GTA: San Andreas in stores now?

Today sees the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the most
pre-ordered game in history. The game is expected to sell around 15
million copies out stripping the previous best seller, its predecessor
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, by 2 million copies.

Although it has been reported that numerous online retailers have
shipped the game already, with customers receiving their copies
yesterday, like many games, it was expected that the release date would
broken widely by high-street retailers a day before the release, but
due to stringent measures implemented by Take Two Interactive this has
not happened. Retailers were forced to sign an agreement that they
would not sell copies of the game ahead of the 29 October release;
otherwise, they would not receive their early stock of the title.

Unlike the Tomb Raider: Angle of Darkness fiasco, it appears that most
major retailers have stuck by this agreement. A member of staff from a
major retailer who wished to remain un-name told GamesToaster that they
weren’t supposed to sell the game till after 6pm, they added if someone
was to “drop by with money before then, they’ll properly be able to get
your hands on a copy, that is if they have it pre-booked”.

However, a small number of independent retailers have been selling the
game to those who pre-booked the game months ago. We at Gamestoaster
know this because on the off chance we popped down to the store we had
pre-booked it in and managed to get our hands on a copy.

Unlike some claims, the game will not redefine modern gaming. It will
however be an improvement on the previous titles in the series. New
features include having to cater for your health (eating, working out),
the addition of mini games, bicycles, and gigantic maps.

The game is officially released at 12:00pm tonight, but the earliest
most people will have it is when stores open tomorrow morning.

It’s only a matter of time before tabloids such as the Daily Mail go on
the offensive regarding the content of this clearly 18s rated piece of
entertainment.

Craig Gallagher