L.A. Noire has been one of the most controversial titles of the generation, not only because of its extreme level of ambition, but because of the complaints of a cruel work environment, and a lack of credit given to dozens of workers who devoted time to the difficult project. Despite the bad taste left in the mouth after said reports, and the somewhat niche offerings, the title has flown off store shelves… millions of times.
Take-Two Interactive has publicly reported their Q1 Fiscal 2012 financial results, and included were the numbers for L.A. Noire, which many have been excited for. So far the high-budget title has grossed four million sales across both platforms, with the PlayStation 3 version being responsible for about 55% of total sales. Along with the numbers was a public statement by Strauss Zelnick, the Chairman and CEO of Take-Two, and he shared the following:
Our results benefited from the launch of Rockstar’s groundbreaking and critically acclaimed title – L.A. Noire, the release of Duke Nukem Forever, continued strong sales of NBA 2K11 and Red Dead Redemption, and growth in digitally delivered content.
These are great numbers, but you have to consider that it’s also one of the highest-budget titles of all-time, with an investment between $50 and $100 million. Much of the funding went into the unprecedented facial animation technology which has become a major selling point that L.A. Noire thrives so much upon. After hearing rumors that Team Bondi is bankrupt, it’s extremely possible that L.A. Noire will at the very best break even. Thankfully for the publisher, Rockstar Games, a PC version is under development, and even though piracy plagues the platform, it should help bring some profit into the stream.
