GTA's Goes Against the Grain

Take-Two has made one of the best-reviewed games ever for the Nintendo DS and no one seems to care. Why? Because there's a major disconnect here. Take-Two's "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars," the newest game in the franchise, was released a month ago for the Nintendo DS. According to numbers released yesterday, the game has sold under 90,000 units. For anyone unaware of the nuances of game sales figures, let me translate: the game flopped. Big-time.

What's interesting has been the commentary about why it's flopped. Most are saying it was remiss to release a "GTA" game on a platform primarily targeted at children. Possibly... Imagine for a moment that McDonald's were to start serving the most incredible escargot, which all the tasters considered to be one of the best in the country. That meal might just tank, purely because the brand characteristics of McDonald's are nearly the exact opposite of an expensive delicacy. That's what I suspect is going on here. The fans of the "GTA" series love the open world, the ever increasingly realistic graphics and portrayal of a vivid, breathing city. The series is one of edgy races, high quality writing, and fast-paced shooting action. The Nintendo DS is a system that offers innovative gameplay for light-fare, portable gaming. These two are not a natural fit.

Had Take-Two dropped the first three letters of the game's name, the title wouldn't have been so easily dismissed by consumers. If the company had built up fresh expectations rather than adopting existing expectations, a different story may have unfolded. The DS release was further injured by the lack of a real ability to demo the game, something that would have further helped to cement purchase confidence. It's possible that continued sales of the DSi will remedy that for future titles.

While the the take-away from this release will be that going against the grain isn't a wise decision, the issue may be much more circumstantial than a broad issue of conformity. It's upsetting that the industry has become so comfortable with pigeonholing itself into the "casual" and "core" buckets. When will that change?