"Grand Theft Auto" Makes Crime Pay

Latest Version Of Controversial Video Game Rakes In $500M In Just One Week

(AP)  "Grand Theft Auto IV" raked in more than $500 million in its first week in stores, selling more than 6 million units worldwide, the video game's publisher said Wednesday.

The highly anticipated title from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. has received stellar ratings along with criticism for its violent content. The game follows an Eastern European immigrant-turned gangster on crime missions around a fictional Liberty City.

The title sold about 3.6 million units on April 29, its opening day, bringing in roughly $310 million. This is $10 million more than what Microsoft Corp.'s "Halo 3," another blockbuster game, took in during its first week last fall.

New York-based Take-Two is the subject of a $2 billion hostile buyout from larger rival Electronic Arts Inc., which Take-Two has repeatedly rebuffed as too low.

Take-Two's shares were recently trading at $26.39, above EA's tender offer of $25.74 per share, which expires May 16. Unless EA is willing to offer more, it seems "increasingly possible" the acquisition attempt could unravel, Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey said in a note to investors.

Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter disagrees, however, saying the game's sales were well within his expectations.

"I don't think it changes the value of the company," he said. "I think we are going to end up with a Microsoft-Yahoo situation," with Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick believing the company is worth more and EA chief John Riccitiello disagreeing.

Three months after it first made an offer, Microsoft dropped its $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo Inc. over the weekend after the companies couldn't agree on a price.

Pachter said he expects the game to sell 12 million copies by the end of 2008. GTA's previous versions have sold more than 70 million copies worldwide.

Already, the game seems to be living up to its juicy past, which includes controversy over hidden sex scenes, sharp criticism from Hillary Rodham Clinton and a 2006 lawsuit that blames the game for three New Mexico murders committed by a 14-year-old.

For one, Take-Two sued the Chicago Transit Authority on Monday for removing ads for the game because of its "Mature" rating, which means it is not suitable for people under 17. And the game also caught the ire of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which seeks an adults-only rating because it lets players drive after imbibing virtual liquor.

[theantirick]

GTA is not in the adult video game class by any means. C-mon tho the game is not very gorey at all. And as for the sxeual content its amimated girls in a bikini and its not like u watch them make babies.
If anything it can teach the kids how to date and how to score points with your girlfriend (granted in gta4 u can have several girlfriends at once) but hey if you wanna get lucky with them you gotta take them out on a few dats and show up in sweet cars to increase your chance of getting laid after the date. And if you show up waring the same clothes a few dates in a row she notices and dosent like it.

just because you can do this its not like its worth your playing time except to take her on a date and then start shooting up bowling alley and having her freak out and head home. PS this works well if you find your phone ringing all the time annoying and wanna remedy it a little.....

[theantirick]

gta games rule

You may hear what one can do in the game if they choose to. ( sometime after failing a quest or whatever you get the urge to go on a rampage and see how high you can get ur WANTED lvl with the police...aka stars. Just to see how long u can last with 5 stars. It gets pretty intense. ) Yes things like that can be fun at times but for the most part its gets old fast.
The thing that makes any game more playable for longer is kicking other peoples butts in the multiplayer section. but chucking 15 people in a small section of the city to duke it out is just plain fun. he who finds the rocket launcher first and a roof has alotta fun. Granted their has to be a spot to get the hapatachi (however you spell it). I haven''t played enough to know where to get that at.

[theantirick]

Dog thrown from overpass, kicked repeatedly
Kalama, WA
Incident Date: Friday, Jan 4, 2008
On January 24, 2008, Kalama Police arrested Ryan Tyler Fraser, 18, of Kalama, Washington, on suspicion of 1st Degree Animal Cruelty which is a felony.
posted by newster1

I CAN SEE NEWSTER1 WRITING THE NEXT WEB MD ARTICLE FOR CBS.
grand theft auto video game may be linked to dog abuse!!!!!
You gotta love cbs health section for all the studies with such and such ""MAY BE"" linked.

[nothappyatall]

he reason these problems persist is due to STUPID PARENTS who aren''''t involved in their child''''s life, haven''''t taught thier kids any values, haven''''t spanked thier kids, haven''''t recognized that their child has problem and is a danger to society."

Thats right, but child "abuse" laws now forbid spanking- the parent or teacher can go to jail and be sued and the kids KNOW it.
Maybe the answer is you need to have a LICENSE to be a parent and take tests like you do for a driver''s license. You have to license your DOG, I say license parents!

[extradition]

We are the "idiots,"ehh? And, so are all the corporations that spend millions on advertising to get dumb schmucks to buy trash like this game you bought. Somehow they have "convinced" enough "idiots" to spend their money just by showing them videos on television. Just who IS the idiot? -excoachken

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Obviously the idiot here is you excoachken. These corporations were able to convince us to purchase games with their advertisements (thus making them smart). And then there''s you who''s calling us idiots but cannot convience us that video games are bad and that we should stop buying them. :c)

So who''s smart?

obviously the people who can change or influence people (hint: NOT You).

[extradition]

Violent games alone are NEVER the reason for youth violence. There''s always something bigger that causes an individual to become senseless and violent.

That something bigger being:
*The individual is fv(ked up in the head (suffers from some sort of disorder)
*Substance abuse/mood altering drugs
*Abusive/violent parent(s)
*The individual is Bullied/Fv(ked with at school.

Most of the problems listed above can be prevented or coped with... the reason these problems persist is due to STUPID PARENTS who aren''t involved in their child''s life, haven''t taught thier kids any values, haven''t spanked thier kids, haven''t recognized that their child has problem and is a danger to society.

Violent games [possibly] add fuel to the fire to such disturbed individuels. Regardless, these individuals would still commit their violent crimes with or without video game influence (so stop with your senseless video game bashing).

One reason for having little or no time for their kid(s) is parents are too busy... posting their retarded and baseless opinions on how bad violent games are, instead of taking responsibility and disciplining thier child. Stop the finger pointing, blame your own fv(king selves.

Violent games rock. It''s all about who''s behind the keyboard/game-controller. Gaming has been a major part of my life for about 12 years now. In the real world, I''m not a violent person at all.

[excoachken]

cmb3587: We are the "idiots,"ehh? And, so are all the corporations that spend millions on advertising to get dumb schmucks to buy trash like this game you bought. Somehow they have "convinced" enough "idiots" to spend their money just by showing them videos on television. Just who IS the idiot?

[emelder]

I teach violence awareness to court-adjudicated youth ... clearly, violence is learned and violence is a mindset. They learn violence from many sources ... video games like this contribute mightily.

[nonayabiness]

It''s an adult game, for Christ''s sake. It''s no different than attending an R or X movie.

What worries me more is with the economy in a virtual tailspin, that people are paying 60-90 bucks for a game.

[nothappyatall]

cmb3537 explain THIS one then;


Dog thrown from overpass, kicked repeatedly
Kalama, WA

Incident Date: Friday, Jan 4, 2008
On January 24, 2008, Kalama Police arrested Ryan Tyler Fraser, 18, of Kalama, Washington, on suspicion of 1st Degree Animal Cruelty which is a felony.

It is alleged that on January 4, the suspect took the family''s recently adopted 11-month-old chocolate Labrador to a train/pedestrian overpass near Elm Street and Interstate 5 and purposely threw the dog from the 37-foot-high overpass onto the asphalt roadway below on Hendrickson Drive.

The suspect, believing the dog may still alive, as it was lying on the pavement twitching, descended from the overpass and kicked the dog repeatedly in the ribs and chest area which contributed to the dog suffering life-threatening injuries that included a double ruptured bladder, soft tissue damage, pulmonary contusions and a broken femur.

The dog has since survived after emergency surgery. It was fortunate the owners had animal insurance to help cover the $6,000 in veterinary expenses.

During an interview of the suspect, the suspect claimed he could not remember what had occurred but never denied his involvement. At the time of arrest, the suspect was carrying a small amount of marijuana.

He was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on the felony charges.