Video Game Mania: Metal Gear Solid 4 Review, GTA 4 tops in sales, Fathers as Gamers

by apawa | June 13, 2008 at 09:11 am | 769 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

The Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto series have been two of the hottest selling titles in video gaming history. The two games have also had their share of controversies, even though GTA 4 takes the cake on this one, with ultra realistic and graphic content in the game play.

With the release Metal Gear Solid 4, just as GTA 4 earns top-spot in sales, we can only wait to see who will triumph between these two heavy weights.

Every once in a long while, a game will come along and change all the rules. Final Fantasy VII transformed the RPG genre, Resident Evil helped create a new sub-category of gaming -- survival horror -- and Grand Theft Auto III single-handedly reshaped the gaming landscape. And now comes Metal Gear Solid 4, a game whose potential influence on the current state of gaming is nothing short of tectonic.

It represents an artistic triumph for its director, game design legend Hideo Kojima, as well as an enormous coup for Sony and its PlayStation 3. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a masterpiece, an unforgettable game that shines like a beacon amidst a sea of mediocrity. It is not only the best Metal Gear game, but one of the best games ever made, period. If you own a PS3, put this at the top of your to-buy list. If you don't own a PS3, well, chances are you will buy one soon just to play this game.

Grand Theft Auto 4 continues to stun rivals despite decline in hardware sales.

Grand Theft Auto IV continued to rumble past the competition racking up 1.3 million sales between the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 in May, according to new figures from NPD. The game has sold 4.2 million units in the U.S. since its launch at the end of April, making it the top-selling game this year.

So far the game, though, doesn't appear to be pushing hardware sales for the Xbox 360 or PS3. While the Nintendo Wii led the console race again with with 675,100 units, the PlayStation 3 mustered only 208,700 units while the Xbox 360 sold a little less at 186,600.

Back to video game titles, GTA IV sold almost 2-1 on the Xbox 360, which is understandable considering the larger install base and the upcoming episodic content exclusive on the 360. The Xbox 360 version (871,300) and the PS3 versions (442,900) of GTA IV were first and fourth on the monthly games sales chart. Second went to Wii Mario Kart (787,700), followed by Wii Fit, which made a strong but restrained debut at 687,7000 units, probably due to lack of supply. The top five was rounded out by Wii Play, that standby that continues to sell well at 294,600.

With such a lucrative video game market and amazing adancement in graphics, no wonder adults can't keep their hands off the controllers.

On its top-10 industry-facts list, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) states that the average age of gamers today is 33 years old and that they have been playing videogames for 12 years now. As such, one would surmise that the majority of today's gamers already have, or are starting, families of their own, and that their deeply rooted pastime will be introduced to their children at some point or other. Meanwhile, everywhere you look, politicians and others seem to accuse games of having a horrible influence on people -- especially children. But can videogames really and truly be a positive influence in a family setting?