Microsoft to push GTAIV with multi-million commercial campaign

[Bodhesatva]

DOATS1 said:
what's the big deal? everybody on planet earth knows that it will come out on playstation.

It's mindshare. Obviously, if you own a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 already, you will buy the version of the game for the system you arleady own.

But what about those tens of millions of PS2 owners we're constantly reminded of? One could have reasonably argued that most big time GTA fans would upgrade to the PS3, because they're used to the Playstation brand being the home of their most popular games. Regardless of whether that's actually true now or not.

Did people even know that the Xbox got all of the GTA's last generation? Sure, they were late, but they got them. In the minds of most people, Playstation 2 was the home of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. That perception may reverse itself this generation. If you want to play Grand Theft Auto IV and you don't own a PS360 yet, which would you buy? It's possible that now, with the exclusive content and marketing rights, people will buy a 360, not a Playstation 3.

 

If this is all true, I expect the combination of the downloadable content + marketing campaign to have a very significant effect in America. I expect it to have a moderate effect in Europe, with the 360 punching a dent in the PS3's growing momentum but not actually turning it around completely; and in Japan, it will be meaningless.

In essence, I kind of agree with lilbell, at least in America. If this ends up being what we think it is, then I'd say this is negates any chance (chances I already thought were slim) of the PS3 somehow surmounting the 360's momentum and overtaking it long term.