Did Microsoft Blow $50 Million?

If you did not know, Microsoft announced at E3 2007 that their version of Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360 will receive exclusive DLC that the PlayStation 3 version will not be getting. Microsoft paid a whopping $50 million just as a down payment to keep this exclusive. At this time no one but Rockstar knew what this DLC would be and what it would add to the game. Well, now we have all seen the trailer for the new DLC and if you have not, the video is below. It is basically going to add a whole new storyline and allow you to take control of a new character and will be titled “The Lost and the Damned World”. Microsoft also announced the surprising cost of $19.99. At this point, without a doubt it seems like a steal but will it be worth the millions for Microsoft? Please read the article and leave a comment with your thoughts.

Joseph DiGrado

Many people say that Microsoft “wasted” $50+ million dollars on the DLC for 2008’s top seller, Grand Theft Auto IV. I am here to tell you why the $50+ million that Microsoft dished out WAS worth the money.

First of all, for the people who own both consoles, the DLC most likely had some effect on what which version they chose to buy. This DLC has caused many people to choose the 360 version over the PS3 version if they would have had the choice. The 360 version has sold somewhat better than the PS3’s version of Grand Theft Auto IV. This obviously will make Microsoft some of that money back recovering costs for the DLC. Secondly, knowing that the DLC is coming out this year, people will buy it, period, and that means even more money for Microsoft. The PlayStation 3 and 360’s Grand Theft Auto IV sales are pretty close also, considering the PlayStation 3 user base is a lot less than the 360’s, and it is very possible that without this DLC for Microsoft, people would have chose the PlayStation 3 version over the 360 version. This could be because the PlayStation console was the first console Grand Theft Auto franchise was on, and it just feels right to them. So knowing all of this, I feel that Microsoft did not “waste” any money on the Grand Theft Auto IV DLC. I feel that it was a smart move to generate more software sales for their console as well as more revenue for Rockstar than the PS3 version.

Nick McCandless

As you can see, Joseph feels that it will be worth the $50+ million dollars for the exclusive DLC for the 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV. Though I understand what he is saying, I am here to provide my two cents on this situation.

I do not feel that the DLC is going to be worth the $50+ million because I do not feel it will succeed as well as Microsoft is hoping. The reason I believe this is mainly because of the timing. The game has been out for many months now and even though it has sold millions of copies, I do not feel many 360 gamers will come back to this game with recently launched titles like Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, and Fable II. Even though Grand Theft Auto IV is an amazing game, the game seems to get repetitive. Yes, the content will make it more enjoyable but do you still see yourself coming back to the game and spending another $20 to play it with some more content? Also, from my recent visits to GameStop, I have seen many copies of Grand Theft Auto IV traded in for the Xbox 360. This supports my statement of people getting bored of it due to the repetitiveness. Also, I do not agree with the statement about the sales numbers because of the fact that there are more 360s out there. If there were just as many PS3s sold as 360s, the sales numbers would be identical. There might be a few people who chose the 360 version over the PS3 version because of the exclusive DLC but not enough to make up $50+ million.