Before Grand Theft Auto IV was launched, many analysts were of the view that the game would be a system seller and lots of people would be buying next generation games consoles just to play the game. However, that hasn’t happened exactly. Gamespot is reporting that industry analysts seem quite baffled by the GTA IV-hardware disconnect.
Michael Pachter is an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. He commented, “Sales were once again led by GTAIV selling 1.3 million units compared with our estimate of 1.7 million units. This implies a tie ratio of 28 percent, implying potential for tempering demand over the next several months unless the installed base for PS3 and 360 grows faster.”
His views are echoed by analyst Jesse Divnich of EEDAR who pointed out that Metal Gear Solid 4 may have an easier time moving consoles compared to GTA IV. Divnich explained, “This is likely due to the exclusivity factor as exclusive releases on Sony’s platforms have historically shown to be a better hardware driver than that of multi-platform releases.”
Though NPD figures indicate that the Sony PS3 outperformed the Microsoft Xbox 360, the Nintendo Wii emerged the winner last month. In fact, the Nintendo DS did better than the two home consoles on which GTA IV was released.
So do you agree with the analysts’ point of view about GTA IV? The comment box is below, just type on…