Bookies back GTA IV.

Wednesday 30th April 2008 - 15:00


Odds offered on long chart reign, additional downloadable levels confirmed and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand PS3 screens



If you think that GTA IV is the best game since sliced bread then perhaps you want to back up your opinion with cold hard cash. That's the view of several online bookmakers that are offering odds on the success of Rockstar's next-gen crime caper.

Paddy Power is offering odds of 9/2 that GTA IV will stay at number one for a staggering ten weeks or more. The ability of any game to stay top of the charts for two and a half months or more is almost unthinkable; but if any can, the chances are that it'll be GTA IV.

"There's no doubt about it, Grand Theft Auto IV is the biggest game of the year," says Paddy Power's Sharon McHugh. "How long it stays at the top spot will depend on how quickly people snap it up. One thing is for sure though; it'll take something special to knock it off number one."

The bookmaker also offers odds on the first game to replace GTA IV at the top - Sega's Iron Man is at 8/1, with Nintendo's Wii Fit (and current chart champion) being current favourite at 6/4. Sega Superstars Tennis is an outside bet at a whopping 40/1.

Staying on the GTA IV theme, and let's be honest, it's hard not to, Microsoft has officially confirmed plans for downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version. An official statement reads: "Starting this autumn, Xbox 360 owners will have access to exclusive Grand Theft Auto IV episodes that will provide hours of additional game play."

Unfortunately there's no immediate plan to release anything useful like pricing structure or content details but in a recent interview with Edge magazine Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser commented: "You'll get a lot of content for your money, which I think is really important. You know, there are too many stories at the moment of people having the feeling that they're not getting enough for their money in terms of downloadable content, and it's easy for publishers to get away with."

From the mean streets of GTA to the bling bling world of hip hop gangsters and news reaches us of a forthcoming 50 Cent title called 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand - the sequel to last year's 50 Cent: Bulletproof. Expect multi-player drop-in and drop-out co-op, interactive counter-kills, driving, and aerial combat as you help 'Fiddy' protect his assets as he takes on a crooked overlord. A PS3 and Xbox 360 release is scheduled for the autumn.