Speculation on X360 price cut

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Microsoft makes Halo 3, only available on X360...Rockstar makes GTA IV, it is available on both PS3 and X360...

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. It's Rockstar's advertising budget to spend. Microsoft needs to sell consoles and their games and hope their 3rd parties hype their stuff, too. Microsoft's efforts toward marketing GTA on the 360 was likely to push them to include exclusive content to make the 360 version more desirable.

Also, wait till closer to release of GTA. Ads will be everywhere. The last 2 games had a ton of ads.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't know if you guys are missing the point or simply glossing over it. Software sales are not the issue here, or at least not directly. GTA will be a system seller for one of these two companies. It's not really Rockstar's responsibility to make sure that people buy a 360 to play the definitive version. I'm sure they're just as happy if people play the PS3 version. Microsoft paid a lot of money to have exclusive content and they really should be pushing this information out to the mainstream, and E3 is pretty much the ultimate opportunity to reach that audience.

But yes, there is obviously still time to do this. It just seems a bit curious to me is all.

[Dire]

[ QUOTE ]
Microsoft's efforts toward marketing GTA on the 360 was likely to push them to include exclusive content to make the 360 version more desirable.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually I think the $50mil MS sent to Rockstar was the incentive for the exclusive content. But like mentioned above - I'm not at all confused by their strategy re:software sales. It's the hardware side of the game. GTA IV has the potential to be a game that really brings alot of the undecided market to one side or the other.

MS obviously realizes the value of exclusive content for GTA or they wouldn't have been willing to shell out so much money for it, but at the same time they're not going particularly out of their way to advertise the exclusive content.

[4 High]

I wonder why Sony didn't just call Rockstar and offer 60 million for the same stuff, or offer more to make it a timed exclusive. Or perhaps they did and Rockstar was not interested.

[Dire]

[ QUOTE ]
I wonder why Sony didn't just call Rockstar and offer 60 million for the same stuff, or offer more to make it a timed exclusive. Or perhaps they did and Rockstar was not interested.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd expect there was alot of behind the scenes stuff going on. Sony publically stated this shortly after MS announced exclusivity: "There's no question that having the Grand Theft Auto franchise helped us a lot and helped us sell some units, but I don't think the battle would be any different with or without Grand Theft Auto." Basically snubbing/disregarding the company that developed your best sellers doesn't seem like anything short of bitterness mixed with hubris.

[Blarg]

True on one level, but on the other, they're right that the essential battle rages on regardless of which properties they may land or have exclusives on. True enough there, but what they're not acknowledging is the breathing room to get established in the market that a good property gets you. The money doesn't hurt, either. Even a giant like Sony doesn't like to lose more than it has to.

[TheSalche]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The combined sales of SA are unfair to compare to Halo 2, when you are using that statistic to make predictions about ONLY the 360 version of GTA:IV. That was my point there.

As for combined sales for GTA:IV vs. Halo 3, that will be close, GTA:IV will probably win it if people start to buy PS3s.

[/ QUOTE ]

If history repeats itself GTA4 is going to KILL Halo 3.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ng_video_games

GTA occupies 3 of the top 4 spots on the PS2 with the 2 of the GTA games selling over 12 million copies. That's no freaking joke. Only Super Mario Bros. can hang with thos enumbers. Halo 2 is only listed as selling 8 million.

[/ QUOTE ]

Considering how many more 360's there are compared to PS3's, the old statistics are nearly worthless. The best number you can get from those old console stats is attachment ratio (i.e. how many PS2 owners bought GTA:X).

Halo 3 will outsell GTA:IV on the 360 period. Now I think that they are pushing Halo 3 more because it will sell more consoles and that in turn will sell more GTA:IV. Why? Well if I weigh my console buying options, and lets say I am your usual gamer, Male 16-24 demographic, what do I want to do? Blow [censored] up, kill aliens, etc. What are my choices here. In a narrow sense let's say I'm deciding between a game like Killzone 2 or Haze (dunno much about the PS3 FPS, somebody help me out here) or Halo 3. If microsoft can get me to WANT Halo 3 more than those PS3 games, I'll buy a 360. Oh guess what? Now I'll buy GTA:IV for the 360 because I'm not shelling out another $500 for a PS3.