Analyze This: Will The Games Industry Give Hollywood A Run for Its Money This Summer?

[They are the professional analysts whose job it is to research, keep track of, advise their clients, and opine to the media about the gaming business. Analyze This cuts right to the chase: Rather than reporting on a subject, and throwing in quotes by analysts to support or refute a point, Gamasutra offers up a timely question pertaining to the business side of the video game industry and simply lets the analysts offer their thoughts directly to you. Each person's opinion is his own and will (probably) not necessarily agree with their fellow colleagues'.]

Earlier in May, Hollywood was in a tizzy over the release of GTA IV, fearing that its popularity (the money spent to buy the game, and the time spent playing it) would negatively affect the box office for the movie industry's blockbuster releases this summer. But the results from the "showdown" between the Iron Man movie and GTA IV suggest that a blockbuster movie and a blockbuster game both targeting the same audience can peacefully co-exist.

Still, we wondered about the rest of this summer. So we asked Nick Williams of OTX, Jesse Divnich of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, and Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities:

Besides GTA IV, what is the one top summer-release title that you are keeping an eye on?

What do you project could become sleeper, little-reported hits this summer?

Which highly expected title, if any, coming this summer do you feel may ultimately disappoint in sales?

Which of the gaming platforms (including handhelds and platforms) do you expect to pick up steam over this summer?

Finally, though you are biased as a professional analyst who covers the gaming industry, do you think this summer in particular will be the one when Hollywood truly should be fearful of competition by the gaming industry for the public's summer entertainment money?