Grand Theft Auto hits store shelves
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories went on sale at midnight, and fans lined up to get their copies. Parent company Take-Two is hoping the game's success will help ward off a buyout. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
Grand Theft Auto package (take2games.com)
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Renita Jablonski: Grand Theft Auto four hit store shelves at midnight. Fans were in line last night to get their hands on the $60 game. That has parent-company Take-Two playing a game of hard ball. Stacey Vanek-Smith has more.
Voice from game: Stop shooting people, you maniac!
Stacey Vanek-Smith: Grand Theft Auto has shot, carjacked and stolen its way to being an $800 million franchise, and the latest version is expected to be the best-selling video game ever.
Ben Bajarin: It's definitely going to break a lot of records.
Industry analyst Ben Bajarin says Grand Theft could bank nearly half a billion dollars its first week, and parent company Take-Two is counting on that. It's been holding off on a $2 billion buyout offer from rival company Electronic Arts, because Take-Two says it's worth more.
Bajarin: If the game's going to be as popular as people say it is -- definitely gonna affect their stock price and their value.
But Take-Two's strategy could backfire, says Dan Ackerman, senior editor at CNET.com.
Dan Ackerman: Everyone knows the game is going to be a huge hit, and a lot of people have kind of factored that into the share price already.
And, Ackerman says, the franchise could start running out of steam. But he's been playing an advance copy of this game, and expects it will be a big hit.
I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith for Marketplace.
