Gamers Line Up for Grand Theft Auto IV
The smell of Red Bull wafted over H Street NE last night as gamers lined up for the midnight release of Grand Theft Auto IV, one of the most anticipated video games in history. By 11:45 p.m., about 50 people were in line at the GameStop at 817 H Street NE, for the release of the newest in the popular and controversial video game franchise, which is expected to gross $400 million in its first week. A total of about 80 people came through the doors by about 1 a.m. The Hechinger Mall store also had a midnight release, as did GameStops all over Maryland and Virginia and the rest of the country.
Those in line were mostly male and young, 18-30 or so, reflecting the game's "Mature" rating, and were carded with their purchase. Gamers mostly came in small groups of friends and the groups didn't interact much with each other, nor were there people in costume like at Star Wars openings. Some had paid $5 to reserve the game ahead of time, but the store didn't sell out of its 300 copies.
A Red Bull car pulled up before midnight and employees handed out the drink, then doors opened and the otherwise deserted shopping center was filled with hubbub, with a few customers allowed in at a time. One latecomer, a GW student, said he reserved a copy at a store in Arlington, but came to H Street when that store didn't have his reservation.
The game, which has received some of the best ratings ever from video game websites, and even the New York Times, follows a Serbian immigrant in "Liberty City," a city based on New York. The game's map is huge, and players can choose to complete any number of missions. Previous games had characters playing as California gang members in the 1990s or as 1980s Miami drug lords, and allowed players to do virtually anything, with an emphasis on crime — shoot various weapons, steal and 'supe up' cars, take passengers around in taxis, cause or fight fires, and drive cars, boats, bikes, planes, hovercraft, and more. There were more menial tasks too, like eating, going on dates, working out, and in this version, using the internet and even going to comedy shows — Ricky Gervais performs at a comedy club in the game.
The game is now available at stores around the area for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 game systems.