Not talking about indies? Why not? How come their creativity isn’t penalized? Or is it that they simply take the plunge?
Rage tanked, yes. Still, kudos to id for at least trying, even if they only got themselves a new game engine.
@Diablo III ‘God mode’ exploit for Wizard discovered
I’m just going to stay away from Blizzard, until they get their act together. Always online DRM, single player game on an MMO platform, really? Really?!
@EA: Nintendo “on track to become primarily a software company”
Yep, always funny reading comments of one company rep. setting a road map for another company …
No question of the week from me.
Gez I think that Blizzard needs to get their act together. They had problems during the beta that weren’t dealt with. But maybe it’s a marketing scam? draw attention to the company just before they are set to release a new WOW expansion?
@Super-slim PS3
Never cared how slim my console is. It’s not a PC. It will run the same games at the same rate as a fat console. Regarding PS3 sitting on the shelves, that’s to be expected. Out of all the consoles currently available (at least in UK) PS3 is still the priciest. Since there is a lack of exclusives nowadays, there is not much difference between PS3 and Xbox 360. Xbox is just cheaper and has Kinect.
@Ubisoft and penalised creativity
I am sick and tired of hearing this argument. We know this console generation overstayed it’s welcome. Why does Ubisoft have to state the obvious that has been stated many times before? Do they want us to storm Microsoft headquarters and demand a new Xbox? Do they think there will be a new Xbox if they tell everyone how bad the industry is feeling? Ubisfot. Sit down. Shut up. Bake Assassin’s Creed 3.
Diablo III “God mode”
You will be surprised at how many glitches/ exploits can pop up in well tested games. Cast yourselves back to the Modern Warfare 2 Javelin glitch. It was discovered a few years after the game was played by millions of people for trillions of hours.
@Nintendo going software only
This argument splits me down the middle. EA has a point. I own a 3DS. I am regretting it. I could have spent my money on more worthwhile things. Like illegal drugs, alcohol and prostitutes. And the WiiU looks dead in the water already. So close to launch and still no price. Most announced titles are games you can play on the Xbox NOW. I hope that Nintendo will pull itself together. But they are led by Japanese old men who seem to live by bushido code and would rather kill their company then give up their franchise to business.
This is all I have this week.
@QOTW: When was the first time that you really got into video games?