<IT WORLD> Grand Theft Auto Rules, OK
By Martin J Young
HUA HIN, Thailand - Gamers got their hands on the long-awaited fourth iteration
of Grand Theft Auto last week. Packed shelves didn't stay full for long and the
blogosphere was soon buzzing with comment as countless new websites emerged
dedicated to the cult crime and action game.
GTA IV's first week's sales represent the largest interactive entertainment
launch in history also surpassing any music or movie launch.
Sales are about 6 million copies in its first week, pointing to huge profit for
its creators, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. The game has earned over
US$500 million since its April 29 launch, more
than the $400 million made in its opening weekend by the third edition of Pirates
of the Caribbean, the Hollywood record holder.
Initial sales have also topped the $300 million made by Microsoft's Xbox 360
shooter Halo 3 last year. GTA IV's figures were boosted by the simultaneous
launch of the game for both PlayStation and Xbox 360 consoles. Gamers wanting
to play GTA IV on their PCs will have to wait until October or later for a
release in the appropriate format. The GTA IV release contributed to a spike in
demand for consoles, with Xbox sales jumping 54% and similar, though not
specified, figures for the PlayStation.
The GTA IV plot follows an immigrant eastern European tough guy through a seedy
underworld of crime and corruption in Liberty City, which is based upon New
York; it confirms the series' reputation for violent scenes, adult themes and
tongue-in-cheek humor that has helped to sell more than 70 million copies of
earlier versions in the past decade.
The play is open-ended; gamers don't need to stick to a linear plot and can
explore the city as they please using various methods of transport. The most
entertaining method of acquiring your wheels is by carjacking someone else's;
the game has a number of side "jobs" for players to earn extra cash, though
most would not please the moral majority of parents. Shootings, thieving,
drugs, prostitution, violence and general gangster-related pastimes are all
strong themes.
The gaming industry is now firmly on the entertainment map, with an estimated
$14 billion generated in sales for the three major consoles predicted for 2008.
Hollywood is being challenged by the growing popularity of computer games, with
both chasing much the same audience. Box office takings for the action-packed
comic book-based Iron Man movie, released at the same time as GTA IV,
may be the latest victim. Earnings for the high-octane hero flick were around
$200 million for the first weekend, so it has been solidly beaten by auto theft
played out in living-room comfort. If the economic downturn is anything to go
by games will continue to outsell movies as they are seen as better value, last
longer, and keep people inside.
The creators hope that the success of GTA IV will give the company more
leverage in takeover talks with the world's largest video-game maker,
Electronic Arts Inc, which is offering a buyout at $2 billion, or $25.74 per
share. Launched in 1997, the original GTA was created by a Scottish programmer
and subsequent versions have been created in Britain by Rockstar Games. Its
headquarters are now based in New York, the reality behind the addictive, grimy
virtual streets of Liberty City.
Industry
The saga of Microsoft and Yahoo continues, the two still at loggerheads after
last weekend's deadline for a takeover response came and went. Yahoo chief
executive Jerry Yang is still holding out for a higher bid, convinced that his
company is worth more than the $47.5 billion Microsoft put on the table.
According to Yang, it was Microsoft's Steve Ballmer who walked away from the
table last Saturday, ending the negotiations and sending Yahoo stock into a
freefall on Monday. The Yahoo board held fast to its claim that the company is
still worth $37 per share, a price that Yahoo stock hasn't reached since
January 2006. Microsoft was willing to offer only $33. A compromise at $35 may
have been the best outcome but it didn't happen so we're left wondering what
the next move is likely to be.
Meanwhile Yahoo shares recovered a little this week from Monday's 15% drop and
by Thursday's close were at $26.22. Analysts have stated that once the company
loses support of major shareholders, which seems to have happened, a bloodless
coup will be inevitable and Yang will be invited to step aside.
Microsoft has doubts whether negotiations can continue and has stated to media
that it will focus on alternatives to increase their web-based services and
operations before the mighty Google consumes the planet.
Software
Following a number of delays, Microsoft released the third service pack for
Windows XP this week. The heavy 545Mb download is now available to the public
via automatic updates or from the company’s download center. SP3 contains all
the cumulative security fixes, patches and updates to the operating system
since the release of SP2 in 2004.
Most users that run the patch will not even notice the difference as there is
little in the way of new functionality. The features that are included are
beefed up security protection and some tweaks to the Windows Product Activation
system. Also included is a feature borrowed from Vista called Network Access
Protection that validates a computer's health, ensuring it is free of nasties
before it is allowed access to a network. Service Pack three does not come with
Internet Explorer 7.
Internet
A birthday in the world of technology was celebrated last week, though not many
were willing to join the celebrations. Spam, the scourge of email, turned 30 on
May 30 as the first recognizable email marketing message was sent on that date
in 1978. Since then, spam has taken over most people's inboxes and become an
underground industry responsible for billions of unsolicited emails per day.
According to statistics gathered by the FBI, over 75% of Internet scams snare
people using junk email and around $240 million has fallen into the hands of
criminals via these online scams. Statistics also suggest that around 80-85% of
all email sent is spam and methods of entrapment are becoming more
sophisticated. It all really leads to the question of what the future holds for
email and what are the alternatives.
Martin J Young is an Asia Times Online correspondent based in Thailand.
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Industry
