GTA: Vice City Sells 8.5 Million Copies in 3 Months

Gus writes "Take Two Interactive Software reports that Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has sold more than 8.5 million copies in the first three months since its late-October launch. The good news is Rockstar Games has 11 titles in the works. The bad news is the chances of the next GTA making it out this year are pretty slim." Also, there's still a couple people waiting on Duke Nukem Forever, and their patience is wearing thin.

Comments

GTA

[WilliamsDA]

I still think the original GTA is neat -- it also has an interesting perspective (overhead). If you haven't played it, go check it out if you're looking for a GTA fix!

Re:GTA

[Angry White Guy]

The little motorcycles were killer, although nothing like playing motorcycle crash for distance in 3d.
Punching the Hare Krishnas was fun too.

Re:GTA

[ergonal]

I agree. GTA is one of many testaments to the idea that you don't need to go purely 3D for a game to be fun. Although for some reason I didn't like GTA2 as much as the first.

Re:GTA

[Deflatamouse!]

> GTA is one of many testaments to the idea that you don't need to go purely 3D for a game to be fun.

I doubt you need any testments at all to show non-3d games are fun, there were plenty of fun 2d games even before 3d games were available. I tend to find 2d games more fun, and I think it is because the programmers tend to concentrate on the game play more in those games rather than the graphics. Nice 3d graphics are nice, but that shouldn't be the focus. For exmaple, some may disagree and this is just my opinion, but I find Starcraft more fun than Warcraft III. I find most 3d games lacking in depth in game play, and am in fact still looking for testaments that 3d games can be fun. FPS's are an exception, but they've been hashed and rehashed so often they no longer have any appeal to me. Hmm, looks like I am ranting.. I'll stop now :)

Re:GTA

[fuzza]

Although for some reason I didn't like GTA2 as much as the first.

Ditto. I think the main reason (for me) was because of the poor game physics. For instance, try the following:

• Get in a Mack truch (the almost-square ones, I forget what they're called). Don't get one with a trailer though.
• Hold down left or right.
• Slowly, and in spurts, press forward (accelerate).
• Observe this nice big Mack truck turning on the spot (on its axis), without actually moving forward at all.

Good fun... or not, depending on how intensely you're being chased :(

Re:GTA

[wo1verin3]

Thank god the guys over here are making an MP mod =)

Re:GTA

[iocat]

I don't think the reason you prefer 2D games is not that developers concentrate more on the gameplay in a 2D game, but rather that it's easier to have total situational awareness in a 2D game. We're doing a 3D game right now, and I know people are concentrating as much on the gameplay as they did when doing 2D games. There are definitely more distracting technical problems with 3D games than 2D games, but I don't think that affects the gameplay signifcantly, since 3D games also tend to have more people on them, and have longer schedules.

Re:GTA

[Mac Degger]

Homeworld: a 3d game that looks amazing, has an amazing storyline and hell, even the music is amazing. This game, much mroe than Halflife or something like it, comes close to being art.

rate of unemployment?

[stonebeat.org]

do you think this has to do anything with the high rate of unemployment, and discontent among the people?

Re:rate of unemployment?

[Angry White Guy]

Road Rage incidents... Maybe.
High unemployment rate... Sure
Hooker beatings... I can see that
Poor driving skills... I guess

But discontent... No way man, that game fucking rocks!

Re:rate of unemployment?

[enigmiac]

GTA:VC came out the same week I was laid off. I will admit that at 5pm the day I found out, I was at electronics boutique buying GTA and tony hawk 4. They managed to keep me amused until earlier this month, when .hack//infection came out in the US. I'd have to say it's probably the best video game I've played since Blaster Master on the original NES.

And, inspired by the game itself

[Anonymous Coward]

Another 8.5 million were stolen at gunpoint from stores nationwide.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Good for them

[Eese]

I think this just goes to show that any publicity is good publicity. The GTA series has been the poster-child for anti-violentvideogame groups. However, I have to agree that it's a kickass game, and I'm glad to see that Rockstar is being successful and not taking a pounding in sales for having some content that several concerned mothers don't approve of.

Vincent says

[bcwalrus]

"You don't mess with another man's automobile. You just don't do that."

influences...

[jeffy124]

some people claim that that games like GTA:VC cause influences in their behavior.

i think they're right. ever since i've been playing, i've been on a kick for 80's music.

Next Game's Time Period?

[Galahad2]

I'd like to see a Grand Theft Auto game set in 1930's Chicago. That'd be so awesome -- the mob, the depression, prohibition; there's huge number of possiblities! I just hope they don't do the 1970's... I mean, Vice City already did all the "boy, people were weird back then... look at their clothes/hair/idioms!" jokes.

Re:Next Game's Time Period?

[Cyph]

While I doubt that there's ever a chance of a 1930s GTA happening, you might find a game called Mafia to your liking. In that game, you assume the role of a gangster, working for the mob in the 1930s. You drive cars and shoot people. :)

Re:Next Game's Time Period?

[gc3]

They did. It's called MAFIA...

http://mafia.godgames.com/

GC3

Re:Ohhhhh the violence...

[jkabbe]

If I never meet a woman who won't let me say, "it's just fun to kill hookers with a chainsaw"....well, then, I'll have more money for games!!!!

I love it

[mao che minh]

GTA Vice City was the best game that I have ever played in my 16 years of video game playing (I am 23 years of age). It had an entertaining story line, great dialogue, unbeatable gameplay, and is just plain fun. The sheer volume of what you can actually do in this game, aside from the actual somewhat-linear story line, is worth 100 hours of game time.

GTA Vice City made this Nintendo fan boy buy a PS2 last week. I love it, and it's developers and designers deserve every penny they are making from it.

But don't think for one second that I didn't preorder the new Zelda. =)

it's not just you...listen to any real life 80s

[512k]

station, and you'll hear music that was in GTA:VC And when they picked the music for that game, they didn't pick the biggest hits from each artist..ie "Thriller" isn't on there, but there are some other Michael Jackson songs

Re:Ohhhhh the violence...

[2megs]

So your viewpoints are completely different, and she disapproves of the things that you think are fun, and you have to lie to her about your opinions just to be allowed in bed with her...

Do you really want to be marrying this chick?

Re:Ohhhhh the violence...

[Verteiron]

That's why I love my wife... she'd be right there blowing up polygon hookers with me :)

Re:Duke Nukem Forever

[jrstewart]

Actually I think there were some signals crossed here. The next GTA isn't late, it's just not scheduled out this FISCAL year (i.e. not before Oct. 31, end of Take Two's fiscal year). Nobody so far has claimed that it was ever scheduled to be released earlier.

Also Take Two had to write down charges related to Duke Nukem Forever (as mentioned in the article). Right now they're taking the whole development as a loss. That could mean that there's no game coming out ever, it could mean that it's just going to take so long they don't want to keep the expenses on their books, or it could just be that they're taking the charge in a good quarter when they can offset it against high profits.

Since they've already treated the devlopment costs of DNF as a loss they can treat the sales when (if) it comes out as pure profit. This is the kind of game that accountants play to keep earnings statments balanced. Like in physics, no money is created or destroyed but when you report what affects how the quarterly numbers look.

Re:The true American spirit

[finkployd]

Remember back when Super Mario Brothers was popular? You know, when all Amercians aspired to be overweight, Italian plumbers with a 'shroom problem?

Or perhaps they are just video games after all.

Yeah, thought so.

Finkployd

Re:The true American spirit

[IIRCAFAIKIANAL]

Uh huh, yeah, there's a lot of rape in that game alright. Dumbass.

Incidently, you can also be a "good guy" in this game (more so than GTA 3). You can stop criminals (through non-lethal methods) and get jobs (ie/ pizza boy), save up and buy a house, all without committing crimes.

I'm not trying to justify the game (the whole point of the game is to commit crime and that's how it is sold and we like it like that - nothing wrong with escapist fantasy, depending on the shrink you talk to :), but it's interesting that you can abandon the game plot and lead a moral life within the game.

Re:Ohhhhh the violence...

[AvantLegion]

Gee, my girlfriend is about as pure as snow, but even she thinks Vice City is cool.

Does your fiance' ever watch violent movies? If so, what weak argument does she offer to excuse that but still condemn GTA?

Re:Vice City

[Jace of Fuse!]

I have both, and find myself playing Vice City more simply because it's newer, but it doesn't seem that it has as much. Sometimes I'll play it just to "Find a new package today" or something like that.

GTA Vice City is a good game without a doubt, but in the end I think that GTA3 was a better game overall. Vice City also had a few more bizarre bugs than GTA3, but I don't guess that's really important.

What matters is that they're both great games, even if I personally think 3 was better than VC. I hope the series moves forward and doesn't become very ho-hum.

Re:Ohhhhh the violence...

[retro128]

Now as all the married and almost married men out here know, that if i was to say what i was thinking, it would have been a very lonely night for me and my PC! :-)

Yeah, but you would have to got to blow away some hookers!

My girlfriend cackles like a banshee and says things like "Come here and die, bitch!" when she runs over people in Carmageddon. I'm almost afraid what's going to happen if I hand her GTA3.

Where's the accompanying spike in crime?

[sdo1]

8.5M copies. That means a fairly large percentage of the population has played this game.

So if the "fake violence breeds real violence" crowd is right, we should be seeing a fairly significant spike in violent crime, right?

No? That's what I thought.

-S

Re:Where's the accompanying spike in crime?

[BWJones]

So if the "fake violence breeds real violence" crowd is right, we should be seeing a fairly significant spike in violent crime, right?

No? That's what I thought.

Dude, spend a little time in an inner city emergency room some Friday or Saturday night. Make sure that it's a level one trauma center too as that's where all the gunshot victims go to. My point is not to draw a direct correlate between video games and violence, as the causes of violence are complicated, but desensitization *does* play a role.

For instance, I've pointed this out before, but one of the real difficult problems that the military has is desensitizing folks to pulling the trigger to take another human's life. Recently the Corps (Semper Fi) have experimented with the integration of video games to "help" desensitize recruits as well as attempting to teach squad theory. The only thing I do worry about is this issue of desensitization.

Re:Where's the accompanying spike in crime?

[RollingThunder]

And then come to another country, very similar, but slightly different in a few critical social ways... which is exposed to just as much desensitizing viloence, and see much, much less of said gunshot victims.

If you can't figure it out - go north, and don't blame the games for your overall culture.

Re:Where's the accompanying spike in crime?

[nathanh]

So if the "fake violence breeds real violence" crowd is right, we should be seeing a fairly significant spike in violent crime, right?

Dude, spend a little time in an inner city emergency room some Friday or Saturday night. Make sure that it's a level one trauma center too as that's where all the gunshot victims go to.

"Dude, don't take a general view of the entire population to form a balanced opinion. Instead come and look at my heavily biassed samples in an unusual situation and draw wild conclusions."

Re:Where's the accompanying spike in crime?

[scaramush]

It's interesting. I used to work in the intersection of biology education and computers. During my work day I would spend half a lot of time swearing to dubious professors that computers were an ideal method to teach students skills (everything from aid in memorization to surgery skills). And yet, at the same time, I was (and still am) in love with violent video games, and would absolutely scoff at the idea that there was anything wrong with games like Doom (human targets) or "lethal enforcers" (plastic guns and human targets).

I don't know what made me recognize the contradiction, but one day I realized that I couldn't have it both ways: If you believe that holding a "virtual" scalpel and doing a dissection can teach you how do perform a dissection, then it follows that holding a virtual gun and shooting someone can teach the SKILLS (not give you the desire to, mind you) to shoot real people. You can't have it both ways. Either virtual skills transfer, or they don't.

Before anyone starts yelling, I understand that there's a big difference between fantasy play and real life -- Clearly, people can imagine all sorts of things without acting on them and still be "healthy". Additionally, I understand that having the hand-eye coordination to shoot someone and the desire to shoot someone are two difference things. Nevertheless, as the parent post points out, surely the action/sight of violence must have an affect. If we're stimulating that part of the brain, and building up neural pathways, what is the outcome?

BTW, this doesn't mean I've turned against violent videogames (I own GTA3 and I love it). It just means I'm much more thoughtful about what we're learning and getting from video games, and much less quick to dismiss all criticisms of them.

Re:Where's the accompanying spike in crime?

[cluke]

Playing games may give you the hand-eye coordination required to aim quickly but firing a gun is a world away from clicking a mouse button.
The one and only time I fired a shotgun, I took careful aim (at a fench post) squeezed the trigger and *blammo* massive recoil, bullet goes God knows where up into the sky. All my FPS experience was useless when it came to the real thing.

With the sheer force and noise, it's actually quite physically traumatic to fire a gun.

Re:Duke Nukem Forever

[ergo98]

How is it a "joke"? The article specifically states that Duke Nukem Forever is basically a write off at this point: It materially relates to the story at hand.

In a related note, what a disaster DNF has been, and what a tremendous example of an incredible software project management failure. I mean using the "we're making it super, duper good!" excuse works for so long until pretty soon you're just perpetually fighting the natural curve of technology. I really feel sorry for that team, or anyone who works on it.

Re:What about video game piracy??

[nfg05]

You also don't see video game piracy of playsation games because Sony has copy controls on its games and getting around it requires soldering a chip onto your motherboard in most cases. Most people aren't going to do that, so piracy isn't mainstream. You don't hear the outcry about PS copy protection, just CD copy protection. But I digress, the point is that the video game industry doens't suffer from mainstream piracy because it is prevented by strong copy controls that are a bitch for normal users to get around.

Re:Ohhhhh the violence...

[bconway]

Now as all the married and almost married men out here know, that if i was to say what i was thinking, it would have been a very lonely night for me and my PC! :-)

That's funny, I've been married for 10 years, and on the things that my wife and I don't agree on, she'll listen to my opinion and consider my viewpoint. I think there's something seriously wrong if you're letting someone control your life and tell you what you should think.

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[account_deleted]

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games vs. movies as entertainment

[anonymous loser]

GTA:VC is still selling for $50 on store shelves, which means that Take Two has probably grossed at least $400 million (using conservative numbers) on this title in three months.

Few movies ever rake in that kind of cash, and let's face it: the movie market has been saturated for 50 years while the gaming market is still growing rapidly. When you think about it, it makes sense. Games are much more interactive (with the possible exception of pr0n, I guess) and typically deliver a lot more "bang for the buck". I can spend $6-$10 to own a 2-hour movie, or I can spend $20-$50 to play a 20-60 hour game.

Games also traditionally cost less to produce, meaning MUCH higher net profits for the publisher.

Frankly, I'm amazed that EVERY company in the movie business doesn't also produce games, as there's a lot of overlap between the two media. Sure, a lot of big-budget films (usually targetted at kids) end up with movie tie-in games, but I mean why not take some of the stories that are pitched and spend the money on making a game *instead of* a movie? It's going to be the same-or-lower risk, and potentially much greater profits.

Re:cough*meladramatic*cough

[finkployd]

playing with boobies every night is a hell of a lot better than looking at ones with 16 million colors

I think I just found my new .sig :)

Finkployd

I would like to offer the Buddhist perspective

[kfg]

Dude, they're only *pixels.* Lighten up.

Also, at the end of a game of chess no one has *really* commited Regicide. It's just symbolic.

Don't get me going about Chutes and Ladders though. That game is disgusting. Oh, the humanity!

KFG

Re:cough*meladramatic*cough

[IIRCAFAIKIANAL]

I get to play with boobies every night (no, not my own) and GTA:VC - sometimes at the same time - neener neener neener to infinity.

Plus 1. :)

Re:Overall?

[n0wak]

I believe that The Sims passed Myst at around the 13 Million Unit mark for the, so called, "top selling game of all time" title. What is wrong with that? Well, whenever anyone reports the Sims as "best selling game of all time" -- they fail to mention "... for the PC".

I think that Super Mario 3 still has the crown for units sold: in excess of 17 Million.

GTA still has a waaaays to go.

Re:Duke Nukem Forever

[ramzak2k]

how dare you call that a no joke.
timeless slashdot classics like
Duke Nukem ..
All your Base..
Beowolf clusters are here to stay !

wait i think i forgot something.
1.Now Imagine a beowolf cluster of all those jokes
2.......
3.Karma Profit !!

Rinse, drywash and Repeat.

Re:Vice City

[Chester K]

The graphics seemed less polished, the controls seemed choppier, and, well, it just seemed a lot less fun than GTA3. Oh well.

They're unforunately constrained by the power of the PS2. They shoehorned some new features into GTA:VC (compared to GTA3), but as far as visually impressive features, there's not much they can do.

I wouldn't mind so much if the next GTA uses the same engine, but please for the love of god I hope for two things: 1) Las Vegas as the setting, and 2) a mission generator.

Re:Vice City

[d34thm0nk3y]

I love anything even remotly related to all the GTA games, but I liked the music on GTA3 better than vice city. Vice City is all stuff I've been hearing for the last 20 years, I liked the original music better. Fernando and Laslo are both still on the radio though so i guess its ok.

Re:The true American spirit

[rampant mac]

" The true American spirit really shines through these sales results.

So, who is it that loves violence, terror, and rape so much again?

Yeah, thought so."

Nice stereotype. I can play too.

Rockstar's next game: Le Reddition (The Surrender)

Welcome to France.

From the country who rolls over like a flock of sheep, snootiness and horrible hygiene comes a story of one man's rise to the top of cowardice. Le Reddition is a huge urban sprawl ranging from that half-finished skyscraper know as the Eiffel Tower to Marseilles, and is the most varied, complete and alive digital city ever created.

Re:Fuck, I'll do my own Ask Slashdot

[one9nine]

Okay, let's look three posts before this one (depending on your threshold, I suppose):

Aren't there other ways for people to relax and have fun. I personally would rather make love to my wife a couple times than sit around all Saturday afternoon staring at the TV screen. Maybe that's just me though.

Now you're asking which video game you should buy.

8.5 million copies SOLD

[phorm]

That's a huge amount of sales. How many people would have pirated this if it had come out on PC instead of console?

This is perhaps one of the upsides to being a PS2 game, at least at first. If it had come out on PC earlier... a lot of people probably would have just pirated it instead of buying. I know I would have, though I would have bought it later had it met approval (judging by popular opinion, it would have) - though of couse on PS2 I can also rent it.

It makes a good statement about the popularity of console games though, wonder if anti-piracy is one of the reasons it's still console-only?

And yet, I'm aware one could play a pirated version with a chipped PS2... but it is *much* more a pain in the butt (and DVD+R is expensive) than PC piracy. Of course, on PC, people may have bought more than 1 CD to play multiplayer between machines.

Not to spark the software-piracy holy war, but it's an honest consideration for console games, and such high sales numbers may prove their increased profitability.

Next Grand Theft Auto message board

[pheph]

GTA-SA.com is a message board dedicated to the new Grand Theft Auto (SA is for San Andreas) as well as all of the previous Grand Theft Auto games...

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[account_deleted]

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getting older?

[bascheew]

I don't know if it's a sign of getting older but after playing GTA for about ten minutes I put the game down and decided not to play it or its sequels again.

Just something about courting prostitutes and being a druglord's monkey that wasn't appealing to me. Sure it was fun to drive around, but when I killed innocent sprites on the side of the road I felt bad.

Oh well, I think I'll go to kill some people in [insert your favorite first person shooter here] now.

Re:Ohhhhh the violence...

[Anonvmous Coward]

"Do you really want to be marrying this chick?"

Yeah, because if he's posting on Slashdot, you know he can choose from any woman he wants!

Re:The true American spirit

[finkployd]

You're taking what I said out of context.

There was no context. It was three sentences

My statement indicated that Americans enjoyed being able to carry out the actions of criminals. They like living a lifestyle of crime and being able to have sex whenever they want with any hooker they want, and then getting the chance to beat them up afterwards.

As others said, the sales figures were worldwide. But let's pretend they were not. What you are saying is still false. I play Gran Turismo, yet I do not enjoy driving fast. I play NCAA Football 2003, but I don't like playing football in real life (or perhaps I just suck at it). I loved Max Payne, but I have no desire to be a cop pushed too far with nothing to lose.

That, and the 2001 census estimate on the US is 284,796,887 people. If 8,500,000 bought this game, that is only 3%. Not a good sample to base such a statement off of.

It's rude, crude, and downright degrading to women and policemen alike.

No arguement here, it certainly can be that. However I personally know some women and policemen alike who thought it was very entertaining. Either they are very masochistic people, or they are capable of seperating entertainment from real life.

I stand by my original statement. Anyone who has a sick fetish for being a crime boss should be tossed into jail.


I'm relieved you personally do not direct public policy in such matter. Any other thought crimes that should be punishable by jail term?

Like I said earlier, it's no wonder you are all such privacy nuts -- you're busy at home raping and killing on your videogame systems.

I don't use gpg and ssl to protect my credit card numbers, or keep marketers from getting personal information on me with which to market to me. Nope, I only want to conceal my unmentionable video game fetish.

Seriously, I get your point and belive it or not, I kinda agree. It is a pretty rude, crude, and sometimes degrading game. Certainly not something for kids.

However, if I can legally listen to gansta rap, watch 'shoot em up' movies, and read mystery novels where people get horribly murdered, how is the more of a crime? I'm certainly not emulating the game in real life. Feel free to look down on me, curse me, or experiment with voodoo while thinking of me, but don't equate playing a game with something that warrants jail time.

Finkployd

Re:cough*meladramatic*cough

[Anonymous Coward]

Every minute of the day, I'm gorgeous and kinky.

It's all about the motorcycles.

[ChaosDiscord]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City does have it's weaknesses. It's hung on me several times. Bad guys have the amazing ability to shoot through walls. The save your partner mission was particularlly difficult given that someone I needed to kill was inside an object. In certain parts of the city, if you're zipping along quickly, it can't load geometry fast enogh, sometimes causing an object to pop into view just as you hit it. The missions by and large lack the "fun" that Grand Theft Auto 3 had.

But it's all worth it for the motorcycles. Roaring down the streets on the PCJ-600, leaning slightly forward to get the slight speed boost (nice touch in the game), racing between cars, knowing that a slight miscalculation will throw you a hundred feet. That's my addiction.

Re:It's all about the motorcycles.

[nathanh]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City does have it's weaknesses. It's hung on me several times.

I've clocked 120 hours on this game (took a few weeks!) and it hasn't hung on me.

Bad guys have the amazing ability to shoot through walls. The save your partner mission was particularlly difficult given that someone I needed to kill was inside an object. In certain parts of the city, if you're zipping along quickly, it can't load geometry fast enogh, sometimes causing an object to pop into view just as you hit it.

I haven't seen any of that and I've finished all the core missions. Have you tried the disc on another PS2? I remember with my PSX that some games were "dodgy" and it turned out to be a bad CD assembly. New PSX and the problems went away.

Re:Ohhhhh the violence...

[duffbeer703]

You should have "told" her that good wives don't sit their fat asses on the couch watching TV and lecturing their husbands.

After that you could have "asked" her to scrub the bathroom and do the laundry.

You wouldn't have been laid for a few days, but it might encourage her to keep her preachy bitchiness to herself.

PS2 gamer market it larger than the PC market.

[Viewsonic]

PS2 has an installed gamer base of around 25 million. The PC market, while larger overall, has a MUCH smaller "gamer" share. You would see around 3 million sales at the most. Console gaming sales have eclipsed PC game sales years ago. This is nothing new.

However, it is a bad idea to just limit yourself to just a single platform, I agree. They should have released it simultaniously to the PC and Gamecube as well.

Re:Vice City

[fenix down]

I'm pretty sure they will, I mean, they did for III, so I'd think they'd do the same for VC.

Re:cough*meladramatic*cough

[Anonymous Coward]

but it is nice to make her feel like her opinion on that topic is shared. ... what is important is that my fiance is happy and i am happy.

...
You may call me whipped, you may call me femanized, but it is worth every little bit of it.

You're being a complacent, pandering, pussywhipped fool (albeit "in love"), bordering on co-dependent. In 10 years you'll ache for the ability to say and act the way you really feel, as you two blend more and more into the same mediocre person.

And yes, this is speaking as someone who's currently in, and has had a few, long term (>1 year) relationships. Maintain your personality, your uniqueness, your vigor that makes us human. The boobies, the body parts, will sag -- make sure your personalities (you know, the things that you really fell in love with) don't!

Just a cottin pickin minute

[finkployd]

Waiiiiiiit a second.

I know you, you are the guy I just gave advice to on whether to buy GTA:VC or Metroid here

You sneaky bastard. You've been playing me like two bit violin :P

Finkployd

8.5 Million Units sold... of PS2s according to ZD!

[Theaetetus]

Was going to reply to a troll comment, but came across surprising information, so I didn't want this nested.

Here be comment:
Why isn't Vice City on the PC yet? Why did they release it on an old console that has no life left in it? Oh yeah, I forgot there for a second....Sony is frucking greedy! They're obviously delaying or even stopping Rockstar from releasing it on the PC or XBox because they want to sell more consoles. Bullshit.

So, I google(tm) for "PS2 sales figures 2003" and the top article is one from ZDNet with "PS2 sales up 24 percent" (Jan 2003)
It's since gone, but the google cache has it. The relevant paragraph is the first one:

Sony said on Thursday that it sold 8.5 million PlayStation2 game consoles during the key holiday shopping season in November and December, up 24 percent from a year ago and holding well ahead of rivals.

Now, that's just about the same time period the sales figures from Take Two are referring to, which means that almost everyone that bought a PS2 bought Vice City! Cool!

Now, in reply to the troll:
(also from ZD) The Sony figures followed an announcement by Nintendo on Wednesday that it sold 1.5 million of its GameCube machines in Europe in all of 2002.

Also, according to Sony, they've sold 41 Million PS2s. :)

-T

GTA Vice City is great

[linux2000]

GTA-VC is the greatest console game I've ever played. I absolutely love it. The cool slow-motion jumps, being chased by the police, harassing pedestrians, eavesdropping on pedestrians conversations, and so much more.

The attention to detail is amazing - at the right time of day, the sun can be "in your eye", so it's hard to see where you're going, AND the light will glint off the sides of the cars in traffic!

I especially love all the secret stuff in the game. I don't just mean the 100 or so "hidden packages", but the real stuff you can find if you try. Have you managed to get a golf-cart out of the country club? You can do it - and drive it around on the regular streets. Have you found "the" motorcycle, the one that lets you try to complete a sequence of highspeed jumps in a 2 minute time period? How many Unique stunt bonuses have you gotten? Have you been up in the top of the lighthouse?

Then - when you get tired of the game (I assume that may actually happen to me some day), there s many pages of cheats out there, some that are really original, and a lot of fun. Don't go and download a cheat-sheet until you've played the game for a few weeks, though.

I haven't owned the game for very long, but I bought a PS2 just so I could play it. GTA Vice City rocks.

play too much?

[mrselfdestrukt]

I realized a while back that I played VC WAY too much. When I drive down the street I just keep looking for a bike and I have to force myself not to ram the dude and steal his bike. Another funny thing. The other day me and a friend were talking about games in my garden. He was going on about some RPG and I just said," No thanks, I'd rather be shooting people and stealing cars" just as the neighbors walked past. I got some strange looks...

Segways

[tekunokurato]

I want to see Segways in the next GTA. It'd be so much fun to kill people in smooth efficiency!

Jugglers, Clowns, and the prettiest ponies EVER

[tenzig_112]

Too bad the Wal-Mart version swapped out blood for grape juice, hookers for happy juggling clowns, and stolen cars for pretty, pretty ponies.

From a review of the cleaned-up version:

No longer interested in stealing cars, busting caps, and clocking hos, players mount ponies and ride down rainbow-colored avenues sharing home-baked cookies and cakes with other characters.

Don't be fooled. This new version of GTA is by no means the "cake walk" it appears to be. The ponies must be meticulously groomed, and mastering the optional baking set is horrendously difficult.

Re:cough*meladramatic*cough

[Tronster]

Way off topic, but this thread has hit nerve...

I can see you are taken off guard by the response, as your intended post was not have people pick a part your personal life. It comes off (to me) as a post intended to show a "true-ism" which happens in all relationships. To a degree these true-isms hold, but from the language used in your post and rebuttle, it appears there is a problem in your relationship with your fiance'.

If you've been dating for a long time (6+ months), haven't had any break-ups (or time-outs), and no periods of an overwhelming desire to be left alone (even for a little while) then your okay. If any of these have occurred, tread lightly.

I speak from my own experience. I've been in about half a dozen serious relationships, with one that seemed to mirror your situation. I found it more important for me to be sure my girl-friend was happy than for me to admit I enjoyed "The Man Show" or do one of a dozen other things I enjoy. Just like your situation, my girl-friend had valid points but I also LIED to her in order to make her feel good about her statements and that I shared her opinion.

These may seem like innocent statments, but in the context of the thread they act as a warning:

"I don't need to lie to her to be alowed into bed, but it is nice to make her feel like her opinion on that topic is shared."

"Playing this game would not make me as happy as being with her."

P.S.: In my above situation, I was in love too...the physical relationship was the best I had ever had (or yet to have)...but it cost me my identity, which I found is much more important than playing with boobies.

Incredible!

[silvakow]

Wow! 8.5 Million copies! Image that! That makes me want to run my car through the glass wall in the video game store, steal the game, shoot some random person and bust out my flamethrower or bazooka to take out the cops when they come by. Megapoints here we come!

DOES ANYONE REALIZE

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone realize what this thread has devolved into?

A bunch of guys.

On slashdot.

Talking about relationships.

GOOD GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE.

Sad News ... Duke Nukem dead at 5

[iamacat]

I just heard some sad news on talk radio - famous hero and womenizer Duke Nukem was found dead in his Los Angeles, CA penthouse this morning. There were no more official details, but the rumor has it that he was surrounded by radioactive green babes and was looking good even dead. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his exploits, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon. May his soul respawn in a nice, seedy place where hotels can be rented by the hour.

Re:PC version?

[MartyC]

The PC version is due on May 13th in the US and May 16th in UK (and europe?). This is according to a Gamesdomain news story I saw yetserday.

Re:Vice City

[kyrre]

Gta: Vice City for the pc was announced 14 days ago. Here an url. Click on news..

Re:cough*meladramatic*cough

[caveat]

amen! too bad i don't have any mod points. excellent point though; you know you're with The One when you *don't* have to LIE like that to keep things smooth - you can just say "naw, screw that, they're just polygons...i respect your opinion, but i'm going to go play for awhile" and then still be allowed into bed.

Re:Games on Slashdot?

[Anita Coney]

Yeah, who could ever take a multibillion dollar industry serious?! Especially when one considers that the gaming industry is actually profitable and is GROWING when other tech sectors are failing.

Heck, Sony only, yes ONLY, makes 40% of its profits from Playstation. It's a drop in the bucket!

And the fact that GTA: Vice City sold twice as many copies in the last 3 Months than the best selling CD sold last year! Who cares?! It's still JUST gaming! And because it's merely gaming, and utterly profitable, and successful, it's not worthy of anyone's time!

Yep, the gaming industry is a joke. Anyone associated with it is a loser. Slashdot should stick to industries that lose money, have shrinking markets, and no future!