Posted by Duke on May 16 at 12:54 PM
Now that Grand Theft Auto IV ‘s first day gross of $310m has entered the
Guinness World Records, what will happen to the
hostile takeover in Liberty City? Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the game, is entrenched in a takeover bid by gaming titan Electronic Arts whose $2b offer ends
today.
I have yet to play personally, but reviews from friends and colleagues are all stellar, not only for the animation and interactivity, but for the
artwork as well. Beyond the impressive sales, the release of Grand Theft Auto IV is meddling with Hollywood's bottom line and has been
blamed for dampening the release of Iron Man on May 2nd. That Hollywood will now be checking the video game release schedule for competitive conflicts indicates that gaming is truly a mass-market form of of entertainment.
Not long ago, DMD’s White Paper, “The Virtual Brand Footprint: The Marketing Opportunity in Second Life” (which can be downloaded
here), explored how virtual worlds were and are changing the brand marketing mix. Grand Theft Auto IV surpasses the quality of any existing virtual world and virtually guarantees that not only gaming, but also marketing brands through gaming, is a mass-market opportunity.
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2 Comments so far...
Might I add that GTA IV functions as a makeshift "virtual world" by virtue of its 16-player online multiplayer option, which can be launched in game at any time. With added voice chat? Forget about it.
Oh. But I don't like video games. Or play them. At all.
Posted by Justin R. Buchbinder on May 16 at 1:38 PMI think the non-narrative aspect of this is what is most intriguing, and most threatening, to mainstream Hollywood and entertainment.
Narratives are fully-baked into movies, and the most popular video games, TV etc. Narratives are supported by certain tropes that are known to sell. The action flick. The Romantic Comedy. Tom Hanks is a good guy. Not to say that Grand Theft Auto doesn't have its narrative, and the tropes, but it certainly allows you to step out of them and experiment.
That sort of freedom requires a creativity that is a bit frightening when you're ready to sign Tom Hanks to do the voice over.
Posted by Rowland Hobbs on May 17 at 3:30 AM