WILL GRAND THEFT AUTO RUN OVER IRON MAN?
Wednesday, April 30 2008
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Studio executives who have had to contend with competition from such outside distractions as the Super Bowl and Oscar telecasts and inclement weather will have a new phenomenon to worry about this weekend -- the debut of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, which some reviewers have described as the best game title in history. The game, which went on sale on Tuesday, might very well be occupying the attention of the key group that populates movie theaters on weekends, teenage males and their dates. While many analysts have predicted that Iron Man, which debuts Thursday, will earn about $70 million this weekend, sales of GTA-IV are expected to exceed the record of $300 million for the first week of Halo 3 last year. John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, the world's biggest video-games publisher, told the London Financial Times that he has heard movie executives expressing fear that the game could "kill" Iron Man. "I don't think I've ever heard of that before," he says. "There's a big reset happening now." Electronic Arts has offered to buy Take Two, which publishes the GTA games, for $2 billion. But Geoff Ammer, Marvel Studios' marketing chief, predicted that Iron Man and GTA-IV will "coexist" this weekend.
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