By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer Buddhist Apr 28, 9:14 AM ET

LOS ANGELES - There’s no Burger King tie-in or primary savor of Mountain Dew. No advertizement directed by saint Jackson, or modify an state figure.

The run-up to “Grand Theft Auto IV” has been substantially inferior ballyhooed than terminal year’s over-the-top “Halo 3″ debut. Yet when “GTA IV” parks on accumulation shelves on Apr 29, the stylish entry in the disputable recording mettlesome concern could be the most profitable start in recreation news — and digit that whatever grouping haw not modify undergo about.

Analysts prognosticate Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games’ open-world, action-driving mettlesome module easily crowning terminal year’s record-breaking $300 meg first-week income of Microsoft and Bungee Studios’ first-person expert “Halo 3″ — and without a kindred marketing bonanza.

With the start of “GTA IV” on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Rockstar is ostensibly curb in digit direction: the downlow.

“Rockstar wants to curb the communication every the time,” says Sam Kennedy, article administrator for the recreation place 1UP.com. “They poverty this to be seen and detected just the artefact they want. That’s ground — right of the authorised trailers they liberated — grouping haven’t seen a aggregation of gameplay footage in front of ‘GTA IV’ shipping. They poverty to physique that hype.”

Take-Two and Rockstar declined to interpret for this story, but mass a 90-minute dissent of the mettlesome in January, “GTA IV” illustrator and Rockstar evilness chair Dan Houser told The Associated Press that the disreputable mettlesome developer, who’s also answerable for the “Manhunt” and “Bully” games, was existence too conserving for digit rattling essential reason.

“We poverty grouping to be rattling agog and not undergo everything by the instance they endeavor the game,” said Houser. “Of course, we poverty them to wager what they’re buying, but we poverty there to be surprises along the way.”

The want for intel most “GTA IV” has been mounting since the mettlesome was declared at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2006 and again in August when Take-Two revealed “GTA IV” would be suspended until 2008. Other than quaternary favourite online trailers and whatever embargoed advise previews, there hasn’t been much information.

The unhearable communication is a grasp playing move, according to Steve Fowler, evilness chair of strategy for the Ayzenberg Group, a consort that specializes in mutual recreation business and marketing. lexicologist worked as a creation trainer on the example “Halo.”

“‘Halo 3′ took the move of feat after a inferior set consumer, but they had an ulterior motive,” says Fowler. “Microsoft was using ‘Halo 3,’ their large property, to essay and delude more Xbox 360s. Take-Two and Rockstar are liberated of that contraction because ‘GTA IV’ is on both platforms, so they’re exclusive impelled to be genuine to what their mettlesome is and delude copies of their game.”

Thus far, Rockstar’s business crusade has consisted of individual exterior elements — billboards, charabanc wraps, antiquity murals, phony desired posters — distribute crossways North USA and aggregation as substantially as a some viral videos featuring sarcastic commercials for fictitious “GTA” businesses posted online. GameStop and Microsoft hit also ventilated their possess TV commercials featuring the game.

The less-is-more move strength also hit something to do with the disputable series’ M-rated content. “GTA IV” anti-hero Niko Bellic, an imigrant-turned-gangster from Eastern Europe, isn’t just digit of the Mario Brothers. As Bellic, players crapper pirate cars, acquire change for malefactor activities, scarper from police, intend drunk, blackball clear bystanders and foster field clubs.

“If you countenance at their marketing, that’s not a commerce saucer at all,” says Fowler. “They’ve absent with this funny aggregation countenance and feel. It’s not most realistic violence. It’s not most profanity. It’s more most the feeling, countenance and the emotive adhesion to the characters and the world.”

The episode extends beyond Liberty City, the game’s fictional locale, and into the actual world. Video mettlesome house Take-Two, which owns Rockstar, has been person to a belligerent takeover effort from Electronic Arts since February. Take-Two has been retentive out, refusing to start conventional talks with EA or some another admirer until Apr 30, the period after “GTA IV” goes on sale.

Huge first-day “GTA IV” income could sure increase the continuance of Take-Two’s shares. The obligation of a “Halo 3″-sized business crusade isn’t due to change sales, according to recording mettlesome analysts. Unlike the Xbox 360-exclusive “Halo 3,” the ordinal “GTA” mettlesome is existence simultaneously liberated for Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles, a prototypal for the 10-year-old recreation franchise.

“The addressable mart at start is most 24 meg consoles,” says archangel Pachter, recording mettlesome shrink at Wedbush Morgan. “So how whatever module delude in the prototypal hebdomad or period or some months? Nine million. That’s the number. That’s most a 35 proportionality confiscate rate. By year’s end, it’ll be somewhere between 11 and 13 meg because more consoles module be oversubscribed before the holidays.”

By comparison, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” which had the maximal grossing flick entry in 2007, fleeced $404 meg in its prototypal sextet life around the world. However, a flick listing is significantly inferior than the $59.99 toll attach for “GTA IV.” And code income are commonly inferior afraid with inaugural hebdomad figures, according to Pachter.

“Opening hebdomad doesn’t hit some direction on period sales,” says Pachter. “With incase office, threesome to fivesome nowadays inaugural weekend income is what movies commonly do. Games crapper artefact low the radiolocation and be andante and stabilize sellers same ‘Wii Fit’ module be or highly expected same ‘GTA IV’ and literally delude half of their period units in the prototypal week.”

Such income would vex the achievement held by “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” the preceding “GTA” housing mettlesome that oversubscribed over 9 meg copies when it was liberated for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, according to NPD Group, which tracks recording mettlesome sales. To foregather the demand, retailers much as GameStop and Best Buy are inaugural their doors at midnight for primary “GTA IV” start events.

“I would wait Apr to be a ogre income period for the recording mettlesome industry, digit that is probable to fortuity every sorts of preceding records,” says Anita Frazier, recording mettlesome shrink for NPD Group. “We promulgation our Apr income accumulation on May 15, and I intend goosebumps intellection of the drawing we’ll wager on that day.”

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