On its first day on the shelves -- April 29 -- 3.6 million copies were purchased, a retail value of $310 million.

Can that be right?

$310 million divided by 3.6 million would put the "retail value" of each copy at more than eighty-six dollars. Skimming PriceGrabber's list of places selling it appears to show that it retails for $60 almost everywhere.

There is a "special edition" version that retails for 89.00. That will account for at least some of the discrepancy.

The sales figures are worldwide. The drop in the dollar might have boosted the dollar value of games sold in Yen, Pounds, Euros, etc. Also, comparing numbers is difficult since movies don't have global releases.

Just how fucking stupid are we? we deserve to have the country in the shape it is in. This is REAL entertainment.

We suck

Allie wrote (in letters on the Broadsheet GTA article)

http://letters.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2008/05/03/gta/permalink/ed9f74c2888daa5a5b5613025516f9b0.html

"Once again, for the Broadsheet crowd: How is it Rockstar's fault when parents of middle schoolers (who are not legally allowed to work in the US and can't buy the games for themselves) play games rated M?"

Well there is this thing called an allowance that many middle class kids receive, plus babysitting wages, and often kids (especially teenagers) get money for x-mas and birthdays.

With cash in hand, there are numerous ways for kids to get the game without their parents being involved:

http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/kids-talk-about-grand-theft-auto-iv/

http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/news/uskidsfind.htm

"Why is it anyone's fault but the parents' that parents don't know what their kids are playing?"

Well it sounds like a *lot* of parents do know their kids are playing GTA and are ok with it. Why are they ok with it? One, because they themselves are so desensitized to violence due to growing up on violent TV and movies, that the ultra-violence in GTA doesn't bother them. And two, the violent media industry has done such a good job convincing the public that violent TV/movies/video games are harmless.

Plus, I'm sure some parents know their kids are playing GTA, but don't realize the extent to which it is violent and cowardly (i.e. shooting unarmed people, beating an unarmed woman to death).

Plus, parents who don't even know their kids are playing GTA, as their kids are playing after school before their parents get home, in their bedroom with the door closed and/or at a friend's house.

"Why is it anyone's fault but the parents' that parents don't know what their kids are playing?"

Well, it's not the job of violent video game publishers to raise everyone’s children, just as it is not the job of oil companies to solve global warming. But, just as the oil industry is *guilty* of misleading the public on what the science really says about global warming, the violent media industry is *guilty* of misleading the public on what the science really says about the effects of violent media.

Allie wrote:

http://letters.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2008/05/03/gta/permalink/ed9f74c2888daa5a5b5613025516f9b0.html

"Regarding this "progressive desensitization" business: so, what's your explanation for the fact that juvenile crime has gone DOWN over the past couple of decades in a curve that exactly parallels the number of video games per household? Doesn't look like your theory holds water in the real world."

Ah yes, the gold standard argument on why violent media is harmless.

From 1970 to 2000 the American rate of incarceration has increased over 300% (I just read that the US now, with 5 percent of the world's population, has 25 percent of the world's incarcerated). That would actually be a very good explanation for why homicides/violent crime finally dropped back down to levels not seen since the early 1960's.

It's interesting, from 1941, through the 1950's to the mid 1960's the homicide rate stayed below 6 per 100,000, and was below 5 per 100,000 all throughout the 1950's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homicide_rate#1910s

Then starting in the early 1960's, when the first generation to be raised on TV came of age, the homicide rate dramatically increased, reaching 10 per 100,000 by 1980.

Note, this dramatic doubling of the homicide rate doesn't *prove* anything, just as the dramatic halving of the homicide rate also doesn't *prove* anything. Why? Because there are just too many factors that effect the homicide rate, such as: demographics, the economy, incarceration rates, educational levels, etc…

Also note, no one is arguing that violent media is *the* cause of violent crime, only that exposure to violent media increases aggression.

For example:

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1612435.htm

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2001/january17/kidstv-117.html

http://www.ur.umich.edu/9596/Feb06_96/artcl17.htm

If you're using GTA's worldwide figure, you should use Iron Man's, too. The film grossed over $200 million in its first weekEND, but I don't have the weeklong figure.

The world of warcraft realms seem a little barren lately too. Could be a chance to go for some of the stuff that gets crowded out.