Sources close to Take Two as well as several industry analysts expect Grand Theft Auto IV to make $400 million in its first week, selling 6 million copies when it releases April 29, according to Variety.

If these predictions are correct it will be the biggest one week video game launch ever, surpassing Halo 3’s $300 million in the first week. GTA IV might even beat movie records, with the the highest being $404 million worldwide, made by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in the first six days. If GTA IV’s launch does end up being the biggest entertainment launch of all time, at least we’ll know that gamers have better taste than movie goers when it comes to breaking records.

However, Halo 3 was an Xbox 360 exclusive, while GTA IV is on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so it does have a significantly larger base of customers to draw money from. Still, $400 million is an impressive figure, and and at $60 a piece it works out to be over 6.67 million copies (even higher than the previously mentioned prediction). By my informal estimates, that works out to be amassiveshitload of virtual hookers killed per day and an even higher number of virtual cars stolen. While I don’t have industry analysts or important anonymous sources to back this up, I’m going to go ahead and say that GTA IV will break all records for crimes committed in-game in a week, and probably the record for amount of cumulative enjoyment from one game crammed into a single week too.

Hey all you lovely MEGATONik readers, great news if you own an Xbox 360! Before the Microsoft keynote speech was even delivered at this years GDC, the details of the hotly anticipated game was spilled by a crafty NeoGAF poster who found the following on Microsoft’s Italian PR website.

Gears of War 2 (Epic Games). Gears of War 2 is the sequel to the best seller, with 4.5 million copies sold, which redefined the tactical/third person/action game genre. Gears of War 2 follows the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Team in an epic saga of survival, defeat, and punishment. Developed by Epic games as an Xbox 360 exclusive, Gears of War 2 will be available in November.

Thank you wonderful web translations! I’ve just been told that this news has been confirmed by Epic developer CliffyB during the GDC keynote speech. I’m guessing that nobody here thought that any console other than the 360 would be getting this game did they? Now, when is GameStop going to offer pre-orders?

Gamecock Media Group (one of my favorite developers) has launched CockTheVote.us in order to promote voter registration and their new game Hail to the Chimp. The website’s name is a play on words of the popular MTV initiative ‘Rock The Vote.’

The website is designed to be specifically for gamers and includes a link to the Rock The Vote website to help you get registered.  It also includes a satirical news feed from “GRR News” amongst the information about the game and its characters.

I’ve been meaning myself to get registered to vote this year, but who would have thought that a site aimed at promoting a video game would get me off my ass to do so? Check them out, its has simple interface and is a great idea to motivate both the youthful and the lethargic at the same time. 

Hail to the Chimp is expected to launch this May for both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 consoles and is set to be a “fast paced action/party game.”  With any luck, and a little love from Gamecock, MEGATONik will be one of the first to get the scoop on the game.  See the full press release and some screenshots I snagged after the jump.

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O…M…G…would this game quit teasing me and come out already? I don’t know about you guys, but this just got me even more excited for this game to come out! Praise be to GameTrailers!!!

Take-2 just sent over a PR that finally answers the question that’s been on all our minds since Grand Theft Auto IV didn’t make its 10-17-07 release date - just when the f*ck is it coming out? April 29th, that’s when.

They also mentioned that it’s going to be a worldwide simultaneous release, so you guys who aren’t in America will be killing hookers with a baseball bat right along with us.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

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Oh, woe is me! Woe is beside me! Here I was, all excited because Smash was coming in less than a month, and then THIS happens:

Why?!!!! It looks like Japan’s delay was a little less severe, pushing the game back one measly week. Ugh… this is just terrible. Oh well, I guess that I really would prefer to get a game that’s all shiny and polished than one that’s rushed, but still..!

Actually, upon further thought, I’ve decided that this game doesn’t really exist. The team that’s supposedly “developing” the game is really just making screenshots and posting them on the so-called “official” website. These horrible people are just going to keep pushing the game back a month, dangling their delicious carrot in front of us like the obedient horses that we are. Sakurai, you are one sadistic sonuvabitch.

The launch trailer for Crysis is out, despite the fact the game was released almost a month ago. We already know the graphics are incredible, and this trailer delves more into what you are capable of and the story. I just wish I had a computer that could run it - now that they’re done, they need to get this game on consoles!

Personally I think it’s an amazing trailer, and it certainly makes the game look epic (especially the end of the trailer), so go ahead and watch it above.

Various Best Buys will be open at midnight for Rock Band’s anticipated release just over a week from now, to make sure people can get the game as early as possible. Here is the list of all the Best Buy stores that will be open at midnight for Rock Band, so you can get it in the first few minutes of November 20th instead of having to wait until it’s actually light outside:

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There were huge Halo 3 launch parties across America and the rest of the world (although later). Those were the ones that got covered, that everyone wanted to be at, and that no doubt had by far the worst lines and wait times. While those select cities may have made the biggest deal out of Halo 3’s launch, thousands of other retailers were open across the country to make sure everyone got their copy as early as possible (without being incredibly lucky or downloading it illegally). One such midnight launch happened in Prescott, Arizona, and I was there for it all.

It may not have had the flash and flare of the big city launches, but there were less people to wait behind and it was still plenty of fun.

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