“That” game comes out today, I think, and one of the best parts of its launch is seeing how the regular, non-gaming press handles it. For example, the New York Times has a cute little story describing gamers’ “craving” for the game. All the bases are covered, including the numbers (five million copies expected to be sold in the next two weeks; the industry as a whole is already up 63 percent over last year’s numbers), pithy analyst quotes (“People say that if consumers are down to their last $50, the last three things they’ll buy are milk, eggs and video games”), and man-on-the-street perspectives (one college student would give up his cellphone to buy it, but not food—sensible!)
Then you’ve got glowing reviews from the likes of the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, which calls the game a “cultural revolution.” Not sure I’d want to be associated with quite that phrase, but I get what they’re trying to say: the game is big.
And wouldn’t you know, “grand theft auto 4 cheats” is the number one item on Google Trends right now. In fact, three out of the top ten, or 30 percent, are GTA-related.
And yes, like the rest of you, I’ll be buying the game with my own money today right after the Manchester United-Barça game. Hopefully the stores in and around Union Square in New York still have a copy.