By Katlyn Carter
In just three short days after its September 17 release, Take-Two Entertainment’s Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) raked in more than $1 billion dollars. More than $800 million of that coming in on the first day of the games’ release.
This milestone makes GTA V the most successful form of entertainment released by stores to date. It has surpassed any other video game, movie or music release. To put this enormous success into perspective, the summer’s biggest blockbuster, “Iron Man 3,” brought in only $372 million its first weekend of release internationally.
When asked what sets GTA V apart from other popular open world style video games, Drew Carter, an avid gamer, said, “Attention to detail is one thing that sets it apart. From the way the general population reacts to you to your flip-flops actually flopping. It’s all in there.”
Carter raved, “People even react to your haircuts, how nifty your car is. They’ll tell you how great you look if you’ve just worked out.”
Rockstar Games, the game’s developer, started working on the latest installment of the Grand Theft Auto series just after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV in 2008 and has spent a reported $265 million, a new record according to Daily Finance, on development and marketing. This attention to detail and in depth production isn’t lost on consumers.
Dustin Godwin, another avid gamer that grew up with the Grand Theft Auto series, feels that none of GTA V’s predecessors can even touch how immersive the newest installment is.
Godwin said, “There has never been one this in-depth. It really allows you to be immersed in the game and suspend disbelief.”
On Oct. 1 players will be able to take the game online and go multiplayer. The online version will have a different but very similar storyline to the solo play version. Each time a player logs into the online version, they will enter a server that restricts game play to 16 other players, but the entire world will be interconnected.
Many anticipate that when thousands of players attempt to download the update that allows the game to go online it will cripple many servers and overload the infrastructure of the multiplayer experience, which could cause great delays and even disallow access for thousands more. Many have agreed that the safest bet is to wait until after the initial launch to attempt the download.