IT IS ultraviolent, sexually explicit, hugely controversial and has sparked such a shopping frenzy that if you haven't pre-ordered one you will find it almost impossible to buy.
What's more, it is made in Scotland.
The eagerly awaited video game Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) has sold out across the UK more than two weeks before its official launch.
The adults-only adventure, which features an east European gangster emb
arking on a bloody crime rampage, is predicted to sell six million copies in its first week alone and is set to become the biggest-selling console game of all time. Many shops have already pre-sold all of their stock.
The notoriety of the series, where players can steal cars and gun down innocent bystanders, has fuelled its huge international appeal. A report compiled by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and seen by Scotland on Sunday has revealed that GTA IV will be one of the most violent and sexually explicit games ever released.
The £49.99 game, like its predecessors, has been created by the Edinburgh-based games giant Rockstar North. It will be released internationally for both the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Xbox 360 on April 29.
Gian Luzio, head of games for online retailer Play.com, said: "This is the biggest ever title for the PS3 by a long way – and probably for the Xbox 360 as well. Sales have gone crazy. We are completely sold out, but will be getting in more stock as soon as it becomes available." Rival Game warns: "We cannot guarantee delivery on the day of release for orders placed on or after April 7." Gamestation and Amazon.co.uk say their stocks are gone too.
Chris Cathcart, senior strategist for Bigmouthmedia, a firm that works with game retailers, said: "Initially at least, it is going to be similar to the Wii situation before Christmas and it will be difficult to get hold of a copy. People will be looking to buy and sell the game on sites like eBay.
"Similarly the controversy that inevitably surrounds the Grand Theft Auto series gives it a forbidden-fruit appeal, which is irresistible to their target market of young men."
Video games journalist Chad Sapieha believes the game could make £180m in its first seven days, overshadowing Hollywood blockbusters.
The BBFC has given GTA IV an 18 certificate, stating: "Violence is a central theme. The character can gain use of a variety of weapons including machine guns, Molotov cocktails, a serrated knife and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. There are very strong sex references and the character can pick up prostitutes."
The game also depicts sex acts and cocaine snorting.
A previous game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, has sold 17.5 million copies and is the fourth biggest-selling console game of all time.
Road to success started in DundeeTHE release of the original Grand Theft Auto in 1997 was the biggest break in the career of Dave Jones, pictured below, who personally wrote the first version developed by Rockstar North predecessor DMA, the company he founded in Dundee in 1989.
Shortly after the game's initial success, Jones decided to merge DMA Design with Gremlin Interactive, a Sheffield games company. His original team still retained majority control over the future of the enterprise, and Jones continued to work in Dundee on the second instalment of the game, which was released two years later.
But then a series of deals forced the game and the company that created it into US hands.
The intellectual property rights for Grand Theft Auto were sold to Take-Two, a huge New York-based software publisher, although DMA Design were still to work directly on the game.
As Take-Two already owned the rights to Grand Theft Auto, they also snapped up the design group behind it, and purchased DMA Design for what is now regarded as a bargain basement $11m.
The profits generated by later versions of the game – no longer under Jones's control – speak for themselves. Despite its violent content, some believe the latest version could sell as many as five million copies in its first week, generating more than £149m.
The last major release in 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, sold 21.5 million copies.
The full article contains 725 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
