GTA IV Sales Not as Obscenely/Repulsively Huge as Expected, Barely 10 Million Sold

Companies, no matter how big or small, really like making money. This is no secret and, you know, God bless. Sometimes, though, their whining about not making enough of the stuff can be downright infuriating. A good example is Take-Two Interactive, makers of the overrated popular Grand Theft Auto video games. According to a recent report, sales of GTA IV are slowing considerably and not meeting the company's expectations.

[BigBaehr]

That's because it sucked.

[Skaterboy Tell Em]

agreed,gta sucked hairy donkey kong balls.

[TheHater]

It did sucked if you compare to the other GTA games that came before it. GTA IV was a shell of GTA 3, and SA. You can't even compare GTA IV to those two GTA games.

[ChrisGTR1]

gta sucked? how many other games can you claim to have played over 40 hours for the single player? this gta was a downgrade from san andreas but is still an amazing game.

[SCThor]

50 million bucks going down the toilet!

*fluuuuuuuushhhh*

[ChrisGTR1]

ohhhh... now i get it, you guys are all saying gta4 suckd cause your ps3 owners... >_<
well im defenetly gonna get the expansion pack coming out in 2 months.

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

I remember my first comment about GTAIV sucking hairy donkey balls way back during the first week it released. Ah good times... the funny part about it, I got so many disagrees. hahaha

I loved GTA1 and the London expansion, GTA2 was perfection, GTA3 changed gaming, Vice City perfected it, San Andreas took it to the next level, the PSP version were always played during my flights. GTAIV however is the unholy godsend from the desolate one who will remain nameless. GTAIV is a slap in the face to hardcore GTA fans, the gameplay sucked, the driving sucked, the radio sucked, the story sucked, the multiplayer sucked, the humor sucked, the AI sucked, and worst off all... it had those little quarks that should have never made it into the game... the cell phone, the computer, the alternate endings. UGH man just talking about this gam... uh... gh..

I just puked in my mouth a lil bit. :/

[Omegasyde]

Chris,

GTA4 really sucked. O and just because you can get 40 hours out of a game doesn't make it a great game all of a sudden.

I still to this day can't finish FFXII well dare I say it:
It was the worst Final Fantasy.

O and Chris here you go:
Reason why GTa4 sucked:
1)multi-player offered alot, however got boring fast.
2)The ending sucked
3)barely any sidejobs
4)Lack of rewards for sidejobs ( 200 pigeon for a helicopter?)
5)Radio selection was worse
6) Can't buy property
7)The missions were all the same:
Run to point A. Kill drug dealer. Run back to Point B.
The only mission that was really different was the mission that you were hanging on top of the Asian Mafia's delivery truck for dear life.

8)Nico Belic couldn't compare to Tommy Verseti or CJ

[TheColbertinator]

@Chris

Is that so? I have the 360 version and even with the achievements I still thought it was boring.By far the worst GTA game I ever played.It was good though.The game was polished,controls were good,online was interesting but it gets boring quick.

The DLC better be jetpacks or flamethrowers or something like that because the game is gathering dust.

[DaTruth]

Well, we have better games on PS3. If I only had the 360 I would think this game was great too. It's practically the only game on 360 that qualifies as next gen.

[dro]

it did not only sucked, it almost made me break my t.v!! i almost threw the pad to the t.v in anger of how overhyped and downgraded it is. i hope r* hears all the feed backs by the people who bought the game and not the reviews that gave it 10/10.. i personaly will give this game 7.5/10.

[gaffyh]

chris - GTA4 just sucks and I have it for 360. It was a complete let down

[AAACE5]

What was so wrong with GTA 4 that it sucked?

Was it the fact that it wasn't arcadey and goofy as the previous games? GTA 4 just decided to take a more realistic approach now that we got alot more goofy sandbox games out like Saints row and Crackdown!

I liked GTA 4, and I hope the next one is as good as this one. I admit I had to go through an adjustment period, and at one point said it sucked. But once I got used to it, and realized why it was made that way... I was hooked and it became one of the best games I ever played!

Things have to evolve... Otherwise we would have never got Zelda:OoT or MGS 4! You may not understand it, but don't hate it!

[thebudgetgamer]

on its own it wouldve been good but it had to follow the godfather two wich is one of the best movies ever made so it pales in comparison but only because of the greatness that is tgf2

if a company not named rockstar north made it people would have a different story but its not and it had to follow san andreas so only in that right did it fail

[El_Colombiano]

Only 10 Million? Damn...FLOP...

/sarcasm

[ChrisGTR1]

it would of sold alot more if there werent cheap ass piraters like you.

[SCThor]

San Andreas had jetpacks,body building feature,lots of stats and customization for your character,etc but GTA4 don't!!, how is so?? Blame M$ for their cheap ass DVD9 and 50 million bucks.

[LethalToxins]

Ironic when a game outsells every single Halo made and is a flop...

Halo a flop? No. So neither is GTA. I don't really care for the GTA games anymore. How many times can you rehash the exact same formula and expect to keep hitting that fifteen million mark?

"Yo, man, 'dis ***** is fuqing mah ho! Kill 'dis b!tch n I pay you 'dis many dollaz!" Missions like that get old after a while... Try a reinvention of the series. Not saying Crackdown was better, but at least it tried something new.

[DaTruth]

GTAFuture, wouldn't change the core gameplay but it would throw in enough change that it could be refreshing. flying cars, jetpacks and hoverboards. Would add verticallity to the game it never had before.
And it should be a PS3 exclusive, if your gonna do it, do it right.

[Silogon]

GTA4 was utter garbage. I spent 5 hours on it and knew right away what the game did and didn't do. It didn't do far more than it did, believe me. This is the biggest joke of next gen. GTA4 was clearly made with the ps2 in mind and the lack of ambition shows.

[NegativeCreep427]

but especially considering the lack of celebrity voice talent in GTA IV with Samuel L. Jackson as officer tenpenny in San Andreas.

[DrWan]

If you check the top 10 charts.

it will sell more but it was pretty overrated and it scares them bc got all perfect 10's and still didn't sell more than 10 mil?

They were used to the high numnbers on PS2, beign multi plat and not selling more scare them though

[VF34EJ25]

Never thought I'd see the day that people think selling 10 million is a flop.

For the record, San Andreas sold 13 million on PS2 and 2-3 million on Xbox. But that's over LIFETIME sales figures.

I'd expect GTA IV to end up at around 12 million on both consoles. And one thing to keep in mind, that it's $60 each for GTA IV opposed to $50 for the PS2/Xbox.

So either way Sam and Dan are rolling in money.

[PikkonX]

Not to mention that PS2 had a larger userbase than all of the current gen consoles combined. I think R* was simply trying to get the game's engine up and running and then create a good title. Now that that's been accomplished, each further installment in the series this generation can add more and more features until you get something beyond what San Andreas did. Things would be even better if they would concentrate on one console.

[Chuck Norris]

"each further installment in the series this generation can add more and more features until you get something beyond what San Andreas did"

You are forgetting one thing: DVD9.

[PikkonX]

That's why I mentioned, "things would be even better if they would concentrate on one console." GTA IV still didn't use the entire 8.5GB DVD, but it does come close. Though it doesn't have HD assets, look at all that San Andreas had, and that game was only 2GB. I think time was the reason GTA IV didn't have as many features, not storage space.

[DaTruth]

Games cost the same amount it's just that the dollars in the crapper. I paid as much for my Ps2 as my PS3 because the Canadian dollar was up.

And the 360 can only use 6.75 gigs of the disk, That's why they didn't use the whole 8.5Gigs.

[ape007]

rockstar north

BRING BACK BODY HARVEST

body harvest has tons and tons of potential

cars,bikes,trucks,airplanes,h elicopters,ufo's,time travel,fear,mysterys,myths,dea th,aliens,boss fights,zombies,different cites different times,mountains,fictional weapons(I can't forget the the sun shield in greec level)

I REALLY CAN'T THINK OF ANY GAME WITH THIS SO MUCH POTENTIAL

BODY HARVEST 2 ON 50 GB BLU-RAY=BEST THING HAPPEND TO GAMING SINCE SUPER MARIO BROS

[Xbox360_Mujahid]

GTA IV sux

[FAQS]

Q: ...and sux why?
A: ...Because rockstar made a Xbox360 version, that's why!...

[lnfinite]

GTA:San Andreas delivered a Far more Revolutionary and Epic gameplay Experience than the one provided in GTA:IV.

The reason for this of course,is the Lack of a CELL processor and Blu Ray Technology in the Flopbox.

[LinuxGuru]

Wow only 10 million

[CNIVEK]

All that hard work, and what do they have to show for it? Well, since their latest game has already grossed over $600 MILLION, in 4-1/2 months, I guess they'll have some new Porsches/Ferraris, if nothing else. Poor bastards. :o

[xionpunk]

im sure they are crying real tears as they wipe their asses with all the spare cash.

on another note, GTA 4 was the first one that I never felt compelled to finish (and I mean just the main story) even the online stuff was pretty boring.

[BabyStomper5000]

Me too. I played it for two or three weeks then traded it in towards... something. I think GT5P maybe. Anyhoo I played all 5 of the previous games from start to finish and still play SA to this day. It's really disappointing when the new doesn't even compare to the old.

[TheDesperado]

PS3 GTA4 still sells briskly on the charts in Europe.

And no, it didn't suck, nor are these somehow bad sales.
Wii ___ games suck balls, and they sell tons. They cost nothing to make so I can't believe Nintendo has the audacity to sell them to you for a tiny bit less than regular HD game RRP or bundled with a peripheral to boost NPD chart status. They should be paying you $450 and kissing your @ss for even buying a Wii and one of these games.

[TruthbeTold]

This is just like Nintendo complaining about 6-7 million Super Mario Galaxy copies being sold as "Less than expected". SMG couldn't have cost more than 10 million to make, and that figure is probably far more than it actually cost. Figure in that they've made more than a quarter of a billion off of it, that the game has helped sell even more profitable consoles, and these kind of statements are just downright offensive. Even if somehow Nintendo only gets 100 million of that as profit, they've made a killing.

Same goes for GTA4. After the first 2-3 million copies sold or so, they were making pure profit even when you figure in advertising. The game has made somewhere around a half billion dollars, and truthfully speaking if people knew then what they know now, probably a third of the people who bought it would have passed on buying it and just rented it. Take Two should be ecstatic. And let's not forget that these games are still selling to a great extent.

[joydestroy]

yup! bubbles to you!

[chrisnick]

how many games do u know that sold almost 10 mil in 4 months?

[LethalToxins]

Only franchise that competes with GTA's average sales (only talking since GTA3 and beyond...) is Gran Turismo.

[BabyStomper5000]

There is another ridiculously over rated game... I can't seem to remember what it's called though. Something about Mountain Dew Gamer Fuel that tastes like gummy bears... oh well, it must not have been that good.

[peowpeow]

CJ from SA was one of my favorite characters, i'm not sure why but i finished that game so many times. Niko just didn't cut it for me, and they focused too much on realism. Saints Row 2 will probably be good
But yeah 10 million..$$$..

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

After playing GTAIV, hardcore GTA fans can't help but look into other GTA-esque games like Saints Row 2 and APB, hoping those IP's will offer something remotely "fun"... something Rockstar simply forget about when creating GTAIV.

[Omegasyde]

Well said the both of you. I am thinking sooner or later GTA is going to go with having the lead character be female.

They should of had GTA4 with a better lead character. I think the immigrant view is cool, but it lacked story since you just hear about Nico getting screwed over in Eastern Europe for some unknown reason until about 90% through the game.

[badz149]

the worst GTA ever but neither the best! but what makes it such a dissapointment is because it was higly rated but it's actually several steps backward from SA and the serious lacking of 'FUN' in the game really killed it for many GTA fans including me! the message is clear for R*. not everything should go towards realism! the crazy physics and crazy things we can do in the previous GTAs were the things that made them so good and realism killed them all in GTAIV!

[mirroredderorrim]

I have played Xenogears, import in 1998 for 246 hours, home slice.

Final fantasy VII, oh my, don't get me started. Maybe at least 1700 hours total time ever played, by a rough estimate?

[VF34EJ25]

1700 hours...?

I... don't know what to say...

[BabyStomper5000]

You're supposed to say "holy fuktard batman! 1700 hours?!".

If you wanna talk hours though I had over 1500 recorded hours on an online MUD when I was in middle school. Granted it's not the same it was still a gigantic waste of time.

[TruthbeTold]

Was it Valhalla?

[Nervz]

f'en love it...the story/characters are much more loving and interesting. gameplay is addictive, IMO.

[clintos59]

I really think if GTA4 was timed exclusive for the ps3, it would have sold alot more then it has now. But dp to wanting more money and being greedy and wanting to go multiplatform and forgetting which system fanbase bought all those copies, it backfired on them.

Take notes from Kojima and be loyal to your fanbase and your game will sell very well. :)

[BabyStomper5000]

If it's a good game it will usually sell very well no matter what platform it's on. Look at Call of Duty 4.

[Firstkn1ghT]

Take notes from Kojima? Yeah MGS4 sold around 3 million. That's much better than 10 million sold. :/

[KiddyBrownTurd]

that's what happens when you delay BOTH versions of your game to cater to a bunch of movie buffs.

[skunkworx]

Having played the game and thought pretty much what everyone on here is saying (was good but just not upto previous versions) i can see why R* delayed the game so the releases were at the same time, who would of rushed out and brought it if they had seen/played the 'other' version first on a friends console, far fewer than ran out and got it the first week i am certain of that.
Maybe R* realized this and held back what ever version was ready first until the other was ready. You wait and see the piss poor sales on the PC when it comes out, all those torrent sites are going to be overloaded in the first week of that versions release.

If R* want me to buy another GTA then they really need to look at GTA3,VC and SA and say 'What made these games great' i can tell them the answer just like many others on this site and that is FUN.
Forget the bullshit realism and put FUN back in it, when i wheelie a bike i want to see how far it was 'ON THE SCREEN', when the cops chase me i want to be worried i am going to get caught, not find the first straight road and leave them for dead, when i want deliver a pizza, go put out fire's with a fire engine or save some injured people in a ambulance i want to be able to do that. I WANT to drive across the city's because it's fun to drive not grab the nearest taxi and get a lift as the driving is so AWFUL i don't want to do it. I want to leap of the side of a mountain on a motorbike and the parachute down, i want to do all these things because it's FUN.

R*, wake up and do this for GTA5 or games like Crackdown 2,Saints Row 2 and many others are going to make 10 million sales look incredible and out of reach.

Phew Rant over. :D

[TruthbeTold]

there was a race between PS3 owners and 360 owners to see who'd have bragging rights over which console sold the most. The simultaneous release shows an understanding of the market. I give them props, even though I don't personally feel that the game should have scored so high across the board.

[ape007]

words from my mouth

bubbles for you sir.

[bbelly9320_]

still an incredible success

[iconic blade]

i thought gta4 was good,but the taking friends out was crap,the driving was good too.i didnt like san andreas and thought gta4 was better.gta4 needed nore quality missions like the bank jog instead of errand boy missions.

thought nico bellic was one of the best main characters in a gta game and 10 million copies is no flop lol,every game must be a flop then

but gta4 online was not as good as it should have been but it is still better than many online games

[buckethead_911]

I havent completed the single player yet but the game didnt deserve a 10/10 at all because the Multiplayer is bullshit.

[mariusmal]

san andreas was bigger yes. way bigger. but this was more polished, better written, better animated. best in all senses except in size.

[Bren86]

The game did get boring quick, specially once you complete it. Not sure why it didn't sell more than expected though. I would of thought a lot of people would of bought it to try it out atleast, even if someone did say it wasn't good, its the sort of game you'd still buy anyways.

On a side note. Where the **** are the trophies for gta iv. TWO of the biggest games this year didn't get trophies, GTA IV and MGS4. pfft.

[mirroredderorrim]

It's with total time added up on each safe file, still existent on my original PS1 memory card to this day.

One file dedicated to beating it without materia, using only items.

Another file is a near perfect file, with all possible materia mastered, glitches taken advantage of to obtain complete sets of items and the lot.

Another file is dedicated to a speed run.

I have more files, such as using the weakest items/magics/weapons to beat the game.

No leveling as well, but I did mess up a few times. (pretty hard one for me)

My point was lost during my first comment, but the point is, people will buy this DLC in droves. There are still people like me who will dedicate insane amounts of time to a great game of his or her choice!

I'm not saying I like GATIV, but I am sure many people who do, who play it hours on end.

[TruthbeTold]

Sounds like me with Tales of Symphonia. All of those different save files dedicated to different objectives. Can't say I hit 1700 hours on it though. Probably more like 6-700. Game on friend. If only everyone could have a game that they loved so much.

[kewlkat007]

The game has about 3 more years before another GTA I'm guessing...

As the market is saturated with Console with owners, especially PS2-->PS3 owners, the game will only sell more.

Whether the game sucked or not is all subjective. To look at the sale numbers as to why it sucked is kinda stupid. The game will continue to sell regardless, what N4G members think.

[mirroredderorrim]

Ofcourse it will continue to sell! But they wanted to sell, oh.. I dunno, something like 14-15 million at this point in time, instead of 10 million?

They are not crying, but they have to be disappointed in some sense.
Maybe it also had a reason to do with EA walking away from the beloved Take-Two.

[pshizle]

effen repetitious and i did not like the characters and the story

thats why this game sucked!

if anything why couldnt they make this game look and seem more modern

def. worst GTA compared to 3 and SA

[Agrahim]

I didn't hate GTA 4, in fact it was one of the main reasons I got a PS3, but I have to admit, as much as I liked the story and characters, the game could get damn boring at times. I hated how every mission seemed to end with "Guy got away, chase Guy for ten minutes, catch Guy, and then kill him". I'm not a huge fan of racing or chase segments in any game, and having to chase every guy down at the end of a mission was just irratating as hell.

[DARKTRINITYxxx]

What do they expect ? They gimped the content and they shoved it onto the XBOX360. What more can you say ?

[aggh im on fire]

considering the last GTA took a longer to sell ten million than this with a higher user base i fail to see how this is a flop.