The Citizen (Gauteng)

Games are serious business

R10 BILLION: ACHIEVES THE SINGLE BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND IN ENTERTAINM­ENT HISTORY

- Nick Cowen nickc@citizen.co.za

is set in the dying days of the outlaw age of the Wild West.

Proof, if any further was needed, that video games are serious business, Red Dead Redemption 2, the new open-world Wild West adventure from Rockstar Games has broken the opening weekend earnings record for all entertainm­ent media.

Released last Friday, Red Dead Redemption pulled in $725 million (R10 billion) in just three days.

As impressive as Red Dead Redemption 2’s opening weekend was, it is only the second-highest grossing entertainm­ent launch of all time.

That top honour is still held by the game Rockstar, released in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V, which achieved over $1 billion in retail sell-through in three days.

“Rockstar Games is proud to announce that the critically acclaimed Red Dead Redemption 2 has achieved the single-biggest opening weekend in the history of entertainm­ent,” it said in a statement.

The statement goes on to list a series list of benchmarks set by the game, which include:

Biggest opening weekend in retail sell-through across all entertainm­ent releases;

Second biggest launch (three days) in retail sell-through across all entertainm­ent releases;

Biggest entertainm­ent launch of 2018;

Most pre-ordered full game ever on PlayStatio­n Network;

Biggest day one full game sales ever on PlayStatio­n Network;

Biggest first three days full game sales ever on PlayStatio­n Network.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is set in the dying days of the outlaw age of the Wild West and it follows Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang as they rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. –

 ?? Picture: Screenshot from game ?? NUMBER ONE. Wild West adventure from Rockstar Games, opening weekend in entertainm­ent history. Red Dead Redemption 2 had the highest earning
Picture: Screenshot from game NUMBER ONE. Wild West adventure from Rockstar Games, opening weekend in entertainm­ent history. Red Dead Redemption 2 had the highest earning

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