It is safe to say that given the popularity of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Rockstar’s upcoming Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the most anticipated video games of 2013, and its recently released gameplay trailer only served to amplify the demand even more. However with the developers only releasing the game for current-gen consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360, is GTA 5 popular enough to the point where it could affect the sales of next-gen consoles like the PS4 or Xbox One? One analyst by the name of Lewis Ward of IDC seems to think so. Ward believes that the interest of next-gen consoles is currently weak as far as markets such as North America are concerned, and with big titles such as GTA 5 being released with no planned support for next-gen consoles at launch, it certainly does not help with the demand.
According to Ward, gamers will continue playing their current consoles most likely until the 2014 holiday season. He believes that is when game catalogues for next-gen consoles will be larger and when the bugs of the new systems will eventually be worked out, thus making it a more appealing purchase for gamers looking for the next best thing. In the meantime, Ward thinks that it will give titles such as GTA 5 plenty of time to sell, assuming of course the game lives up to the hype. It’s an interesting theory but what do you guys think? Is one game enough to curb demand for next-gen consoles?
Filed in . Read more about GTA 5, PS4, Rockstar and Xbox One.