Tag Archives: gta: chinatown wars

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder has told MCV that unit sales of GTA: Chinatown Wars in the US “represented nearly 50 percent of the unit sales of all M-rated DS titles in the history of the platform.”

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Nintendo of America marketing boss Cammie Dunaway has told MTV that Rockstar should continue to push GTA: Chinatown Wars in an effort to get the game in front of “new consumers”.

“We do think that it’ll have a long tail, and we’ve seen that with a lot of titles across all genres on the DS platform, that consumers continue to discover them. But part of what’s need is [that] you have to continue to put marketing support behind these titles,” she said.

“One of the things that we’ve really learned over the past few years is that the old dynamic of ‘throw it on television for a few weeks and then move on and forget it’ just doesn’t work. Becuase consumers are out there, new consumers are coming in all the time who are interested, so you’ve got to come up with new ways to expose it. So I hope that’s something they’ll do with GTA.”

Chinatown Wars proved to be sell disappointingly next to its big brothers, moving less than 90,000 units in the US in its first month, and less than 75,000 the following month.

We’ll ask Rockstar for comment. Watch the video after the break.

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Unsurprisingly, the PSP version of GTA Chinatown Wars is scoring highly in its first reviews, a line-up of which you’ll find below.

If you’re looking for a PSP game this “holiday,” Rockstar’s latest is a bit of a no-brainer. Here’s why:

• Eurogamer – 9/10
• CVG – 8.7/10
• 1UP – A-
• NowGamer – 9.5/10
• Videogamer – 10/10

If you’ve got a review you want listing, just drop us a line in the comments.

After the break. The new version of Rockstar’s PSP crime title hits on October 23.

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Rockstar has sent us over a trailer for GTA: Chinatown Wars on PSP.

The game features PSP exclusive missions, music, and graphical enhancements.

It’s out October 20. Head on past the break for a watch.

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Rockstar’s just put out a ton of new screens of the PSP version of GTA Chinatown Wars. After the break.

It’s out on October 23.

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It appears that GTA: Chinatown Wars’ Japanese jaunt won’t be quite as uneventful as originally planned. According to Siliconera, the game will be the first to have its hide branded with a CERO Z rating, the equivalent of an AO in the US, or an 18+ in Europe.

Monumental though it may be, the news isn’t really all that surprising, as it’s only inheriting GTA’s Japanese mantle. Thus far, all GTA games have been rated CERO Z in Japan.

This doesn’t bode all that well for Chinatown Wars eventual sales in Japan, though. After all, the audience that visibly brightens every time someone mentions “Brain Training” probably isn’t much into splattering said brains on the pavement. Chinatown Wars, will you ever find a loving home?

After sales unbefitting of a GTA game in both Europe and North America, GTA: Chinatown Wars is taking its cel-shaded, dual-screened brand of automobile thievery to Japan.

Cyberfront’s publishing, but hasn’t announced a release date yet.

Here’s hoping the game’s plight fills Japan’s gaming population with sorrow, giving rise to a new influx of sales. Chinatown Wars is great, people. Please buy it.

Thanks, Tiny Cartridge.

According to NPD data, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars sold roughly the same amount as it did in its debut month: namely 74,000 units.

This means that life-to-date sales in the US are now 163,000.

Nintendo DS/DSi sold over one million units in America last month.

Thanks, Gama.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars players who are a member of the Rockstar Social Club will have a chance to receive the rare Bulletproof Hellenbach vehicle.

The in-game content will be available for limited time starting May 1, so if you want one, this is what you have to do:

1. Become a registered Social Club member before 11:59 PM ET on May 7th 2009 (Thursday)
2. Link your Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Nintendo DS Friend Code to your Social Club account before 11:59 PM ET on May 7th 2009 (Thursday)
3. Sync your stats anytime after your Friend Code is linked.

Your car will then be available at the Auto Merchant in BOABO, and is the last car shown on the dealer’s list.

More information can be found through the link.

Dead Space: Extraction exec producer Steve Papoutsis has pinned MadWorld and GTA: Chinatown Wars’ lacklustre reception on Wii and DS down to general unsuitability.

“I think that’s happening because of what people are looking to buy, I guess,” he told VG247 when asked if he was disconcerted by Sega’s struggle in Wii’s core space and GTA: Chinatown Wars’ lack of traction on DS, talking at EA’s spring showcase in London last week.

“I think with our game right now I think we’re hitting on something that’s really interesting and really fun, and we’re hitting on the atmosphere and the visuals that people have started to associate with Dead Space.”

Chinatown Wars managed less than 100,000 units in the US in its opening month, while Sega’s MadWorld sold only 66,000 copies.

Papoutsis didn’t appear to be concerned at Sega and Rockstar’s limited success on Nintendo platforms with M-rated games, saying that he’s keen to see more adult content on Wii.

“As a hardcore gamer myself, I want stuff like this on the Wii,” he added.

“I love the Wii, I love Nintendo. I love all the platforms, but I really want something that I can play co-operatively on the Wii with a friend that hits that sweet spot I think Dead Space: Extraction is in.”

Extraction’s out for Wii this autumn. New shots here.

Michael Pachter has told Gamasutra that a mature audience just isn’t “there” for Nintendo DS.

Citing the lower than expected sale for Chinatown Wars, Pachter estimated that between the US and Europe, only 10 percent of the DS user base are males age 18-30. This is the target audience for Mature rated games.

The analyst feels that this has a lot to do with the way Nintendo advertises its product.

“There may be a lot of ‘adults’ who own DS hardware, but look at the ads: America Ferrera, Liv Tyler, Beyonce, and Carrie Underwood are all targeted at teen girls or women,” said Pachter. “It’s pretty clear to me that the ‘older’ DS demographic is largely female, and that they play Brain Training, Nintendogs, and Rhythm Heaven, not GTA: Chinatown Wars.”

Pachter believes that this is not because the market is tired of the GTA franchise, only that it would rather play the series on a console.

“I do not believe the market is tired of the GTA franchise,” Pachter says. “The other dimension is that the 10 percent of DS owners probably own a console as well, and if they’re inclined to buy GTA, they would probably do it on a console first. Few people buy the same game on the DS and on a console.”

Take-Two plans to continue it’s advertising support of the game, to try to raise awareness for the franchise on DS. Pachter, however, feels the company may be wasting its time.

“We can’t say that Take-Two made a bad game or marketed it poorly,” he said. “Instead, they created an M-rated game for a largely E and T audience, and those DS owners who are legally allowed to buy an M-rated game are not particularly interested.

“There’s no point making games for an audience that is not there.”

More through the link.

This has got to go down as one of the biggest “whoopses” in recent memory. Cowan analyst Doug Creutz has predicted GTA: Chinatown Wars will only be “marginally” profitable, after the game – the highest rated in GTA’s history – managed to secure only a woeful 89,000 sales in the US last month.

“We believe the experiment was a worthwhile one for Take-Two, and still expect the title to be profitable (though likely marginally so),” he said.

“However, the disappointing first month sales reinforce our view that achieving meaningful success on Nintendo platforms remains a very difficult proposition for third party publishers.”

Creutz added that the game had heavily failed to meet expectation.

“Despite a strong critical reception, Take-Two’s GTA: Chinatown Wars sold a very disappointing 89,000 units in March, well below our more recent 200-250,000 estimate and far below the 400-450,000 we thought the title might sell upon its release,” he said.

“Take-Two exported their most valuable IP onto the most widely distributed gaming platform, and created the most highly-rated title in the history of that platform. We knew there were some uphill challenges due to the demographics of the platform, but believed there were enough core gamers/adults owning a DS that the title could still perform very well.

“However, either the demographics are more challenging than we thought, or core gamers did not view the title as an essential purchase due to the nature of the platform.

It’s almost as if all that growth came from “non-gamers,” or something.

Thanks, GI.

SAI is citing “industry sources” as claiming GTA: Chinatown Wars achieved only 88,704 sales in the US last month.

There’s been no official comment from NPD as yet.

Predictions on the game’s sales varied heavily in the run-up to last night’s figure-release, with 200,000 the lowest guess.

Looks as though it was worse than anyone imagined.

Hopefully we’ll get solid confirmation soon.

EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich said today an approximate 200,000 sales for GTA: Chinatown Wars in the US last month proves M-rated games are a “risky” business on DS.

“It appears the industry may have been over-zealous with initial expectations on how GTA: Chinatown Wars would perform based upon the news it had received one of the highest quality scores for a Nintendo DS title,” says Divnich.

Quality scores alone don’t seem to be a major driver of sales on the DS, said the analyst.

“The results from Chinatown are an important benchmark for the industry, as it will be the best-performing mature rated title on the Nintendo DS to date coupled with one of the strongest mature-rated game brands,” he added.

More on Gama.

Why do M-rated games lack success on Nintendo platforms? Because Nintendo’s “broader than that,” apparently. Sega and Rockstar must be thrilled.

“I’m not going to make an argument for why certain M-rated games, as you say, don’t achieve a certain amount of momentum on the Nintendo platform,” NoA corporate affairs VP Denise Kaigler told IGN at GDC yesterday.

“We’re broader than that. And that’s what our contribution to this industry is. We are making sure that we make games for a broad consumer platform from age five to 95, and that really has worked well for us.”

GTA: Chinatown Wars charted at six in the UK rankings on release, while Sega’s MadWorld only managed to place at 34. Why? Ask Sega.

“We’re not saying that certain games can’t succeed on Wii,” Kaigler added.

“We want those games. We want people to bring those opportunities to us. So I opened up my answer to your question by saying talk to Sega, talk to those guys.”

Sure it’s not because Nintendo hardware’s explosive growth this generation has been a result of selling in to non-gamers? We think it might be.

That interview’s well worth a read.

Cowen and Company has said that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars could sell two million units in America this year.

Thanks to positive reviews and the amount of players who already own a DS in the US, sales could go through the roof, said firm analyst Doug Creutz.

“Although the handheld platform has a younger-skewing installed base, we believe many core gamers own the DS,” he said.

“The strong critical rating will likely increase the game’s chances of becoming a commercial hit.

“If the title’s subsequent reviews are consistent with the initial critical response, Chinatown Wars would be the highest rated title on the DS to date.”

Chinatown Wars currently has a Metacritic score of 95 percent.

More through here.

The GTA: Chinatown Wars review embargo just went up, and the overall verdict’s an unequivocal “yes”.

Here’s everything so far. If you want a link, tell us in the comments.

• CVG – 9.2
• 1UP – A-
• GamePro – 5/5
• IGN – 9.2
• Eurogamer – 10
• MTV – No score
• Game Informer – 9.25
• GamesRadar – 10

The entire intro of GTA Chinatown Wars has popped up on YouTube: watch it after the break, should you feel the need.

We’re not going to spoil anything for you, just in case, but suffice it to say this looks bloody amazing for a DS game. As you’d expect.

It’s out next week. Thanks, GoNintendo.

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Rockstar’s released a new gameplay clip from Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, which will be land March 17 on DS.

The clip, “Dealing and Delivering,” gives players a look at what moving goods around Liberty City will be like for protagonist Huang Lee after hitting the streets on the order of his uncle, Wu ‘Kenny’ Lee.

Watch it after the jump.

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