Retailers stay up late for 'Grand Theft Auto IV'

(GameTap.com) -- The build-up to next Tuesday's launch of Grand Theft Auto IV is accelerating, with more retailers announcing plans to open their doors at midnight to toast and tout what could be the game industry's biggest opening day ever.

Best Buy is the latest retailer to detail which stores will be opening at midnight to sell the action title from Rockstar Games. According to the company's Web site, more than a hundred store locations are being prepped for midnight sales.

Specialty retailer GameStop lists a couple of thousand stores opening at midnight to help with the game's launch--in a 68 page pdf file posted on the company's corporate Web site. In addition, a number of Wal-Mart and Game Crazy locations will also open at midnight.

But it's not just the game's opening day that has retailers licking their lips. "This will be a strong title all the way through the year," predicts GameStop senior vice president of merchandising Bob McKenzie.

But it's opening-day and week-one sales that are driving the speculation. Coming in on the high end of the estimates are Janco Partners' Mike Hickey who has said 9.5 million copies of the game could sell through to consumers during the game's first week at retail. An unidentified industry source told Variety that the game could drive as much as $400 million in revenues during that first week.

And after next week's Tuesday morning windfall? Then what? Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Higginbotham expects game industry sales to slow, and is even advising investors to sell their shares in GameStop. "Industry growth remains on a path toward deceleration," Higginbotham says.

"While the much anticipated release of GTA IV at the end of April is expected to produce record sales--and Wii Fit, slated for May, is also expected to be a blockbuster--the remainder of the year lacks any big releases, and comparisons get tougher throughout the year as we lap titles such as Halo 3 and Guitar Hero 3," Higginbotham wrote in a memo to investors this week.

Regardless of the long-term view, both gamers and retailers seem laser focused on next Tuesday's release. E-mail to a friend

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