Grand Theft Auto - Dying Out?

The general player consensus was "excellent" - although just lately we have been reading a lot of hate on Rockstar's masterpiece. Many felt the game focused on seriousness as opposed to fun, something that previous iterations in the GTA universe have had in abundance.</span>

Never-the-less the game sold. Big-time. XBOX 360 exclusive DLC "The Lost & Damned" and DS-iteration Chinatown Wars sold not so much, mind. In fact it barely sold at all. Only 1 million of the potential 13 million owners of GTAIV picked up the DLC. We can't help but think that if Rockstar had actually released the Lost & Damned on PS3, they would have upped that figure significantly.

The more telling story is with Chinatown Wars though. Despite a truly astounding number of positive reviews and it being released on the platform with the biggest audience, Chinatown Wars only sold 89,000 units. That's essentially rubbish for a GTA game.

All this has led CNBC to question the effect of the GTA franchise - is it dying out? We say no - Chinatown Wars is a case of a good game on the wrong platform. From our experience, people don't want to play GTA on the DS - they want to stroke dogs and throw frisbees. As for Lost & Damned — release the damn thing on PS3 and watch the current sales figures double.