"Grand Theft Auto IV"

Is this thing a movie or a video game? Commercials make it seem like a movie. Grand Theft Auto IV certainly seems very movie-like. The graphics and animation appear tip-top, very well done.

And I assume the goal this time is to steal cars, frequent scrip clubs and get made.

You do get made in Grand Theft Auto right? I don't know. I don't play it.

Yeah, I want to be a made man. How awesome is that?

I have to ask how awesome it is, because I'm not a career criminal.

Honestly though, I don't have time to play video games. Well, I probably do, but I won't. There's too many other things to do in life that are more constructive. I played plenty of video games when I was younger. Nothing came of it. Playing video games doesn't beat reading or exercising.

Furthermore, I don't have the time or the patience to delve into anything as intricate as Grand Theft Auto IV, not that I would anyway. It looks too hard and too seedy. And I swore off violent video games long ago when I also swore off rap music.

Regardless, Grand Theft Auto IV is expected to succeed. The game's Wikipedia entry says 2.5 million copies were sold in the U.S. within the first 24 hours of its April 29 release, generating $186 million in revenue. Gamers in the United Kingdom bought 609,000 copies. The Wikipedia entry recognizes these results as "the highest grossing opening day in entertainment history."

That is absolutely phenomenal! The game is like a Harry Potter novel in that it is so highly anticipated. The only modern game franchises I can think of with similar popularity are Madden and Halo.