GTA: Chinatown Wars Did Not Sell Especially Well

wonder what it sold on the iphone.

I'm sad more people didn't pick this game up. I love it, one of my favorite DS games. If you are old  enough to play it, and have a DS, go buy it. Now. Seriously!

It wasn't a piracy issue, various titles still sell good on DS and PSP, and the PSP was already hacked when the previous GTA titles released. People simply didn't want that game. I'm sure that if they made a San Andreas Stories it would sell much more, though perhaps people have had enough so it wouldn't sell quite as much as the last two Stories games. It's worth noting that the DS version has sold respectably by now. The PSP one, not so much. It likely made a good profit. As good as the game was, it couldn't have possibly cost as much as other GTA titles, neither in development nor in marketing, so I don't know why they expected the same sales. If money spent didn't matter then they would have made GTAIV on that budget ;)

" Exactly, radiOlactive. Everyone I know personally pirated it instead of buying it. "

I thought it was a good enough game to buy, but apparently not a lot of other people did. I guess that's because I was playing the GTA series back before it was in 3D, so Chinatown Wars was just another one of those games to me. The modern vision of what a GTA game is probably hurt the appeal of that old style of presentation.
 
Yet even as I try to justify it, it really is a mystery to me how a name like Grand Theft Auto didn't immediately sell like hotcakes on any platform, especially coming off the release of GTA IV, back when there was a whole lot of buzz still around.

"First of all, DUDESSSS!!! who the hell buys PSP games anymore... thats as old as going to an internet cafe because you dont have internet at home... almost all the PSP users have their PSP modded... which means poor sales for mostly all games.... BUT sony saves the day again... coming up with their new PSP GO... or whatever... and its not hacked....... yetttttt... i bet you a bunch of console hackers are proving me wrong as im speaking right now (-: "

" @Jeff said:

"

The NPD Group's monthly sales figures dropped today, delivering the company's estimated game sales figures for the month of March. While there's a complete look at software and hardware sales in there, the number everyone is focusing in on right now is the one attached to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Though it was a mid-month release and, obviously, only had about two weeks of sales in the month, The DS-only GTA raked in sales around the 89,000 mark.

I try to avoid too many stories about sales figures because I'm not an analyst, and most of you reading this site aren't, either. But when the world's largest modern video game franchise can't breakthrough and give people a good reason to get M-rated on one of the most pervasive platforms of all time--the Nintendo DS--it sends a pretty clear message across the industry. I have to imagine that any DS game publisher that didn't already know that the sales were coming in under expectations is probably looking at the spreadsheet of sales figures and planning development accordingly. In short, I wouldn't expect to see a ton of adult-targeted DS games in the future, and I wouldn't be surprised if this had a similarly chilling effect on Wii development.

The truly disappointing part, of course, is that Chinatown Wars is an amazing game that makes great use of the DS while still providing a decidedly GTA-like experience. It didn't feel half-assed in any way, it came along with terrific worth of mouth, high review scores, and a pretty decent marketing push, too. But if the audience isn't interested in that style of content, no amount of marketing will convince them to buy it en masse.

And I could be wrong, but this looks like a case of the audience sending a pretty clear message about what it wants on the DS. What do you think?

"

I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to point out that the game didn't sell especially well on the PSP either. So I think the answer to your statement at the end there is that it was less a case of appealing to the wrong audience and more a lack of marketing among other things (like GTA fans in general not wanting to play a "2D" game).  "

"

The NPD Group's monthly sales figures dropped today, delivering the company's estimated game sales figures for the month of March. While there's a complete look at software and hardware sales in there, the number everyone is focusing in on right now is the one attached to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Though it was a mid-month release and, obviously, only had about two weeks of sales in the month, The DS-only GTA raked in sales around the 89,000 mark.

I try to avoid too many stories about sales figures because I'm not an analyst, and most of you reading this site aren't, either. But when the world's largest modern video game franchise can't breakthrough and give people a good reason to get M-rated on one of the most pervasive platforms of all time--the Nintendo DS--it sends a pretty clear message across the industry. I have to imagine that any DS game publisher that didn't already know that the sales were coming in under expectations is probably looking at the spreadsheet of sales figures and planning development accordingly. In short, I wouldn't expect to see a ton of adult-targeted DS games in the future, and I wouldn't be surprised if this had a similarly chilling effect on Wii development.

The truly disappointing part, of course, is that Chinatown Wars is an amazing game that makes great use of the DS while still providing a decidedly GTA-like experience. It didn't feel half-assed in any way, it came along with terrific worth of mouth, high review scores, and a pretty decent marketing push, too. But if the audience isn't interested in that style of content, no amount of marketing will convince them to buy it en masse.

And I could be wrong, but this looks like a case of the audience sending a pretty clear message about what it wants on the DS. What do you think?

"

First of all, DUDESSSS!!! who the hell buys PSP games anymore... thats as old as going to an internet cafe because you dont have internet at home...
almost all the PSP users have their PSP modded... which means poor sales for mostly all games.... BUT sony saves the day again... coming up with their new PSP GO... or whatever... and its not hacked....... yetttttt... i bet you a bunch of console hackers are proving me wrong as im speaking right now (-:

Maybe on planet Mars would those numbers be considered "good sales" for an entry in the GTA franchise.

And a GTA game NOT being pirated would be news, not the other way around. As I said, GTAIV was leaked early, San Andreas was leaked early, etc.

The game sold only 74,000 copies in April, less than it sold in its disappointing debut month, causing the price for the game to be nearly halved by some major retailers like Best Buy (down to 20 bucks from 35.) Amazon slashed the price to 28 bucks.

That's not for lack of advertising/awareness either, this game was one of the few games on any platform that got such a large number of commercials.

Personally I don't care much about sales or anything, and I'm not really much of a GTA fan (I play them and dig 'em, but it's not among my favorite franchises,) but it takes some serious spin to make those seem like good numbers for the GTA franchise on a platfom that has such an insanely high number of units in circulation. That about as much of a "clear message" as you can get.

Many gamers think that this is just a kiddie version of GTA. That probably hurt sales. It's sad, I'd like to see more games like this on DS.

Jools Watsham of Renegade Kid, who have also created similar adult orientated titles for the DS, speaks on this matter...

And I could be wrong, but this looks like a case of the audience sending a pretty clear message about what it wants on the DS. What do you think?

Don't look at me.

"People buy games?"

Its not worth the effort of digging out and charging my shitty launch DS

One has to wonder how many 17+ year-old DS gamers pirated Chinatown Wars. MAYBE enough to double those sales totals, but that would make the game still a disappointment Isales wise, for how many DS systems have been sold.

Perhaps the top-down view did it. Aside from making aiming a little wonky (IMO) it doesn't give you the same satisfaction blasting blobs sorta resembling humans  that  a up close and personal view on detailed 3D models does.

Maybe I'm just grasping at straws, it probably is the DS's demographics on this one. I would like some M rated mayham on the go, but at the same time I definitely get plenty of that at home with the 360 and PS3. As long as the DS continues bringing experiences those two cannot match (three exclusive 2D Castlevanias, Elite Beat Agents Rhthym Heaven plus the Nintendo mascot titles) I guess I can live with that.

People buy games?

I don't understand why it didn't sell! It's an really awesome game

This is all because kids under the age of 13 own a DS. Which means there parents arent letting them buy rated M games. Which means there parents wouldnt mind there kids watch porn on there computer than let them sell drugs on the DS. Obviously.

My impression is this game got pirated a lot as many other commenters have stated before. The audience for adult-targeted games probably have the know-how.

i hear its a great game from everyone though. 

I was going to buy it but I was too busy playing electronically-purchased and downloaded games.

It's always disappointing to hear news like this.

problem is that the core gamers of DS have flash cartridges and pirate games

I went to one site and counted the amounts of downloads. Which proved to be a bit of a chore since this game had around 50 different releases being seeded on that site.

If Pirate bay showed the number of downloads I would have counted on that site, I guess the numbers there would be at least double of what I got on the site I went to.

Number of downloads of Chinatown Wars on a somewhat known torrent site
214 689

I didn't even bother pirating it.
I pirate most of my games then buy the ones that I want sequels to.
...
I should really kill myself.

I wasn’t planning to get GTA: CTW because, frankly, I suck at GTA.

I don’t think 2 weeks is enough to go on and I suspect the next NPD numbers will look a lot better.

However, I do want to support this game and so I’ll go pick up a copy.

I probably won’t get very far, but at least I’ll be doing my part to help keep games like this coming to the DS.

this is the game that makes me want a DSI. but i dont have the cash for that right now

Don't worry, Jeff! I'll get it when I get a DSi. Probably not happening to the holidays, though. Rockstar, I won't let you down, guys!

What I want to know is why you assume they won't have a profit considering Take-Two are confident the game has long legs and it probably didn't cost a fraction of a standard GTA game's cost.

What I want to know is how did they expect to pull a profit by releasing a teen/ young adult male franchise on a platform that is dominated by kids, teen girls, and non-gamers, while releasing in the same month as the new Pokemon?

Um, nobody denies the casual pull of Nintendo platforms, they only state the obvious, that core games also sell. Take Two have made statements that they're happy with the game sales and expect it to have long legs, but now we have analyst wannabes present doomsday for the DS, years after its release and after the support many, many different companies constantly offer, just because they think one game should sell more. The game didn't have a fraction of the cost other GTA games have, and it will yield a fraction of the profit. Win win situation, really. Of course games that sell to both casuals and hardcores will have insane sales while games targeting only hardcores will have less, once again considering they didn't have a fraction of the production cost. You're a core gamer and you have a DS, there are many others like you. If you don't buy games targeted to you, and instead pirate them, of course they won't make up for it by the audience they do not target. Duh. But anyway, just the fact you're oh so hardcore yet own a DS proves it has appeal for such gamers also. Not for M rated games that it lacks, but worthy games in general. Duh.

I think this sends a perfectly clear message that we really have know all along. Nintendo game sell on Nintendo platforms. Its ashamed since I'm one of those 89,000 and love the game but obviously I'm not in the core ds demographic. Piracy isn't a factor because WE pirate game not the millions upon millions of other ds owners.

I will get it, but im not playing my ds right now.  Got far too many games to catch up on from the past few months on consoles and pc.

to whoever said they are worried about GTA not coming on the wii.. im pretty sure that is a good thing

This is almost as bad as Moon's terrible figures of not even breaking 14,000 despite being an amazing DS game. Of course that didn't even have all promotional backing and name recognition of Chinatown Wars. That's just... sad... and I don't even like GTA games.

How about GTA for the PSP. how well did it sell in the same time table as the DS?

Good game, you should get it!

The audience doesn't match.

Most DS users are casual adults that look down upon games like these. Like the Wii owners that protested the release of Madworld because it would ruin it's image.

Debating the merit of mature games on the DS aside; it saddens me that CTW is not selling well and may set a precedent for the future, I think the game is fantastic and a nice change of pace from the usual family-friendly DS games in it's catalog.

Come on guys, buy CTW... it's really, really good.

"Well, Liberty City Stories sold 158,000 in its first month, so the DS game did better with more than half the sales in half the time, even though PSP gamers were pretty starved for quality titles at the time, whereas the DS has a steady stream of good games and, of course, an immense back catalogue to choose from. That didn't stop the PSP title from becoming a success (over a million sales after a year, and over 8 million after 2 years and a PS2 version according to Take Two) and spawning more PSP GTA titles, even though it wasn't the system seller people had expected or hoped for. So, how about we wait and see what happens with this one (even though I don't expect it to reach the PSP games sales, it also didn't have their budget)? No? Okay, I guess the DS is Nintendo's other baby, let's bash it every chance we get just like the Wii. M rated games or not, it's THE handheld to have with tons of titles that suit any taste, not just Nintendogs and Brain Age."

I've actually been wondering. How well did those Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games sell? I assume Chinatown Wars is doing better than them, but does anyone have some numbers?

The game is good, but people are hesitant to purchase portable GTA (especially on Nintendo systems, GTA Advance anyone?)

This is why we can't have nice things Nintendo fans. Thanks a lot. 

The DS is one of the most pirated systems especially in Europe, Everyone i know who has a DS has a R4 or similar, and they just get the roms, no surprise that the sells were not high,  I would say most are playing it and there is a audience for these types of games,  they just aren't paying for it. and i'm not sure what can be done about that because even games that come with copy protection such as Square-enix rpgs someone gets hacks and patches for the roms pretty quickly.

"I think it has more to do with it being GTA on a handheld than it being a mature rated game on the DS. Most GTA players are probably skeptical of a portable GTA title, especially one on the DS. GTA fans that are used to the playstyle of GTA III - IV are most likey turned off by the top-down view of the DS title. And although I like the game and think it is a strong effort, I can't say that it is great. The controls are loose, the camera annoying, and the aiming is as bad or worse than GTA III. Overall I think it is mostly that GTA fans are being careful with their cash. Afterall, Lost and Damned came out right before Chinatown Wars. I think a lot of people might be more willing to pay $20 for more GTA IV than $35 for an unfamiliar DS title."

I think people do not want to spend there free time pretending to be a criminal.

Crime doesn't pay....on ds

I think people just aren't expecting GTA on a handheld to be any good, if it isn't based directly off a console game, like the PSP versions were.  When I first heard GTA announced for the DS, I automatically assumed it would be crap.  "There's no way they can recreate GTA with the limited power of the DS, unless they're going back to the old-school, top-down, 2-D style," I thought.  The trailers didn't change my impression much - they screamed desperate GTA spin-off, not real-deal GTA.

So I was surprised as anyone when the reviews started coming in, lauding it as a faithful adaption of the GTA experience, on a handheld with a fraction of the power of current-gen consoles.  The vast majority of people don't read game reviews before making purchases, though, preferring to go on name-brand recognition, word of mouth, or (heaven help us) back-of-the-box copy.  I'm pretty sure the general public is not aware of just how much GTA goodness is packed into the cart, and instead has the impression that Chinatown Wars is an inferior mockery of the console version.