Grand Theft Auto MMO coming up next?

Pre-Order Grand Theft Auto IV on PCCould a Grand Theft Auto MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game be the follow-up to Grand Theft Auto IV?

Well it could be a possibility, as Take-Two Interactive Software’s executive chairman has stated that he thinks the future revenue of the industry will be from downloadable content and microtransactions, which he sees as the “holy grail” of the video game business and their “biggest opportunity” to create that revenue stream.

“The holy grail is taking a business, already a very large and successful business that’s focused on packaged goods…and turning that into a subscription business or a semi subscription business where we have an ongoing relationship with consumers, giving them products that they want,” Strauss Zelnick said Thursday at a BMO Capital Markets’ conference in New York. “Who’s better positioned to do that than the company that has the top franchises?”

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King for PCSubscription charges for games are generally frowned upon by a lot of gamers when they first think about it. But in actuality when the price is right, gamers are only too happy to pay up. World of Warcarft is the best example of this, given that there are over 11 million World of Warcraft subscribers.

And of course, downloadable content and microtransactions have been accepted in this day and age and are even wanted. You consider the backlash that a lot of Wii games get when the Wii version lacks the online downloadable content of other versions. I think that players like to have the ability of at least having the choice to purchase new content for their game. They’d rather have it, than not have the choice.

Burnout Paradise on PS3Of course, when it comes to charging for cosmetic upgrades (Dead Space Premium Upgrade Packs) or content that should’ve been unlockable (as in Mega Man 9) gamers call foul. But either way, I think that downloadable content is a good thing for the industry (see Burnout Paradise) and won’t be surprised if we see a Massively Multiplayer Online Grand Theft Auto game as the next game in the series, especially if the upcoming Xbox 360 Grand Theft Auto IV Lost & Damned episode (and future episodes) sell well.

And in other Grand Theft Auto-related news, Bill Cosby said this about GTA: “Cost your mother $250 to buy that for you so you can practice your entrance exam (to prison).” However misguided that statement is, it makes sense in his overall speech, which I encourage you to read.