U.S. economy could lose $1B as gamers plan to rob liquor stores, steal cars - Cleveland.com

Claudia Dimuro | cdimuro@pennlive.com It’s going to be mayhem for the next couple of weeks. And no, this has nothing to do with elections. Not one, but three massively popular games are all set to get released this month: “Grand Theft Auto [GTA] VI,” “World of Warcraft [WoW]: Forever,” and “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” remake. Both “WoW” and “Zelda” will get released this week on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, respectively; “GTA VI” will be out on Nov. 19, according to Vice. And before you think “big deal” and assume that video games are still a niche pastime that remains inconsequential to the general public, consider this: MercoPress reports that so many people are taking off to play the new “GTA VI” — estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands — the United States economic might lose out on $1 billion in productivity. GameSpot reports that “GTA VI” has already sold roughly seven million units amounting to $675 million in profits. Creator Rockstar Games estimates that number could hit $2 billion before the game’s release. For those unfamiliar, “GTA” is an immensely popular series in which players can freely roam the fictional world of San Andreas where, basically, everything goes (hence this article’s headline). “WoW,” on the other hand, is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game which sees thousands (if not millions) of players occupying a fantasy world at the same time; “Zelda” is your standard solo adventure game. It is unclear how much of an economic impact either “WoW” or “Zelda” might have on the economy. More Consumer-Focused News You Can Use U.S. midterm elections: Here’s why Idaho is voting for a ‘state gun’ Data breach victims could get up to $5K: Here’s how Why Election Day has never become a federal holiday — and what some companies are doing about it Claudia covers trending and breaking news stories across the United States. She previously worked as a digital reporter for PennLive.com, where she covered a range of topics from metal music to consumer news to... more Comments Please take a moment to review our community guidelines. To change your display name, go to your account settings.