Xbox Living

Brace yourself for some shocking news. Are you ready for this?

Grand Theft Auto IV is selling well.

Yeah. I didn’t see that coming either.

So how well is it selling? Lets take a look at some initial data:

• 6 million copies of Grand Theft Auto IV have been sold in the first week since the launch.
• Over half of those (3.6 million) were sold on launch day.
• The game has raked in over 500 million dollars in sales.
• In North America, 60% of GTA IV copies sold are for the Xbox 360 platform, over the PS3. In Europe, the Xbox 360 claims about 55% of the sold copies.
• Grand Theft Auto IV has overtaken Call of Duty 4 as the #1 game on Xbox Live (for now, at least)

It all comes down to this: the release of Grand Theft Auto is now the biggest entertainment launch in history.

As for the console wars, Microsoft was quick to declare its own victory in the number of Xbox 360 copies sold over the PlayStation 3.

The fact that downloadable content will be Xbox-exclusive may have helped Microsoft take the lead in GTA IV sales. The company arranged a $50-million U.S. deal to ensure that GTA IV downloads will only appear on the Xbox Live service. However, Sony PlayStation boss David Reeves spoke out this week, claiming that DLC for the game probably will make its way to the PS3, eventually.

At any rate, Grand Theft Auto will probably reign for quite some time: I’m all hyped out for now.

Call of Duty 4 has sold over 9 million copies worldwide according to analysts at NDP Group.

Some big sales number is to be expected, as CoD4 has consistently been topping the charts in terms of online play. Here’s another shocker: over 1 million copies of the new map pack have also been downloaded.

Infinity Ward and Activision are also reporting that over 30 million game sessions have gone on since the map pack was released.

Congrats to them for the huge success on this title. I have to wonder, though, why they’re risking the Call of Duty brand with the fifth installment? Reports have been inconsistent, but word has been that the game will switch developers again, and that its going back to World War II.

That seems a little soon. Don’t let us down, Activision (or Activision Blizzard, as we’ll soon have to call you).

DICE and EA have announced that the paid weapons and other content that was planned to appear in their upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company have been dropped. Until now, the companies had been planning to allow players to add new weapons and upgrades to their games via micro-transactions.

I’m happy to hear about this move.  There’s been talk on many community sites about boycotting this game because of the whole micro-transaction thing.  I’m a fan of Battlefield games, but I wasn’t loving this either.

Karl Magnus, the producer of Bad Company had this to say:

“DICE is built upon the multiplayer community, and we do listen to what people say out there … we just decided that all weapons will be free in the game, and that’s how it is now.”

Battlefield: Bad Company is currently in beta on Xbox Live. I had a chance to take a shot at the beta and I’m impressed. The game style differs significantly from previous Battlefield titles, which was disappointing at first.  The beta, at least, has less reliance on vehicles and a lot more close-quarters action.

My favourite part about Battlefield games was that they were different from the sometimes random frenzy that occurs in games like Halo or Call of Duty.  Although I do enjoy those games, Battlefield allowed a more calculated, strategic approach and offered a nice change of pace.

But innovative changes, including the game’s destructible environments, definitely change the standard shooter dynamic.  Calculated and strategic will still be important in Bad Company, but you’re going to have to be quite a bit faster.

Bad Company is due out this June in North America and Europe.

MTV has reported that a new controller has been in the works for the Xbox 360 — a Microsoft version of the Nintendo Wii controller (or Wii-mote).

Microsoft-owned studio Rare is reportedly behind the controller. Like the Wii-mote, the Microsoft controller will feature motion sensing and pointing abilities. The controller will use an analog stick rather than a D-pad, says MTV.

Reportedly, the controller has been in the works since last summer. It wouldn’t surprise me if there were plans on the table well before that. Peter Moore, who was then a Microsoft VP, hinted at the prospect of a new Xbox 360 controller back in the Summer of 2006.

I can only imagine what an Xbox 360 version of the Wii-mote would look like… but here’s a stab at it:

Ok, they did provide a sketch in the article, but I like mine better.

If it’s real, the controller could be aimed at attracting developers of Wii games by making it easier to port Wii games to the Xbox 360.

Of course, Microsoft’s (probably wise) policy of declining to comment on rumors means that we won’t have confirmation until they decide to announce the hardware — assuming its real, and they take it to market.

This is the kind of thing I would have assumed to be an April Fool’s gag, had it not been a little late.  It’s a bit hard to believe that Microsoft would go for something so blatant — the sketch isn’t much different than my mockup.  I can’t imagine them not getting sued if they do this, but then again — they are Microsoft.  We’ll have to wait and see if MTV’s “source” is credible.

Here’s an interesting article written by author Stephen King in his Entertainment Weekly column. King has taken a stand against the media and some politicians on the frequently-debated issue of video game violence, describing Massachusetts’ proposed ratings legislature as “lunacy”.

“What makes me crazy is when politicians take it upon themselves to play surrogate parents. The results of that are usually disastrous. Not to mention undemocratic.”

King’s stand is mostly against the double-standard that legislators and media outlets seem to have on the industry. That is, video games seem to get into trouble for far less than films do.  He points out that the proposed bill itself creates a different standard for games:

“[The bill] means, by the way, that a 17-year-old who can get in to see Hostel: Part II would be forbidden by law from buying (or renting, one supposes) the violent but less graphic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”

King also suggests that the danger posed by any violently-motivating quality of video games is far less than the U.S. lack of adequate gun control.

I’ve been saying it all along: the responsibility lies on parents to uh, y’know — parent. Considering how most DVD players, cable boxes and video game consoles have parental controls these days — shouldn’t concerned parents actually use them?

According to a recent statement, Remedy Entertainment is still hard at work on Alan Wake, the psychological thriller that was announced back in 2006.

Since the game’s announcement, very little has been revealed about the game, aside from a few screenshots on the game’s site showing off the impressive detail of the title. There has been occasional speculation that the game was going to be canceled, but every now and then Remedy or Microsoft, the game’s publisher, has stepped in to say its still coming.

But a recent statement announces that the media “blackout” around the game won’t last much longer, and Alan Wake will soon come into the light. Some sites had previously predicted a Fall 2008 release, but Remedy has since dismissed that rumor.  Hopefully we’ll get an indication of the actual date when they bring attention back to this game.  I’ll keep you posted!

A Gears of War movie is in the works, based on the blockbuster Xbox 360 game from Epic Games. The film’s producers are aiming for a release in two years’ time.

The rights to the film are owned by New Line Cinema, while Temple Hill Entertainment are producing the film. Wyck Godfrey, a producer at Temple Hill, told Comingsoon.net that the script has been written and they’re finalizing the director now. “We’ll hopefully make that early next year for the summer of 2010.”

The script for Gears of War is being written by Stuart Beattie, who also wrote 30 Days of Night and the first Pirates of the Carribean film. Cliff Bleszinski, who designed the game at Epic, will oversee the project as executive producer. Reportedly, the film will be highly stylized, not unlike the 2007 adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300.

Naturally, the concept of films based on video games makes me a little nervous. This has the potential to be really cool, or really awful. Lets hope for the former.

The Heroic Map Pack, which had been selling for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Marketplace is now available for free. The change was made at 2:00 pm Pacific Time today.

The good news for those who already paid for the maps is that (a) there will be more games on these maps, and (b) you got a head start on finding your way around them. (Yes, I feel a little cheated too.)

The next set of maps, the Legendary Map Pack, will be released on April 15. This one won’t be free — at least, not at release time. Expect to pay 800 Microsoft Points if you want to play on the new maps.

I couldn’t resist posting this one:

The end credits theme from Portal done with the music composer in Super NES game Mario Paint.

Just as an aside, I picked up The Orange Box recently. I really don’t know how I managed to not play it until then. Half Life 2 is an enjoyable game, of course, and Team Fortress 2 is a nice change for Xbox 360 multiplayer action. But the gem in this little ensemble is definitely Portal.

If you haven’t grabbed a copy and tried out Portal yet… uhm, get off your ass. Or don’t, and order it online. I don’t really care. Just play it. Not only will you have lots of puzzling fun with one of the most eccentric games out there, you’ll understand all of the creepy Internet talk about cake.