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Shippin' Out April 27-May 2: Grand Theft Auto IV

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Apr 28, 2008 5:04 pm PT

Rockstar Games' highly anticipated open-world action game finally arrives at retail, scares off most of the competition.

While Mario Kart for the Wii and a big-budget movie tie-in like Iron Man might headline the Shippin' Out column on any other week, the end of April belongs to Rockstar Games' much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV.

Arriving three and a half years after the last major installment in the series--Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas--Grand Theft Auto IV is the franchise's current-generation debut and takes place in a warped re-creation of New York City called Liberty City. Set for a Tuesday release, many locations of retailers like GameStop and Best Buy will be opening their doors at 12:01 a.m. for midnight release events.

The competition appears to be giving Grand Theft Auto IV a bit of breathing room. The aforementioned Mario Kart Wii enjoyed a traditional Nintendo Sunday launch, and the other big release of the week, Sega's Iron Man, comes out on Friday to coincide with the Robert Downey, Jr. feature film.

Beyond that handful of offerings, SNK Playmore has a compilation of Neo Geo arcade games coming out on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, while Konami launches Let's Yoga and Let's Pilates on the DS. Even the downloadable services are lighter than normal, as the Xbox Live Arcade will go without a release of any kind, and the Wii Virtual Console will welcome only one title this week--the NES beat-'em-up Double Dragon--instead of the typical two new games.

APRIL 27, 2008 (Sunday)
Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

APRIL 28, 2008
Double Dragon (Wii Virtual Console)
Let's Pilates (DS)
Let's Yoga (DS)

APRIL 29, 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PS3)
SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 (PS2, PSP)
Baseball Mogul 2009 (PC)
Toy Shop (DS)
Brain Voyage (DS)

APRIL 30, 2008
There is no Xbox Live Arcade game scheduled for release this week

MAY 1, 2008
Great War Nations: The Spartans (PC)

MAY 2, 2008
Iron Man (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, DS)

66 Comments

  • ssbb_haller

    Posted May 7, 2008 2:13 pm PT

    awesome

  • markimsoad

    Posted May 6, 2008 12:24 pm PT

    the week will be show

  • Guitar-Dunnie

    Posted May 4, 2008 8:01 pm PT

    uh epilepsykid, there is online play in gta iv last tiem i checked

  • wyldcard6

    Posted May 3, 2008 10:29 am PT

    EpilepsyKid,
    Awesome points thank you.

  • ElementalSoljer

    Posted Apr 30, 2008 2:39 pm PT

    SNK all de' way!

  • dragonsama

    Posted Apr 30, 2008 7:39 am PT

    the SNK Collection is Awesome pick it up while you are picking up GTA it will be money will spent!

  • EpilepsyKid

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 3:21 pm PT

    I meant San Andreas doesn't have....

  • EpilepsyKid

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 3:19 pm PT

    online

  • EpilepsyKid

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 3:01 pm PT

    Hey "robnwogangsta" I think you are one of those typical trouble making teenagers who love the gta series because that's what the game mostly attracts. Man with those kind of games, there are a lot more violent and ignorant people nowadays. Anyways like I said there is no way gta4 will ever be game of the year (no online play). When San Andreas was out, it didn't win game of the year. That belonged to Knights of the Old Republic, and this year will belong to SSBBrawl. To put it bluntly, gta is a disgrace to videogames. I would be happy if Jack Thompson would put an end to the gta series.

  • cooldude03

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 2:52 pm PT

    Mario Kart Wii and Grand Theft Auto 4 too good to be true. I hope Nintendo finally fixed the Wii racing games. If not I'll have to break out my Wii Classic Control to play Mario Kart. Now to decide GTA4 on Xbox360 or PS3, I think I'll go 360 since it has better online service and achievements.

  • flawless_blade

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 2:23 pm PT

    Yeah... there could not have been a worse week to choose releasing those games. Seriously, what's up with the dudes scheduling those releases? (Boss Man) "Alright let's release it... this month." Later - (random employee looks at calender) "Hey GTA4 comes out that week." (Boss Man) "Crud."

  • _em_

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 1:50 pm PT

    lol, "Let's Yoga" & "Let's Pilates"? I've been wanting to try yoga, but I do think it would be a lot better, and easier to do in "real" life.

  • ctg867

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 12:46 pm PT

    Sorry, but a god awful looking, mediocre playing Mario Kart game most likely won't get any recognition this week. GTA IV FTW!!!!

  • Esteban011487

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 10:35 am PT

    Don't Celebrate yet, GTA Fan boys, I myselft I'm a fan of GTA. GTAIV is a "Fantastic Game", but wait until Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out!. You will see what Gameplay, Graphics and Story telling is about!.

  • Get_Shorty

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 10:18 am PT

    Looks like Iron Man picked the wrong week to come out. You'll see. Everyone will be at home playing GTA IV instead.

  • King_Chozo

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 9:34 am PT

    @SethandJeremy:
    Because if you release a game the same day as it, people are going to look right past it and get GTAIV. It's just not a smart business decision to compete with something that has had this much hype.

  • Dualmask

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 8:59 am PT

    With so many people getting GTA IV through pre-order, it's only a matter of time until a multitude of used copies appear. That's when I'll pick it up. It can wait, even though I'm sure it'll be a fine game experience. Nothing mind-blowing, but fulfilling enough.

  • mad_mercenary

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 6:46 am PT

    I'll be outside Gamestop at 12:01 to get my much anticipated and pre-ordered version of Brain Voyage! I do hope they don't sell out.

  • nparks

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 5:47 am PT

    Woohoo! Baseball Mogul '09!

  • SethandJeremy

    Posted Apr 29, 2008 5:26 am PT

    Why wouldn't you want gta to have competition

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