SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) - Video-game players who are accustomed to waiting for the holiday season to see the hottest new releases will get an early dose of yuletide joy this year -- in late April, to be exact.
That's when "Grand Theft Auto IV" will hit store shelves -- likely on its way to racking up sales of 10 million units or more by the end of the year, according to most estimates.
But game fanatics worried about spoiling their Christmas by mid-spring needn't worry. Compared to last year, 2008 will see a large slate of popular video game franchises spread throughout the year, along with some highly anticipated new properties that are designed to finally showcase the full capabilities of next- generation consoles such as the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
