Friday is here, and the weekend is calling me. I’m sure it’s calling most of you as well! We just have to make it through our Friday work/school/obligations, and then we can all enjoy some relaxation! Come on, guys…I know you can do it! Hopefully you’ll be starting the day off well-rested, which is what I’m going to work on right now. I’ll see you all in a few, short hours. I’m left scratching my head over the sales of GTA: Chinatown Wars. I didn’t expect the game to sell anywhere near what the console versions do, but I never thought it wouldn’t even break the 100,000 barrier. Honestly, I am quite shocked by all of it. I’m sure that Take-Two and Rockstar are feeling the sting of this news as well. They’ve probably been tracking sales since day one, which is why they were so quiet on the matter. I know that there’s not a full month of sales to tally from the March NPD data, but I’m still surprised to see what’s been racked up thus far. Back when Chinatown Wars was first announced at E3, I thought the game would end up being a rushed, sloppy DS title. Little did I know that as time went on, I would see plenty of screens/videos/impressions that would prove quite the opposite. Not only was the game receiving positive press, it was getting a ton of buzz. Chinatown Wars was looking to be the real deal, or as ‘real’ as one can get to bringing the GTA series to the DS. When the game was about a week away from launch, the review scores started to pour in. GTA titles usually receive the highest honors from the gaming press, and this title was no different. 10s and 9s were thrown around everywhere you looked. In just a few days, Chinatown Wars managed to become the best-reviewed DS game of all time. That’s a pretty high honor when considering some of the stellar content available for the platform. Months of positive buzz, absolutely fantastic review scores, and a marketing campaign that pushed Chinatown Wars with the same care that any other GTA title received. So where’d it all go wrong? I’m not even into GTA all that much, yet I picked this game up. All the high praise that was being heaped on was enough to push me towards a purchase. I couldn’t be happier with the decision I made. While I don’t think it deserves to be the best-reviewed game, it definitely belongs in the top 5. After playing through most of the game, I cannot fathom why so many decided to ignore this title. Did the marketing not reach the right gamers? Are fans of the GTA series not willing to revisit a camera angle that is reminiscent of what the original GTA titles used? Is the average GTA player only interested in graphics and celebrity voice acting? Is the DS market simply not right for a title like this? I just don’t know, and trying to figure it out is boggling my mind. No matter how I look at it, the end result has me both perplexed and angry. I know there are more than 100,000 core-gaming DS owners out there…plenty more. I’m trying to figure out why these guys stayed so far away from the title. Can any of you help me out? If you didn’t bother to purchse GTA: Chinatown Wars, tell me why. Leave a comment and explain what kept you away. If you don’t like the GTA series, I completely understand why you chose to ignore the title. For those that don’t mind/like/love GTA, I want to know why you didn’t pick the game up. Of course, I also want to hear from those that feel the game was never looking at in the first place. I’d love to get to the bottom of this situation!

See original here:
GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Where did GTA: Chinatown Wars go wrong?

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