By Gemma White
The most expensive video game of all time, Grand Theft Auto V, has
today been released, signalling the end of social lives across the globe. GTA V, which reportedly cost its developer Rockstar around £170 million to make and market, saw
a flurry of fans queuing to grab their copies at special events late last
night.
Its release got off to a shaky start however, with Amazon accidentally shipping copies of the much anticipated game to customers ahead of today’s official release date – oops! This undoubtedly sparked outrage among avid GTA fans that had patiently waited to get their hands on the latest copy. An investigation by Rockstar into the early sales is currently underway.
What I found fascinating is the preparation that went into GTA V’s release from the fans themselves, who are most likely immersed in game play as I write this. A recent online poll by gaming site IGN.com revealed that 46 percent of its readers had booked holiday on the release day, while 19 percent planned to phone into work unwell. I even stumbled across a post on GTA forums discussing what snacks people had planned to bring when they collected their game last night – not surprisingly, energy fuelled food and drink were a popular choice, perhaps for the long night of gaming ahead.
So, what can we expect over the coming months? Well, with 25 million copies due to be sold in the first year, social lives will undoubtedly be consumed by a virtual world and disconnected from the realms of reality. Let’s just hope that Rockstar is prepared for any potential ‘glitches’ or ‘downtime’ – although that might not be such a bad thing.
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