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?
Microsoft Xbox 360 Outsells PS3 and Wii
@GameStop vs. Deus Ex
Paul, Deus Ex are two separate words.
As for the news item itself, well, we talked already in the forums. Just one thing I want to say: they should have pulled the game from the shelves right at the beginning, instead of taking out the coupon.
That’s tampering with a product, so I agree with Paul.
@Origin EULA:
Jonah pointed it clearly, the new formulation says absolutely nothing of what they will or will not do.
If this is not an excuse for pirates, then I don’t know what is …
Paul, the question is, once you have the power to access a lot of customer information, what will enforce a corporation to only do “the good thing”?
Yes Jordan, you can call me Mr. Alien.
And Jonah, the reason my sister liked UT is because of the flak cannon: she loved shredding enemies to pieces with it.
@Are you interested in Epic Mickey 2?
No. Sorry, just can’t see myself jumping from STALKER/Doom 3 and the likes to Epic Mickey 1, 2, 3 or 999.
Paul, Jonah doesn’t dismiss your opinions. He dismisses any opinion that doesn’t fit with his. So yeah, he’s a bit of a bully.
Still, while he doesn’t agree with some of the stuff that I write, he still gives voice to my comments (although now it seems to be Jordan).
Jordan was right, this kind of conflicts do give the show some charm.
@ Flop vs. Failure:
The two terms are interchangeable when it comes to the subject at hand. Heck, one of Miriam-Websters’ definitions of flop is “To fail completely.”
@ Who has one console?
If you count current-gen consoles, I only have one. If not, then I still only have two, the other being a PS2. The Wii never managed to grab my interest outside of its initial scavenger hunt craze to find one. (Which I didn’t.) The PS3 was out of my price range long enough for me to skip over it, and the bulk of the people I play with are either mainly or only 360 owners, as well.
@ Episode 227’s Question:
I used to dream of DDR, and still see stepcharts in my head while listening to music daily. Now that I’ve been watching some MLG videos, I’m dreaming about being there and wondering what the heck I’m doing.
@ Epic Mickey 2:
Possibly, as the first seemed to have interesting concepts, but I never got to play it, as I don’t own a Wii. I would think about picking up a sequel if it comes out for the platform I own.
(And, yes, I know that askewed isn’t a proper conjugation of the word, that’s kind of the point.)
Is this where I send my hate mail for VGRT?
haha.
not sure what that was about…
Paul sounded like he was PMS-ing pretty bad…
get that guy a Midol! stat!
funny show, with lots of good info, and, though
I hate to admit it, the arguing makes it even more entertaining…
He’s like your Bababooey or something.
anyway, thanks for the info & laughs!