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The business of video games is growing big, which is why there is a lot of focus on Take Two Interactive Software Inc.'s new addition to the Grand Theft Auto franchise, GTA IV. It stands to be the best-selling game of all time (well, so far), with sales that could ring up more than $300-million (U.S.) in sales in its first week and $450-million this year.
But Vasanth Sridharan, who contributes to the Silicon Alley Insider blog, noted that for all the hype about video games being the next movie business, the biggest game ever looks surprisingly mediocre when compared with blockbuster movies.
“If GTA was a movie, it would be 77th on boxofficemojo.com's list,” he said. “Just behind Ocean's Eleven and just ahead of Pearl Harbor. And three slots behind National Treasure: Book Of Secrets which came out last winter and apparently grossed $456 million, even though we don't know a living soul who's seen it.”
He also points out that once a consumer pays $60 for a game, that's usually it. But in the case of movie receipts, there are often other revenue streams involved – including popcorn, drinks and, in some cases, action figures and lunchboxes – meaning that when you compare movie receipts with game receipts, the movies entail a much large take. So while Titanic remains the top grossing film, at more $1.8-billion, the movie's total haul is actually far greater, making GTA IV look puny by comparison.
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Ileiren Poon from Edmonton, Canada writes: Games may not be there yet, but they're certainly on their way. Why in the world would I pay for a 2-hour movie (along with popcorn and candy, etc. etc.), when I can pay that $60 for 20 - 50 hours of pure entertainment that can be enjoyed in the comfort of my own home?
If Vasanth Sridharan doesn't think that video games are also taking advantage of alternate revenue streams, he's apparently missed the Halo 3 insanity that encompassed everything from X-Boxes to Mountain Dew. (He's also apparently never been to a Con event to see the huge piles of Final Fantasy and Star Wars: KotOR figurines.)- Posted 05/05/08 at 4:21 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
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Gary Rager from Newport Beach, United States writes: So let me get this straight...the author is comparing GTA IV's "projected" ONE week gross up against what other movies have done from the day it was released to present day??? Ridiculous. For starters, I'm betting the one week GTA sales are at least $100 million higher than stated in this article.
While I will agree that video games may not quite match movies quite yet, the gap is shrinking by the day. As Hollywood continues to spew out garbage, video games are evolving. Not only are the graphics and gameplay getting better, but so are the storylines. Don't be surprised when more and more quality writers shift their focus to gaming. As games get more and more realistic, they will basically become interactive movies (it's started already).
We'll see by the end of the year where GTA sales stand...my guess is it will climb waaay up from the "77th" slot!!!- Posted 06/05/08 at 3:40 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
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Paul Arbour from Ottawa, Canada writes: I agree with the other comments here, and you must also remember that by looking at the 'GTA III' series of games in a year all the publisher has to do is spend three months updating a bit of code, generate a few new models and for next to nothing they have a brand new 'title' which will bring them another few hundred million dollars. I haven't done the math, but if you add up:
GTA III - 12 Million Copies
GTA III: Vice City - 15 Million Copies
GTA III: San Andreas - 20 Million Copies
So at the low price of $40.00 a pop you're talking $1.9 Billion dollars for what is essentially the same codebase with different skins.
Besides the massive money that can and will be made from advertising on websites, in the game, and the reciprocal money made by ISPs selling bandwidth to gamers.
Video games are not movies, but as noted in the other posts, there is a narrow view here of what a 'game' entails, including the massive amount of merchandise that exists out there.- Posted 06/05/08 at 3:01 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
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Evan Hildreth from Ottawa, Canada writes: GTA IV isn't the first game to sell a few million copies. Super Mario Bros 3 for the original Nintendo system sold 18 million copies, a game from nearly 20 years ago! Other games like Pokemon, Nintendogs, and The Sims have all sold as many or more copies than any of the Grand Theft Auto games. If those games didn't usher in the "next movie business", why would GTA IV?
- Posted 06/05/08 at 10:17 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
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