While Nintendo VP Cammie Dunaway recently suggested that Rockstar should pour more resources into marketing to perk up sales of DS effort Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, analyst Michael Pacher believes the root cause of the game’s relatively dismal retail performance lies elsewhere. Speaking to Industry Gamers in a recent column, Pachter voiced the opinion that Chinatown Wars missed its mark for a simple reason: the platform audience. Releasing an M rated title on a platform where a vast majority of its owners are below the age of 17 is a recipe for disaster, says Pachter:

I don’t think that Chinatown Wars failed because of poor marketing. I think that an M-rated game will have difficulty selling on the DS, since the majority of DS owners are under 17 and can’t buy it.  Those who are over 17 typically have a 360 or PS3 (if they are interested in M-rated content), and have already had ample opportunity to buy GTA IV on their home consoles.

Makes perfect sense and we’re inclined to agree, but you have to remember that sales of the PSP port weren’t exactly chart-topping either. Perhaps the top-down gameplay style turned all but the most hardcore of fans off from picking it up after all.

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