Xboxist

Analyst Says Next GTA Coming in 2010

Grand Theft Auto IV impressed many, disappointed some, and was undoubtedly one of the most important games of 2008. The first downloadable expansion for the game called The Lost and Damned has already surpassed the 1 million mark in sales, making it the most successful paid DLC of all time. Rockstar isn't stopping here: according to company press releases, the developers still owe us at least one more downloadable explansion as part of a deal with Microsoft that involved the exchange of large amounts of money. By all accounts, creating these DLC packs is hard work -- The Lost and Damned missed its 2008 release window by a mile, although the amount of polish that Rockstar put into the game shows in its final quality. We have no doubt that the next DLC installment will be just as compelling as the first one.

Which begs the question: with all of this focus on providing quality DLC for Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360, when are Sam and Dan Houser going to find the time to put out a true sequel?

Wall Street analyst Michael Pachter thinks it won't be much longer before we see the sequel, even though we don't yet know what city it will be set in.

In a recent statement, Pachter said that the next console installment of the series will be released by the end of 2010 during the lucrative holiday season.

What's more, he believes that the game, when it does release, will sell 50 per cent more than the original game did. Woah, hold up there Michael. Despite the good sales of Grand Theft Auto IV, there were many who were disappointed with the game's departure from the mayhem of San Andreas. There is therefore no guarantee that the sequel will outsell the original.

Sure there is, says Pachter. Even if some fans felt burned by the latest entry in the series, the massive size of the installed base by 2010 will ensure that the game moves more copies. He calculates that the installed base of home consoles is expected to be around 60 million in the US and Europe by that time. If only 30 per cent of console owners pick up the game, it will sell more than 15 million units, easily troucing the 12 million unit record of GTA IV.

[Source: Gamesindustry.biz]