They were saying that gaming had peaked....maybe it has, but Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 5, sold a whopping 800 million us dollars (that's "sell through" into retailers) in the first 24 hours after launching this week.
It has smashed records and will easily do a billion this year. Easy.
Call of Duty (Black Ops 2) only sold a shameful 500 million in their first 24 hour sell. Imagine the disappointment.
Retailers this week across the world, opened their doors at midnight to sell GTA and very reminiscent of Microsoft launches of old (remember them?).
Unlike other games - Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed are annual updates - GTA hasn't been out in 5 years building excitement. It's also being raved about.
The availability of online access has driven this growth creating further opportunities for revenue from game owners through interactive upgrades etc. So GTA's sim crime, is a real winner. Although it's controversial, in that opponents say it encourages violence.
Costing 200 million usd to make, that's a pretty fun way to make a profit for Edinburgh based developer, 'Rockstar'. Although a lot of employers reporting staff going sick on the launch day....
Terrific story really from a British crew facing a global business.
Edinburgh? Beautiful, but hardly silicone valley.
See? It can be done.
The last line is my favourite ;)
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