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No sooner are Nintendo boasting 'amazing' figures of 500,000 sales of Super Mario Sunshine in the United Kingdom on launch day, Rockstar were able to announce that they would not be able to meet the demand of 1.7 million copies of Grand Theft Auto Vice City for its launch!
What an embarassment for Nintendo eh? Nintendo's biggest GameCube game to be released is more than tripled in copies sold by a game developed by a team of developers that were little more than nothing five years ago!
Of course there is much to take into consideration. Grand Theft Auto is aimed at the age-group where people love to be in constant money troubles, where being a sheep is at the top of their priorities, and doing something different...well that's unheard of in their vocabularies, whereas Nintendo rely mainly on the sales of games to the parents buying the cute and the cuddily for their 'innocent' little darlings.
Saying that, both games are brilliant! Grand Theft Auto: Vice City beats the Gee Willickers off any other Playstation 2 game, the only one coming close being Grand Theft Auto 3. There's good gameplay, graphics, storyline, and a brilliant lack of linearity that makes this game so open to free play that it will last you longer than the effects of watching too many channel five late night movies!
Super Mario Sunshine works in a different way, offering variety, innocence and a fun 'cleaning is cool' message that the kids will still ignore. Platform games have always been fun, except for Mario's accident based on Japanese trash Doki Doki Panic, which for some tragic reason was brought back to life on the Game Boy Advance last year. They're usually fun, challenging, and very stimulating for the imgination, and leave you wanting more.
Nintendo could see this as an embarrassment, but considering their handheld, the Game Boy Advance, is still doing more than enough sales to keep Nintendo the best performing videogames developer at present, they don't have much to worry about. What is a shame is that people think of Rockstar as being loyal to Sony by releasing GTA: Vice City on just their console, but in reality, they're only doing it because they were paid more by Sony. They still released Grand Theft Auto 1, 2, 3 and London on the PC, and have released Smuggler's Run multi-format. As far as Rockstar are concerned, they're still competing with Sony. What is also a shame is that because of poor sales, in comparison to Sony's Playstation 2 anyway, games such as Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and the likes, are under-rated or not rated at all because only a minority play them.
At the end of the day, all Nintendo can do is smile, and take it good heartedly. Mario's still sold very well, even if Vice City has done a hell of a lot better. Rockstar can bask in their glory as the wage packets are five times thicker this month, and Sony can be happy that their Playstation 2 is still top for now. We're still to see anything really big, except their console, from Microsoft as of late though.
What an embarassment for Nintendo eh? Nintendo's biggest GameCube game to be released is more than tripled in copies sold by a game developed by a team of developers that were little more than nothing five years ago!
Of course there is much to take into consideration. Grand Theft Auto is aimed at the age-group where people love to be in constant money troubles, where being a sheep is at the top of their priorities, and doing something different...well that's unheard of in their vocabularies, whereas Nintendo rely mainly on the sales of games to the parents buying the cute and the cuddily for their 'innocent'
Saying that, both games are brilliant! Grand Theft Auto: Vice City beats the Gee Willickers off any other Playstation 2 game, the only one coming close being Grand Theft Auto 3. There's good gameplay, graphics, storyline, and a brilliant lack of linearity that makes this game so open to free play that it will last you longer than the effects of watching too many channel five late night movies!
Super Mario Sunshine works in a different way, offering variety, innocence and a fun 'cleaning is cool' message that the kids will still ignore. Platform games have always been fun, except for Mario's accident based on Japanese trash Doki Doki Panic, which for some tragic reason was brought back to life on the Game Boy Advance last year. They're usually fun, challenging, and very stimulating for the imgination, and leave you wanting more.
Nintendo could see this as an embarrassment, but considering their handheld, the Game Boy Advance, is still doing more than enough sales to keep Nintendo the best performing videogames developer at present, they don't have much to worry about. What is a shame is that people think of Rockstar as being loyal to Sony by releasing GTA: Vice City on just their console, but in reality, they're only doing it because they were paid more by Sony. They still released Grand Theft Auto 1, 2, 3 and London on the PC, and have released Smuggler's Run multi-format. As far as Rockstar are concerned, they're still competing with Sony. What is also a shame is that because of poor sales, in comparison to Sony's Playstation 2 anyway, games such as Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and the likes, are under-rated or not rated at all because only a minority play them.
At the end of the day, all Nintendo can do is smile, and take it good heartedly. Mario's still sold very well, even if Vice City has done a hell of a lot better. Rockstar can bask in their glory as the wage packets are five times thicker this month, and Sony can be happy that their Playstation 2 is still top for now. We're still to see anything really big, except their console, from Microsoft as of late though.
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exactly my point.
the 18 certificate is neither a deterrant, nor an indication of popularity. The game sells however much it will sell, whether it has a certificate or not.
the 18 certificate is neither a deterrant, nor an indication of popularity. The game sells however much it will sell, whether it has a certificate or not.
It depends on the game - despite sending customers away cos they're too young, Vice City still sold out VERY quickly on launch day in Cardiff.
Many other games with an 18 certificate wont - mainly because they're not as popular.
Many other games with an 18 certificate wont - mainly because they're not as popular.
GTA3 anyone? it sold millions of copies, and the 18 certificate makes children go, ooh, can't get it, must get it! MUST GET 18 certificate game!
Slapping an 18 certificate on a game makes almost no impact on sales figures whatsoever.
but we all know that it's football that does that
Who said anything about the violence? It's the sex, drugs, the fact the game is about stealing cars, it makes it all seem cool. some of you may argue that it is all cool, but in reality, if I saw some kids trying to break into my car, or taking drugs, I would not be happy at all.
it's crazy, I know, but the children of today know half the stuff in GTA anyway, most have TV's in their bedroom and watch things at night like action /horror films. I'm still only 14 but there's no TRUE violence in these games. In films that are on TV regularly you can see people turned inside out, or have there guts fall out. The worst on a game is a head falling off(that I can thnk of).
Where I work, our policy is to warn the parents of the content of games such as Grand Theft Auto Vice City. After all, if I had kids, I wouldn't want them seeing the majority of the content.
my 11 year old brother had it, I had GTA - when I was 10, parents buy it for children, they just don't know it. When I sold my PS to a 7 year old, he was hoping it had GTA included (It did). The age certificate just makes it more known to some parents, though my friend had to cover up the 18 certificate with the price to get his mum to buy it for him. 95% of children who want a game above they're age normally get it (excluding cases where the parent won't get them any game)
Untitled, it doesn't work like that. You've got to take it into account that most Playstation 2 owners are of an older age than GameCube owners. So there's a variable to add to the equation. Another would be the fact that only people of the ages of 18 and above can actually purchase the game, so it's bound to have a lower ratio than a top selling game on another format that is designed and rated for everyone. The number of variables increases so much that you may as well just listen to the facts. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has sold over a million more copies than Super Mario Sunshine on release day. That is a significant figure, and the fact that many Playstation 2s have been bought for that game alone, proves that Rockstar must be doing something right.
Do you really think that the developers of Rockstar sit in an office, drinking their coffee with glum looks on their faces, mourning over the fact that Grand Theft Auto has sold with a lower ratio of games to consoles sold in the UK in comparison to Super Mario Sunshine? I seriously doubt it. They're probably filling their offices with big red and purple pieces of paper with the Queen's face on them, downing their champagne and living the dream of becomming rich and stable for life!
Do you really think that the developers of Rockstar sit in an office, drinking their coffee with glum looks on their faces, mourning over the fact that Grand Theft Auto has sold with a lower ratio of games to consoles sold in the UK in comparison to Super Mario Sunshine? I seriously doubt it. They're probably filling their offices with big red and purple pieces of paper with the Queen's face on them, downing their champagne and living the dream of becomming rich and stable for life!
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