The Success & Failure of GTA Chinatown Wars on Nintendo DS

Over at Take-Two, the strategists have a conundrum to figure out. They have produced the best-reviewed game of all time for the Nintendo DS. And no one is buying it.

Obviously, there is a notable disparity going on. Take-Two released “Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the newest game in the series about a month ago for Nintendo DS. The game has sold fewer than 90,000 units per the recent sales stats. For people unfamiliar with the gradation of game sales numbers, I will simplify: the game bombed big!

It has been intriguing to observe the many theories on why the game failed. It’s largely believed that it was a mistake to release a game with so much adult content, such as “GTA: Chinatown Wars”, on a primarily youth based platform, such as the Nintendo DS. I don’t know if I am in agreement. By looking at the numbers we can assume there at least a few million DS systems out amongst the people. There would still be a group of “core” gamers in excess of 6 million in the U.S. even if we say that they account for only 20% of the Nintendo DS audience. I believe it comes down to an issue of incompatible brands.

Consider, for instance, that Coca-Cola ventured into the wine producing industry. And imagine if Coca-Cola actually turned out a magnificent wine that was lauded by scores of wine judges to be one of the best wines in recent years. This wine would still be a failure considering that the brand characteristics for Coca-Cola lie on the opposite end of the spectrum from an expensive cabernet sauvignon. I believe it is much the same thing that is happening in this case. “GTA” fans love the feel of gaming in the video city, the amazing graphics, the edgy dialogue and quick action gun scenes. The Nintendo DS appeals to fans of inventive strategy and gameplay for convenient, portable gaming. The two just don’t match up.

If Take-Two would have not relied upon the already established brand power of “GTA”, it would not have been so simple for consumers to decide their opinion of the game without ever playing it. If the company would have taken some time to develop a clean palate for the game instead of just plugging back into what everyone already imagined, results would have quite different. To further complicate things, there was very little opportunity to demo the DS version of the game thus making consumers preconceived perception of the game that much stronger. With this in mind, it is very possible that Nintendo DSi will attempt to remedy this for future game releases.

Unfortunately, a possible result of the failure of Nintendo DS’s version of “GTA” may be continued pressure on game companies to think inside the box. This incident can stand alone and need not continue the call for conformity. It is indeed disturbing how at ease the gaming industry has become with separating its users into the two “core” and “casual” camps.