Cut/Scenes: GTA IV – the new summer blockbuster

So, by now we’ve all heard the buzz. Grand Theft Auto IV has officially eclipsed previous records for gaming, selling half a billion dollars worth in its first week. The New York Times reported the news early yesterday, and Take-Two confirmed (according to a Kotaku post), leaving RockStar and Take-Two with the hottest entertainment property going right now.

Though it’s difficult to compare game sales to box office performance (after all, people don’t pay $59.99 for movie tickets), I’m going to do it anyway. The current number one in domestic movies is Iron Man, which according to the latest chart in Variety, has generated total sales of $115,559,020 in its first five days. So the top videogame has eclipsed the top movie by tremendous factor. Even considering the rather unfair comparison, this is quite revolutionary, and possibly a bit startling.