GTA IV Trailer

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » March 30, 2007, 10:50 pm

This isn't the best quality version of it but you'll get the idea. It mostly shows the environment and nothing really of the game play or characters:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 0434&hl=en

Looks worth getting already just to check out the scenery.

Mr Bacon · Post by **Mr Bacon** » March 31, 2007, 1:28 am

saw the high quality version when the trailer first came out - even if the game sucks, it will still be cool just running around.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » March 31, 2007, 4:19 pm

Mr Bacon wrote:saw the high quality version when the trailer first came out - even if the game sucks, it will still be cool just running around.

Yeah I downloaded the trailer on XBL last night and was thinking the same thing.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 11, 2007, 1:47 pm

Summary from a magazine:

Full Summary of the Preview

* The protagonist's name is Niko Bellic - an Eastern European immigrant who has come to Liberty City to live the "American Dream." The game is set in Liberty City in 2007, but it is bigger than the Liberty City we saw in GTA III.

* The GTA 4 equivalent of the Statue of Liberty is called the Statue of Happiness, and DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is known as BOABO (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass).

Game Informer

* In Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar have recreated 4 of the 5 boroughs in New York, as well as part of New Jersey. Broker is the GTA IV equivalent of Brooklyn, Manhattan is now called Algonquin, Queens is now Dukes, the Bronx is Bohan, and New Jersey is Alderney. The map is smaller than San Andreas, but considerably more detailed. No countryside or desert, we are led to believe.

* Pedestrians are far more realistic in GTAIV than in previous GTA games - they sit on benches, smoke cigarettes, read books and generally act like any real pedestrian would in the middle of a street.

* The screenshots in the preview are not representative of the final quality of the graphics, Rockstar insist. The game will only look better as the release draws closer..

* Niko was persuaded to move to Liberty City by his cousin Roman, who claimed to be living a wonderful life there with two beautiful women, fifteen sports cars, and lots of money etc, but he was infact telling a lie in order to hide his own failures. Roman is the only person you know in Liberty City at the beginning of the game, and he becomes one of your major connections at the start. Niko is a tough character whereas Roman is friendly. Roman is heavily in debt and a lot of people are after him - he needs Niko's support. They are constantly bickering.

* The demo (which was played on Xbox 360) begins with Bellic standing inside of the taxi depot, which Roman operates in the borough of Broker in a converted industrial garage. Roman works at a cluttered desk in a shabby environment, and at this point the graphical improvements are extremely evident. Bellic walks to a brownstone house in Broker, where he pushes open the door and pulls out a pistol. The living room however, is not occupied. He then moves onto the kitchen, which he also finds to be empty. He pushes his way through the back door and smashes the window of a red four-door car using his elbow. The broken glass falls onto the street and onto the seat of the car, as Bellic unlocks it from the inside. He hotwires the car and sets off to his next destination. The camera angle behind the car is closer to the vehicle than in previous GTA titles, which enables more detail on the car to be seen. After selecting a radio station, Bellic navigates to a section of the BOABO arriving at a dockside with a terrific view of the city skyline. Pigeons can be heard in the sky, and waves can be heard rustling in the water. Bellic then pulls out his cellphone which has options for Phonebook, Messages, Organizer and Camera on it's LCD screen. He selects Phonebook, and he is then presented with another set of options: City Contact, Docks Friend, and Cab Contact. After a brief conversation he informs the reciever to meet him at the docks.

* As Bellic walks, you can feel the weight behind each step he makes. Variations in the terrain cause realistic changes in the walking animation. The physics have also improved and character movements are more realistic.

* In previous GTA games you were like a slave because you had to constantly take orders from people when doing missions. There is still an element of that in Grand Theft Auto 4, but you can also choose how you want to spend your time, for example "I want to hang out with him and her. I want to hang out with this guy because he always has fun things to do." Call him up and maybe you can hang with him. Maybe he'll answer. You have a lot of choice over what you want to do.

* In GTA 4, Rockstar is giving its players more freedom, more choice, and more sense of control over their destiny - the structure of GTA4's storyline is quite different to it's predecessors as it can be told in a number of different ways. You can talk to people in person, by cell phones, and there are a bunch of other ways of giving the player information. In general it's a different experience, with new ways of interacting with the characters and the game world.

* Rockstar consulted crime experts and ex-policemen when making the game, and they learned that being a criminal is a lot harder these days than it was during the 80s and 90s (for example) and they have tried to reflect this in the game. This means you can expect to see a lot of people getting arrested - the police are a heavy presence in Liberty City.

* There are no planes in GTA IV because there is only one city, and Rockstar want the game to seem realistic. That means there will be no rollerblades, no unicycles, probably no jetpacks and indeed no planes. Rockstar are giving choice and variety which feels right for the character. However there will be motorbikes.

* Rockstar North is approaching the recruitment of voice actors in a different way. This means that we will probably hear less familiar voices in GTA 4, as R* are looking for voices which suit the attitude of the characters, and are not just looking for big names. A similar approach is being done with the soundtrack - Rockstar are looking for great music which works with the 2007 Liberty City.

* After an initial load sequence, the game will never load again. Not even during exterior-interior transitions (and vice versa).

* Both versions of the game (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) will likely be identical, but the Xbox 360 version will have exclusive downloadable episodic [sizeable] content. Rockstar have now spent over 3 years developing the game, and Dan Houser compares the leap from GTA III to GTA IV, to the leap from GTA to GTA III.

* GTA IV will have multiplayer, but it's not going to be a massively multiplayer online game, says Dan Houser. They are trying to make something that is interesting, fun, progressive and which goes along nicely with the single-player game.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 27, 2007, 7:57 pm

Fash · Post by **Fash** » April 27, 2007, 10:51 pm

Wow, This is the first real reason I've seen to get a 360/ps3.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 6, 2007, 10:38 pm

Here's the HD link to new GTAIV trailer:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/28633.html

I dunno. Seems OK but nothing special on the graphics side of things. The textures actually look pretty bad (check the details of the walls, etc), but that might be due to the need to load so many textures at once. I suppose it's up to the game play.

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » December 10, 2007, 6:42 pm

these days, less emphasis on graphics coming from established brands increases the likeliness for it to be an actually good game. this should justify my 360 purchase because mass effect sure as hell didn't

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » December 10, 2007, 9:47 pm

cadalano wrote:these days, less emphasis on graphics coming from established brands increases the likeliness for it to be an actually good game. this should justify my 360 purchase because mass effect sure as hell didn't

Couldn't agree more, if they don't have the development time/money/resources/hardware/whatever to make both of those aspects great (graphics and gameplay) then graphics should lose every time, but that is rarely what is happening lately.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 11, 2007, 6:57 am

I didn't see much actual game play in the video so there's nothing to get excited about yet. The one little scene where he punches someone with blood effects didn't look too good.

I understand that the entertainment value of a game isn't linked to the textures but they looked pretty crappy and that's all we have to go on except for some non game play footage showing the engine. There was one scene where a guy was flapping his arms like a bird or something. Hope that's not an indication of quality of animations to expect. Usually you put your best stuff in a trailer.

It will be interesting to see if the FPS/Controls part of the game is as bad as it's always been for GTA games. That's what's stopped me from playing the GTA series past a couple hours all the way through GTA 3.

The music was integrated into the trailer well. I'm sure that helped kind of like having a good movie voice over guy helps a normal movie trailer. Here's five movie voice over guys in one video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQRtuxdf ... re=related

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » January 23, 2008, 5:24 pm

For people looking for new GTA IV info, there are links on the page below with new media/info:

http://www.neowin.net/news/gamers/08/01 ... d-missions

Nick · Post by **Nick** » February 4, 2008, 10:16 pm

The fact that the graphics may not be as amazing as some of the other 360 games is pretty irrelevant to be honest. GTA has always been more about gameplay, which it generally manages to obliterate other games in.

I don't really see any need to be overly gay about whether the textures on a wall look particularly realistic, especially on a message board based on Everquest.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » March 27, 2008, 1:32 pm

Street Map for GTA IV

http://uploadingit.com/view/504158_698kx

hope the colored streets aren't the only ones you can drive on.

Edit: those might be the subway routes.

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » March 28, 2008, 11:58 am

they are definitely subway routes. They are named like the ones in manhattan (not the same letters/numbers but you can tell that's what they were going for).

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 8, 2008, 5:16 pm

Some GTAIV multiplayer screenshots:

http://kotaku.com/photogallery/gtaivmpapr/

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » April 21, 2008, 1:46 pm

So this is finally coming out in 8 days. Anyone else here planning on getting GTA4?

Fash · Post by **Fash** » April 21, 2008, 1:51 pm

Animalor wrote:So this is finally coming out in 8 days. Anyone else here planning on getting GTA4?

I'll get it whenever GameFly fits me in the delivery schedule... I've spent too much on games recently (picked up a Wii and accessories on Friday, bought 2 of my GameFly rentals)

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » April 21, 2008, 2:07 pm

Animalor wrote:So this is finally coming out in 8 days. Anyone else here planning on getting GTA4?

I will be at the midnight release this coming sunday for mario kart wii, then the next night I'll be back for the midnight release of GTA. We'll have to try out some of the multiplayer !

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » April 21, 2008, 2:18 pm

I'm all over it.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » April 21, 2008, 2:26 pm

Fairweather Pure wrote:I'm all over it.

What's your gamertag? I don't know if I have you on my list or not.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » April 21, 2008, 2:46 pm

I think it's Silleyekimo.

I don't do a hell of a lot of online gaming really. I will with this!

Nick · Post by **Nick** » April 22, 2008, 8:10 am

Pre-ordered and will be going to pick it up at 9am on the 29th

Can't wait!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » April 22, 2008, 10:52 am

Nick wrote:Pre-ordered and will be going to pick it up at 9am on the 29th

Can't wait!

On the 360? If so I'm going to require your gamertag so I can shoot you a couple of times pls.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 22, 2008, 4:25 pm

So far the review scores for GTA IV:

10/10
10/10
9.5/10
98/100

Looks like it's being posted on the newsgroups (no nfo file yet) right now. I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy this one for the online play but it will be nice to try out the single player early.

Playstation Official Magazine UK

GTA IV is richer, deeper and more involving than its predecessors. By the time the story threads start to tie up, the mission trees shake out, you're totally invested in the characters and their world. I'm actually jealous of everyone about to experience it for the first time. The greatest testament to GTA IV's brilliance is that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since putting the pad down. [May 2008, p.88]

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 24, 2008, 12:49 pm

Grabbed this late last night. Popped the DVD in this morning to see if it worked. I just wanted to get to the start menu to verify functionality but it takes you right into a new game before you can do anything (you may be able to hit a button but there's no "hit start" text on the screen.

I heard, "Come on you dirty bitches" before I could turn off the console.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » April 24, 2008, 1:00 pm

Winnow wrote:Grabbed this late last night. Popped the DVD in this morning to see if it worked. I just wanted to get to the start menu to verify functionality but it takes you right into a new game before you can do anything (you may be able to hit a button but there's no "hit start" text on the screen.

I heard, "Come on you dirty bitches" before I could turn off the console.

I think that's as good a way as any to start off

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 25, 2008, 12:54 am

It's fun. (no spoilers in this message)

Some quick initial first impressions:

-Main character is likable
-Story is entertaining and missions integrate well
-Tons of radio stations/music
-Driving/Car handling is improved over past GTAs but not great. Still very much GTA style driving.
-You use your Cell phone for missions and contacts quite a bit.
-UI is done well
-Social life is pretty well done. Picking up a girlfriend and going on dates to play the mini games is a nice distraction.
-Clothing stores are well done.
-there's a bunch of dialog going on in both cut scenes and during play.
-there are a bazillion stats the game keeps track of which are well organized into sub categories
-tutorial/help is done well
-too early to comment on weapons and non car vehicles

Setting waypoints and car GPS makes getting around town to mission locations or any destination easy. The GPS voice telling you when to turn is a little late sometimes when you're going fast.

Cops are plentiful but don't bust you for running red lights or general bad driving (so far).

It's very much GTA with improved everything. The main storyline should keep people playing for a long time.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » April 26, 2008, 12:28 am

IGN gave it a 10/10, gives a slight graphical edge to the PS3.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/869/869381p1.html

For those wanting to know which version looks better, the edge goes to the PS3. The textures and framerate are comparable, but the PS3 has far less pop-in. The 360 has richer colors, but the PS3 has better anti-aliasing making it look a little cleaner. Because GTA IV can preload onto the PS3 hard drive, the in-game loads are faster. Don't worry Xbox owners, the load times are rarely more than 30 seconds and don't occur very often. The slight visual edge goes to PS3, but the 360 is no slouch. Either version will do you proud.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 27, 2008, 3:57 am

**No spoilers in this post**

The city is amazing. It takes a little while to get a feel for how big and detailed it is. I suck at driving and fighting but seem to be pretty good at dating and miscellaneous missions.

There are four or five camera modes while you're driving. The cinematic view is awesome but you cant really drive well while in that mode which sucks because it shows off how detailed everything is. Using the cinematic view while traveling on trains is great though.

Since Liberty City has a lot of height levels, the markers for your destination/targets have arrows pointing up or down if you happen to not be on the same level which is a big help. The city is huge IMO but the vertical levels make it all that more impressive. I saw my first airliner in the air which is actually in the game and lands at the airport. Traffic jams, trains going by above you, lots of little alleyways and back areas off the main streets which may never come into play in the game but are still there in detail. At night, the headlights from your car work as they should, lighting up the walls, etc.

I failed a mission during the day and tried it again after doing something else. The same mission at night was quite a different experience. The day/night cycle goes by fairly fast. Lots of shadows, etc as the Suns changes position.

When you go on additional dates, they notice if you've changed clothes, etc and comment on it. You learn things about Nikko when on dates from the questions they ask, etc.

There's so much detail that you won't see because you need to be concentrating on driving, etc but it's still there. The characters are doing all the right animations inside cars, etc but you'll be driving from a behind/above perspective or through windshield view mostly. While driving around a pot smoker, there's smoke coming out the side window, he throws shit out the window like coke cans, etc. You hear him puffing away. Good stuff.

The cops aren't overly annoying. They won't do anything for reckless driving but if you beat up someone or fire a gun they come pretty fast. It's not overly hard to ditch them which is nice as well.

The cover system works ok. You've got a little more of a guerrilla warfare feel to fights that take place indoors with the cover system. Mowing people over with your vehicle is still the best weapon outdoors IMO.

I ignore a lot of cell phone calls. The game is well done in that you can blow off part of the storyline if you want to focus on completing a certain set of missions, etc. You always have more than one thing you can be doing. Your cell phone gets pretty big. Contacts, women, etc and then some people will have multiple things you can call them about. Flipping through menus on your phone is all done using the D-Pad.

City Detail - 10
Story - 10 (cut scenes and cell phone conversations, chatter while driving people/dates around are all very well done)
Game Play - 8 (better than every other GTA but still clunky IMO compared to other games)
Atmosphere - 10
Value - 11 (with replayability and online beyond the main story)

With some games, you like them the most to begin with and then find flaws. With GTA IV, most people will like it and find it even better as it progresses as it's impossible to appreciate how detailed it is until you've driven around for quite some time. I'm less than 10% (8.23%) done so am still seeing the low budget criminal areas, etc. It's guaranteed that those familiar with GTA games will love this but some that may not have liked them so much in the past might find this one worth a look.

Edit: the game really picks up around 10% completion.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » April 27, 2008, 11:37 am

Do the BEEEPING airplanes/choppers return? I gave up on GTA3 after the first 2nd flying mission after the tuturials. Choppers and keypay/mouse does NOT mix well.
that would be the only thing stopping me from getting the game, having to fly again.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 28, 2008, 1:58 am

Hesten wrote:Do the BEEEPING airplanes/choppers return? I gave up on GTA3 after the first 2nd flying mission after the tuturials. Choppers and keypay/mouse does NOT mix well.
that would be the only thing stopping me from getting the game, having to fly again.

I played all day and am only ~18% done compared to ~10% yesterday. There are lots of things to get sidetracked on. I got stuck on a stupid motorcycle mission (hate motorcycles in GTA) so did some other stuff for awhile. Still no boats or planes but I know they're in the game. The great thing about GTA IV is I was able to solve the motorcycle mission without getting on a motorcycle.

10% is the key. Not that the game is bad before that, but around 10% is when lots of things pick up steam or open up to you. I like how you can take a break from the main storyline if stuck and do some other things.

Taking a breather to mow down pedestrians is so much fun. It feels like you're in the movie Deathrace 2000. I was hoping for an achievement when I hit 100.

Hitting the Internet Cafe is surprisingly fun as well.

I wish there was a way to record your missions in cinematic view to watch them later. That excellent camera view seems like an unfortunate waste because of the need to see where you're going.

The day/night weather is so well done. I got stuck in a morning rush hour traffic jam while returning from a mission while crossing a bridge. After awhile, you do get the feel for driving and get to know the local roads. The city is huge and I've mostly been in only two sectors of it. I created a 13 star alarm by blowing through a barricade on the bridge heading to the main city and then jacking an Armored Car just so I could look around.

Be prepared to fail a lot of missions the first time. I recommend going back to your safehouse after each major mission and saving as you'll probably want to reload a saved game instead of take the hospital money penalty along with losing all of your ammo, etc. You can't save after accepting a mission which you won't know what it is before the cut scene which explains it to you.

10/10 for this game even though I whined a bit about the controls.

for private dances at he strip club, body armor, and machine gun ammo

Edit: it's very hard to stop playing this game.

Edit: You might wet your pants if you watch this video review:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33327.html

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » April 28, 2008, 5:09 am

Well, just saw that its only for Xbox 360 and PS3, assumed it would be for PC too. Well, im not gonna shell out for a new console for 1 game, so ill pass on it, unless they make a PC version

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » April 28, 2008, 7:22 am

Winnow wrote:10/10 for this game even though I whined a bit about the controls.

for private dances at he strip club, body armor, and machine gun ammo

Edit: it's very hard to stop playing this game.

I do hope you plan on going to buy the retail of this one. Since R* so highly deserve it.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » April 28, 2008, 8:03 am

12 hours to go

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » April 28, 2008, 9:51 am

I bought Crackdown last week for 9.99 on sale. Holy shit what a fun game! I hope GTA4 is 1/2 as fun.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » April 28, 2008, 10:10 am

Fairweather Pure wrote:I bought Crackdown last week for 9.99 on sale. Holy shit what a fun game! I hope GTA4 is 1/2 as fun.

I'm going to buy Crackdown again eventually. It's the only game I really regret trading in.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » April 28, 2008, 10:56 am

I wasn't gonna go to the midnight release tonight, but after all I've seen/heard I don't think I can wait another day!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 28, 2008, 12:56 pm

Animalor wrote:
I do hope you plan on going to buy the retail of this one. Since R* so highly deserve it.

Yep, they deserve the $$.

I went on a mass pedestrian killing spree before shutting down last night. The physics in the game are great. Bodies really fly with high speed impacts. I especially love ramming motorcyclists at full speed while they're waiting at stoplights.

edit:

the 100/100 reviews are starting to pour in on Metacritic:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platfor ... theftauto4

How is the SIXAXIS used in GTA IV?
Not well, not well at all.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 28, 2008, 3:59 pm

$540 Million in one day!

`GTA IV' expected to sell 9 million copies at launch

By DERRIK J. LANG – 5 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There's no Burger King tie-in or special flavor of Mountain Dew. No commercial directed by Peter Jackson, or even an action figure.

The run-up to "Grand Theft Auto IV" has been considerably less ballyhooed than last year's over-the-top "Halo 3" debut. Yet when "GTA IV" parks on store shelves on April 29, the latest entry in the controversial video game franchise could be the most lucrative launch in entertainment history — and one that many people may not even know about.

Analysts predict Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games' open-world, action-driving game will easily top last year's record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft and Bungee Studios' first-person shooter "Halo 3" — and without a similar marketing bonanza.

With the launch of "GTA IV" on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Rockstar is seemingly steering in one direction: the downlow.

"Rockstar wants to control the message all the time," says Sam Kennedy, editorial director for the gaming site 1UP.com. "They want this to be seen and perceived exactly the way they want. That's why — outside of the official trailers they released — people haven't seen a lot of gameplay footage in advance of 'GTA IV' shipping. They want to build that hype."

Take-Two and Rockstar declined to comment for this story, but following a 90-minute demonstration of the game in January, "GTA IV" writer and Rockstar vice president Dan Houser told The Associated Press that the infamous game developer, who's also responsible for the "Manhunt" and "Bully" games, was being overly protective for one very important reason.

"We want people to be really excited and not know everything by the time they play the game," said Houser. "Of course, we want them to understand what they're buying, but we want there to be surprises along the way."

The desire for intel about "GTA IV" has been mounting since the game was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2006 and again in August when Take-Two revealed "GTA IV" would be delayed until 2008. Other than four popular online trailers and some embargoed press previews, there hasn't been much information.

The silent treatment is a savvy business move, according to Steve Fowler, vice president of strategy for the Ayzenberg Group, a company that specializes in interactive entertainment advertising and marketing. Fowler worked as a product manager on the original "Halo."

"'Halo 3' took the approach of going after a less core consumer, but they had an ulterior motive," says Fowler. "Microsoft was using 'Halo 3,' their biggest property, to try and sell more Xbox 360s. Take-Two and Rockstar are free of that constriction because 'GTA IV' is on both platforms, so they're only motivated to be true to what their game is and sell copies of their game."

Thus far, Rockstar's advertising campaign has consisted of several outdoor elements — billboards, bus wraps, building murals, phony wanted posters — spread across North America and Europe as well as a few viral videos featuring satirical commercials for fictitious "GTA" businesses posted online. GameStop and Microsoft have also aired their own TV commercials featuring the game.

The less-is-more approach might also have something to do with the controversial series' M-rated content. "GTA IV" anti-hero Niko Bellic, an imigrant-turned-gangster from Eastern Europe, isn't exactly one of the Mario Brothers. As Bellic, players can hijack cars, earn cash for criminal activities, flee from police, drive drunk, kill innocent bystanders and patronize strip clubs.

"If you look at their marketing, that's not a selling point at all," says Fowler. "They've gone with this comic book look and feel. It's not about graphic violence. It's not about profanity. It's more about the feeling, expression and the emotional attachment to the characters and the world."

The drama extends beyond Liberty City, the game's fictional locale, and into the real world. Video game publisher Take-Two, which owns Rockstar, has been subject to a hostile takeover bid from Electronic Arts since February. Take-Two has been holding out, refusing to enter formal talks with EA or any other suitor until April 30, the day after "GTA IV" goes on sale.

Huge first-day "GTA IV" sales could certainly boost the value of Take-Two's shares. The lack of a "Halo 3"-sized advertising campaign isn't expected to affect sales, according to video game analysts. Unlike the Xbox 360-exclusive "Halo 3," the ninth "GTA" game is being simultaneously released for Sony's and Microsoft's consoles, a first for the 10-year-old gaming franchise.

"The addressable market at launch is about 24 million consoles," says Michael Pachter, video game analyst at Wedbush Morgan. "So how many will sell in the first week or month or few months? Nine million. That's the number. That's about a 35 percent attach rate. By year's end, it'll be somewhere between 11 and 13 million because more consoles will be sold before the holidays."

By comparison, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which had the highest grossing film debut in 2007, fleeced $404 million in its first six days around the world. However, a movie ticket is significantly less than the $59.99 price tag for "GTA IV." And software sales are usually less concerned with opening week figures, according to Pachter.

"Opening week doesn't have any bearing on lifetime sales," says Pachter. "With box office, three to five times opening weekend sales is what movies usually do. Games can slip under the radar and be slow and steady sellers like 'Wii Fit' will be or highly anticipated like 'GTA IV' and literally sell half of their lifetime units in the first week."

Such sales would beat the record held by "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," the previous "GTA" console game that sold over 9 million copies when it was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, according to NPD Group, which tracks video game sales. To meet the demand, retailers such as GameStop and Best Buy are opening their doors at midnight for special "GTA IV" launch events.

"I would expect April to be a monster sales month for the video game industry, one that is likely to break all sorts of previous records," says Anita Frazier, video game analyst for NPD Group. "We release our April sales data on May 15, and I get goosebumps thinking of the numbers we'll see on that day."

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 28, 2008, 8:15 pm

Animalor wrote:
I do hope you plan on going to buy the retail of this one. Since R* so highly deserve it.

I might buy this for the PS3! I'll have to wait and see how the online play turns out first.

Edit:

One huge mega big reason for getting the 360 version is the controller. I can't imagine trying to cling onto the lame PS3 triggers for any extended period of time...and you're driving all the time in GTA. The 360 controller is much much much better for trigger driving with it's outward curve so you can rest assured your finger won't slip off the well designed trigger.

You also don't have to plug your controller into your counsel with a 3 inch cord to recharge it.

I'd have to track down a third party controller with decent triggers before risking damaging my hands playing on the PS3.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » April 29, 2008, 12:48 am

First impressions - The city at night is grittier, dirtier and much more Noirish than I expected. This is a good thing. The story looks brilliant, Niko is already my favourite GTA protagonist ever, the graphics are awesome.

The driving is a bit fiddly to begin with, as is the targeting, but it doesn't take too long to sort out.

Since I'm really tired and simply need to sleep, I'll keep this incredibly brief before writing a bit more once I get a more extended play. In short, so far (about 3 hours played), this game is fucking amazing.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 29, 2008, 3:00 am

I got an achievement for reaching $10K, so far

44 cars stolen
300 people run down.

36 stars attained

1:59 longest cop chase time

traveled 106 miles

Scored with girl: 5
Girls Dumped: 0
Bad Dates: 0 (although almost had a bad one when I took girl out on a rainy night driving a convertible)

Check out the cabaret when it's available. Cool stuff.

I picked up my last date in an armored bank vehicle and she thought nothing of it.

Good times. So many stats tracked in this game.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » April 29, 2008, 9:52 am

There was a lineup of with a lot of very "interesting" looking people outside the EB where I had my pre-order this morning.
I can't believe how many people don't have to(or skipped) work today.

Regardless, Copy secured, now I get to wait for another 12 hours before I can actually play it.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » April 29, 2008, 9:55 am

Some people don't work a Monday through Friday 9 to 5.

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » April 29, 2008, 10:26 am

in honor of the GTA4 release, I got myself a traffic ticket this morning

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » April 29, 2008, 10:27 am

although i guess i probably should have ran the policeman over

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » April 29, 2008, 11:08 am

cadalano wrote:although i guess i probably should have ran the policeman over

lol yes, you should have.

I got it at midnight last night and played for maybe an hour and a half - and loved every minute of it. I won't say too much yet as I have barely scratched the surface, but more later.

I will agree with the leprechaun about the driving part, it's taking some getting used to.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » April 29, 2008, 11:15 am

I wasn't planning on picking this up for a while, but the multiplayer looks like it could be a lot of fun. I might have to see if I can find it in stock later today.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » April 29, 2008, 3:57 pm

The midnight queue was insane here, a hundred metres long at least (for a game!)

So I ended up in rehearsals all day so I only got playing at about 6pm, about 2 hours ago - since then I've mainly been doing the missions.

To be honest, this story is much more like an epic film (it is of the same quality, and depth) than I expected. You really do attach yourself to Niko, much like all the reviews said. It's fantastic so far.

[Show]: The girlfriend thing is a bit corny, I've always thought that, but I did like the "achievement unlocked: warm coffee" joke

Without spoilering too much, I really like the feel of the game, the graphics really are superb. And I've just hit 10%, so as Winnow said, it does pick up in tempo a little then, and some more interesting characters start appearing. The relationships between them are substantially more complex than previous GTA's. This is a good thing.

I don't have x Box live because I simply don't have the time, so I don't know what the multiplayer is like, but if you get to roam across all of Liberty City then it really must be fantastic. It's really annoying that we can't access Algonquin yet, it looks unbelievable. I still haven't seen the statue of happiness yet though.

I'll get back to you in a while

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 29, 2008, 4:06 pm

Fry's has a bundle going. Buy GTA IV 360 or PS3 and get the Guide for $5.00.

Since the Guide is the most useful thing for me atm, I bought the PS3 version. I spotted a third party PS3 controller with decent (outward curved) triggers but didn't buy it as I want to research the various controllers. I grabbed the PS3 version because I don't think I can play, even with a legit copy of GTA IV on Live because my 360 is hacked. I'm still undecided on whether to buy a new 360 or stick with the PS3 copy and buy a new controller.

Either way, the guide looks well done. I don't know how long the bundle deal lasts but $5 for the guide is worth it.