Grand Theft Auto Online Launches With Some Glitches
The game that made $800M in a day still has some issues to work out.
Oct. 1, 2013— -- Grand Theft Auto V, the newest installment in the popular video game series, sold $800 million worth of copies in a single day.
But that popularity may also be contributing to bottlenecks in the game's much-anticipated online mode, Grand Theft Auto Online, which developer Rockstar Games unveiled today.
Dave Tach, a reporter for the video game news website Polygon, said no one at his company has been able to sign in. "We've had people try in Ohio and Philadelphia and Austin and at this point, everyone can't sign in," Tach told ABC News.
"It's not surprising that there are online issues. A cynical way of looking at it is that the pattern teaches the lesson, and that lesson is that launching games online is difficult," Tach said.
The multiplayer mode is independent of the game's single-player mode featuring the three main characters. "Grand Theft Auto Online is set a few months prior to the events of Grand Theft Auto V's single player story," Rockstar Games said in a statement.
Since GTA V released two weeks ago on Sept. 17, players have given it overwhelmingly positive ratings.
The online version of the game departs from the single-player version by also introducing the virtual currency system, GTA$. Like many free games available on mobile devices, players can spend money in the real world to get more money in the online world. However, Rockstar maintains that no one will be able to buy their way to the top. "No one can begin GTA Online and simply spend a lot of money out the gate to get a leg up," Rockstar Games said.
Unfortunately, the online aspect itself has been giving some players troubles. Whether it's a problem with the online gameplay itself or just even gaining access to a server, people have vented out their frustrations on Twitter.
Rockstar Games did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. However, the game developer did acknowledge a couple of online issues on its support page, though the support page has also been encountering some issues of its own.
Regardless of Rockstar Games' online issues, they are not the only large game company to be faced with overwhelming demand for their latest game. Diablo 3, made by Blizzard Entertainment, and SimCity, developed by Maxis, also had major online issues when they launched.
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