Grand Theft Auto Rakes In Record Sales

Posted by: Matt Vella on May 08

Expectations for sales of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto IV were high – but maybe not high enough. Official figures released yesterday by publisher Take-Two Interactive show the game blew past already-high industry analyst expectations, bringing in some $500 million dollars in first-week sales.

The no-holds-bared gangster epic was snatched up by some 6 million players worldwide, with about 3.6 million of those copies sold on April 29, its opening day. First-day sales were worth about $310 million globally, setting a record and putting GTA sales ahead of the games industry’s last mega-blockbuster Halo 3 as well as popular film franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean and Spiderman.

“Grand Theft Auto IV’s first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment,” said Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick in a prepared statement. “We believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date.”

Figures released by Microsoft revealed that sales of its Xbox 360 console went up 54% week-over-week as a consequence of GTA’s released. The company said retailers were reporting that roughly 40% of new consoles being sold in stores were walking out the door with a copy of GTA in tow. About 60% of GTA sales in the first week were for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, while the rest were for Sony’s competing Playstation 3 console.

Two days ago, Zelnick appeared on CNBC to crow about the strength of sales and rebut claims from some players that a bug in the PS3 version of the game was causing it to freeze up under certain circumstances. Zelnick said the company had found no “glitch,” but nevertheless released a software patch for PS3 owners yesterday.

That leaves a relatively smooth technical launch basking in the glow of record sales. It also leaves rival Electronic Art’s hostile bid for Take-Two in question. Take-Two sought to delay a shareholder decision on the take-over until after sales had been announced.