A big deal has been made over Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' alleged failure and what this means for mature titles on the Nintendo DS. According to the latest figures, it does indeed seem that Rockstar's DS debut was a bit of a let-down, especially in light of how popular and mainstream the console games have been.
According to reports, Chinatown achieved just 88,704 sales since launch, falling very short of analyst predictions, which expected at least 200,000 copies to leave store shelves. Publisher Take Two remains confident in the game's long-term success, but nobody thinks in the long-term these days, so the game's immediate performance is sure to influence industry attitudes toward DS games.
As we've already discussed, a number of factors worked against Chinatown Wars. A lack of hype, with a release that seemed to arrive with little fanfare, must have had an impact. Not to mention the fact that "casual" gamers who only care about the post-GTA III series might have been turned off by the "crappy" top-down view. That's if they even followed the industry enough to know Chinatown Wars was coming. It's also been suggested that initial sales for the GTA PSP games were slow, but eventually gained ground, which would back up Take Two's attitude.
Unfortunately, Chinatown Wars had more going against it than just an M rating. It should also be point out that most "hardcore" gamers who knew about the title would have most likely pirated the thing, and yet they wonder why "hardcore" gamers are getting ignored and marginalized these days.
Contest:
9:20 AM on 04.17.2009
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::sigh at GTA still going on and on::
Almost Exact copy of Liberty City in GTAIV... check!
Top-Down perspective... check!
Mature Game on Portable that holds Nintendogs as one of it's main sellers... check!
Yeah. Not a complete surprise.
I agree GTA does grind a bit sometimes.
Considering the game's total sales, that's a really significant number...
With an install base of over 100 million, piracy shouldn't be that big of an issue.
With an install base of 100 millions, I find it hard to believe that the "demographic isn't there", even though the majority might be children and casuals. I think this has more something to do with prejudiced view on the game. People probably asumed that the game wasn't going to be any good because it's coming for the DS. I remember I had the same thoughts back when the game was announced at E3, that it would just be some silly knock-off to cash in on. Would you buy Call of Duty 4 or Assassin's Creed for the DS? I thought so...
With an install base of 100 millions, I find it hard to believe that the "demographic isn't there", even though the majority might be children and casuals. I think this has more something to do with prejudiced view on the game. People probably asumed that the game wasn't going to be any good because it's coming for the DS. I remember I had the same thoughts back when the game was announced at E3, that it would just be some silly knock-off to cash in on. I mean, would you buy Call of Duty 4 or Assassin's Creed for the DS? I thought so...
You mean apart from the one we already did?
The thing is though, and a lot of people forget this, the game-buying market is not just split between two sets of identical people. There are several casual demographics just as there are several hardcore once. GTA appeals to the young male casual gamer who owns a PS3 or Xbox mainly for Halo, GTA, FIFA and some racing games.
This is why I don't pirate games, because I genuinely enjoy them.
Take all the people who buy games. Subtract the casual demographic (babyz, brain age, occasional mario, wii fit), because they aren't into this. Now take all the people who would call themselves gamers and ARE into this kind of thing and subtract the ones who have an R4. There's your answer.
Why would any of them buy this game??
THey love free shit, and would never buy a game again
and half of them have r4's
I know the DS unit sales seem huge, but I honestly don't know a SINGLE "typical" GTA fan (basically, college frat-boy Halo players) that even OWNS a DS.
Yeah, I know, "it's not a kiddie system" blah blah blah, but to the people to whom that sort of thing matters it still very much is. And it's hard to argue against that point when about 90% of the games released for it ARE geared towards the younger (or female) crowd.
Not really. The old top down GTAs were never really that big, and CW follows in their footsteps with its top down view. Also, the people who really drove GTA4's sales are not the kind of people who would get CW, or even really have a DS. But the biggest issue might be piracy. I can't remember the last time DS game was pirated so hard.
very disappointing to hear.
* That´s it.
I never had a single desire to even pick up this DS game even though I bought GTAIV. Maybe I am missing out but to me one of the huge open interactive environments of the 3d GTA's are half the fun and part of the immerssion factor. The stories are good but they are not the driving force for me its exploration. I could never get into the old 2d GTA's either though. With the overhead camera it seems way more limited no ability to base jump off buildings as well as half the crazy things in vehicles.
I just think its silly to say all the hardcore gamers are pirating it. I imagine there are others like me that never had a reason to care for the game. The sad thing is really GTA has really been one of those games that pulls in the more slightly casual gamers, the same ones that get Madden every year that have never seen Odin Sphere or Shadow of the Collosus lets gets this strait it is not so much the hardcore gamer as the mainstream gamer that has pushed GTA to where it is. Lines do cross so we must be fair you can like these mainstream violent titles as well as Cutesy family friendly title and still be hardcore, but I think the hardcore gamer is not the target of many devs at all. I think the hardcore have a DS for the Gems and are not hung up by the fact the nintendo handhelds are generally home to bright cheerful games. And it will take more that one game to change the image of the DS for some people and some will sadly never give it a chance.
Of course, a lot of R4 owners don't think that way and they just download games that never buy.
Sadly, piracy is a great issue in general, and more with 128 MB ROMs that are so easy and fast to download form the Internet.
I know a lot of people who have said that they plan on buying GTA:CW eventually, like when they have to go on a trip this summer, or that they'll ask for it for Christmas or something.
We'll see.
CW may have been good but it was on the wrong damn console.
I think one problem is the lack of crossover in demographics. I know very few people who played GTA before 3, and even fewer that enjoyed. And of those, I don't think any own a DS. There's a lot of GTA fans, and a lot of DS owners, but the intersection of those is significantly smaller than one would hope.
QFT