Grand Theft Auto's Extreme Storytelling

It's famous for being violent, but Grand Theft Auto is also a supremely ambitious experiment in storytelling

Rockstar Games

When Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City came out on April 29 last year, it sold 3.6 million copies in one day. By the end of the week, sales were up to 6 million, for a total take of about $500 million. Which means, if you go by that number (and Guinness does), that Grand Theft Auto IV owns the biggest opening of any entertainment property in history. In comparison, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 took in a paltry $400 million during its first week.

And Grand Theft Auto IV wasn't even the most commercial entertainment option on the bill. As...

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