Grand Theft Auto V Almost Surpasses $1 Billion in First-Month Prediction on Launch Day
Grand Theft Auto 5 broke all sorts of records when in 24 hours the game generated $800 million worldwide.
The game in one day almost made more money than the three biggest blockbusters of this year individually. "Iron Man 3" made $1.2 billion, "Despicable Me 2" made $840 million, and "Man of Steel" brought in $663 million, reportrf Variety.
Not so bad for a game that was anticipated to make $1 billion in a month. It looks like Rockstar entertainment will far surpass that number.
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The game cost a reported $115 million to make and another $150 million to market through Take-Two.
GTA V retails for $59.99, while the special edition is $79.99, and $150 for the GameStop edition.
"We are incredibly proud of Rockstar Games' creative achievement and could not be more pleased with the success of this launch," said Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick upon learning the game received a 98 percent Metacritic rating.
Rockstar games has been working on the new GTA game for around five years, with the previous installment making $900 million, according to Bloomberg.
The game's popularity surpasses the new age of video games where they are available for free or for just a dollar as an app on a smartphone.
According to the NPD Group, video game spending fell to $2.14 billion for the first half of the year, which was good for 34 percent of consumer spending. Mobile and online gaming goobled up 53 percent.
"A lot of kids don't want $40 games any more, they want 40 $1 games," said Nancy MacIntyre, a former executive at Lucas Arts and now in charge of a social gaming.
Rockstar has said they were looking to make the best game ever in the new GTA game, and it appears from a sales standpoint that people agree.
Grand Theft Auto 5 also comes with an accompanying app that can be accessed anywhere, even when not playing the game.
The app, iFruit, will allow gamers to customize their vehicles on the go, and then place the car in the players garage in GTA 5. The second part of the app is a "gangster version" of a Tamagotchi, where players help raise a ferocious pooch to be had as a pet in the game.
