Variety: GTA IV expected to make $400M in first week

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Apr 16th 2008 at 8:30AM }

Variety has been told by "sources close to publisher Take-Two Interactive" that Grand Theft Auto IV is expected to earn $400 million in its first week on sale, handily trumping Master Chief's $300 million space hoop slam dunk. Reportedly based on retailer orders, the prediction sees six million gamers purchasing Rockstar's latest during the week of April 29 and contributing to "possibly the biggest debut ever for an entertainment product." Unsurprisingly, this matches the positive outlook shared by several analysts, with Michael Pachter predicting 9 million sales by Halloween. Our recent (thoroughly unscientific) poll found that more gamers were leaning towards the Xbox 360 version.

As for Take-Two's alleged predictions, such results will likely prompt the publisher to invest in a moat around its castle -- perfect for warding off pesky invaders.

Tags: Grand-Theft-Auto-IV, GrandTheftAuto, GTA-IV, GTAIV, Rockstar, Take-Two

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

GRANTED @ Apr 16th 2008 8:37AM

hope i can get my hands on a copy day 1...

Bleu @ Apr 16th 2008 9:47AM

Why did he have to say gamers are leaning towards the 360 version it has nothing to do with overall sales. So irrelevant but trust me there will be plenty of copies for anyone who wants it.

SouthPaw @ Apr 16th 2008 9:52AM

Because Joystiq is generally just a *touch* 360 biased.. evidenced by that ridiculous sham of a "poll". lol

As for there being plenty of copies, that really depends on where you live.. with the previous-gen versions, if you didn't have a pre-order in NYC you were waiting a couple of weeks to get your feet wet. There was a 110-120 person line outside Gamestop on Broadway & 3rd St when GTA:SA came out..

copa @ Apr 16th 2008 10:14AM

"evidenced by that ridiculous sham of a poll."

Exactly. Can you believe how they set that poll up? They put the options like this:

1. PS3
2. XBox 360

I mean, get Steve Ballmer's schlong out of your mouth, AMIRITE?

Any fair-and-balanced poll would have looked like this:

1. PS3 version, the definitive experience. Probably Home integration to come!
2. I am a useless achievement whore, and I want to play for a couple of hours on my XBox before it goes RROD, rendering the upcoming DLC unplayable. After I get Steve Ballmer's schlong out of my mouth!

T H @ Apr 16th 2008 10:38AM

Haha.. I didn't quite mean it like that.. I meant more along the lines of the XBox 360 has been out for a year longer, thus having a greater installed base- and the poll should only have addressed those who had the OPTION of buying both games and thus had a choice to make. Joystiq also tends to swing a biiit more 360-ish.

But honestly, that the numbers looked more Obama-Clinton than McCain-Paul was surprising..

Knight Marquise @ Apr 16th 2008 10:45AM

Copa,

That had to be the funniest thing I've read all week. You pretty much nailed T H Modus Operandi to the "T".

T H @ Apr 16th 2008 10:50AM

Totally wrong, Marquise.. explain how? That wasn't a biased statement in the least..

Oh, and for future reference, just because you used a big word/phrase online, and are proud of doing so, does not mean it's capitialized. Try again..

T H @ Apr 16th 2008 10:57AM

that should read "capitalized". Dammit! lol

rv @ Apr 16th 2008 11:17AM

It could never be a scientific poll on the internet. Why , you ask? Because a poll is scientific if the pollsters contact the individuals randomly. When a poll is put on the internet, people can come and vote whenever the like, introducing bias. Its not a random poll anymore. No matter how the poll was set up, it can't be scientific on the internet.

NATO_Duke @ Apr 16th 2008 1:02PM

The crying over the poll should stop by now folks. There is no way for the poll to be exclusive to people who own both consoles. They can't make you prove you have both before responding without making you show a picture holding both in your hands first.

Get over it. If the 360 has a larger install base right now then yeah, it will sell more copies. Thats simple logic.

ScottG13 @ Apr 16th 2008 8:37AM

Sounds about right. GTA4 is a title that will absolutely drive 360 and PS3 sales. I'm not sure which console the next round of buyers will go for, but either way, its sure to push a lot of HD hardware into consumer hands.

Wii buyers will continue to buy hardware and promptly avoid 3rd parties like the plague.

Lupo @ Apr 16th 2008 6:15PM

breaking news: gta is popular, 3rd party wii games suck(mostly),and the sky is blue (sometimes)

ScottG13 @ Apr 17th 2008 12:28PM

It is interesting to me because it seems that 3rd party software is what truely drives 360/PS3 hardware sales where as 3rd party software is barely worth paying attention to most Wii owners. Its all about the Wii Sports, baby.

Phranctoast @ Apr 16th 2008 8:42AM

It should blow Halo3 out of the water. Its insanely popular and it's releasing on two consoles!

Maverick Saturn @ Apr 16th 2008 9:38AM

Duh? Halo has nothing on GTA

Knight Marquise @ Apr 16th 2008 10:11AM

Standard Sony fanbot tripe.

No shit Sherlock, GTA IV is a multiplat game, it SHOULD sell more then a console exclusive.

You may take your Captain Obvious hat off now.

ThePremierAssassin @ Apr 16th 2008 10:25AM

LMAO

The typical sony fanboy logic...compare anything and everything to Halo which they desperately wish they had on their system.

Hala Madrid!!! (You fail to impress me with your skillz) @ Apr 16th 2008 10:39AM

For all the PS3fanboys out there PLEASE DO NOT COMPARE GTA4 SALES WITH HALO's SALES is not the same. So please don't post your fanboy comments just to create a flame, the game is not even out yet

T H @ Apr 16th 2008 10:40AM

LOL.. you just dont stop do you.

H Y P O C R I T E...

Vidikron (FU) @ Apr 16th 2008 10:41AM

I'm not sure why you guys are flipping out. He simply said it should sell better because it's popular and on two consoles. That's the absolute truth. He didn't say anything negative about H3 at all. What's with people today?

T H @ Apr 16th 2008 10:45AM

Vid.. agreed.. for all anyone knows, those comments could be made by an individual who owns (only) an XBox. Calm down, wipe the tears from your soft little cheeks, and breathe before you type..!

blood in the water today... :)

Knight Marquise @ Apr 16th 2008 10:49AM

Vid,

Are you blind? First off, Phantocrast is a well established Sony cheerleader. Secondly his comment:

"It should blow Halo3 out of the water. Its insanely popular and it's releasing on two consoles!"

Did you miss the first line, it should blow Halo 3 out of the water? It's him simply taking the normal opportunity to take a shot at MS when it was not neccessary. Then he ends with the only salient point of his post, that it's multi-plat.

Vidikron (FU) @ Apr 16th 2008 10:54AM

No... in fact, I seem to be one of the few that isn't blind today. Sure, he's a known PS3 cheerleader, but he's far from the worst. And that shouldn't automatically damn anything he says, especially when it's perfectly logical. What did he say that wasn't true? If anything, it's almost an excuse for H3 and why it's going to be surpassed by GTAIV. You guys are reading too much into it.

T H @ Apr 16th 2008 10:56AM

Knight.. his past leanings aside, taking that post at face value, it's really not any kind of shot at Microsoft or XBox, rather, simply, a valid assumption. I'm SURE you'll take the chance to try to somehow snipe at this too.. but it really takes nothing away from the 360 or those who own/play/defend it that GTA *just might* sell more than Halo 3, simply because most people who bought Halo will probably buy this game, those who did not, will most likely buy based on the series' past success and how good the game seems it will be, and again, there is a whole other consumer base (PS3 owners) who will be purchasing it as well.

Simple logic, not flamebait or bias. Chill out!

Phranctoast @ Apr 16th 2008 11:04AM

Joytiq mentioned Halo 3 in their post before I did. They are comparing a game that has sold the most on any console with predictions as to how GTA will sell.
How am I the fanboy for bringing up the obvious comparison that Joystiq themselves have done? Since Halo3 currently holds this record, any observation/predictions about these two games seem fair game to me. I cant check a VG sales records (at work), so I'm not positive here, but I recall the GTA series being the highest sold game (minus Mario). The highest sold game now releasing on two system = a lot more sales. Take off your fanboy blinders and join reality.

@Knight Marquise.
You might want to check my post history again. I don't use every opportunity to bash MS.

NATO_Duke @ Apr 16th 2008 1:28PM

It should blow Metal Gear Solid 4 out of the water. Its insanely popular and it's releasing on two consoles!

:P

C'mon, have a laugh people!

Phranctoast @ Apr 16th 2008 1:58PM

Damn you Nato, you cheerleading fanboy ;p

*relinquishes pom poms.

FOXHOUND @ Apr 16th 2008 3:41PM

NATO Duke ---
LOL nice retort. XD

Though, you better hope I don't win the lottery... I'm spending all of it on MGS4, because I bleed FOXDIE. And then I'm making an igloo out of those copies of the game, so I can sleep better at night.

riggs @ Apr 16th 2008 8:47AM

who else bought take 2 stock?

rv @ Apr 16th 2008 11:20AM

It hasn't been going anywhere, really. Whats the point? It'll probably drop back down when/if ea's offer expires. If you bought it recently, I really see no point.

ThePremierAssassin @ Apr 16th 2008 8:51AM

I'm not sure if I should pre-order this or not...

I mean I don't expect there to be a million people at my local Best Buy when it drops sand for me to have a problem getting it but with each passing day Joystiq never fails to post another post about how this analyst or that analyst predicts that it will sell millions and millions of dollars and I fear I might not get a copy...

Jtenma @ Apr 16th 2008 9:07AM

I'll put it like this....

You better pre-order it.

Thank me later.

ThePremierAssassin @ Apr 16th 2008 9:21AM

Headed to BB after class then...

Vidikron (FU) @ Apr 16th 2008 10:24AM

IMO, there will be plenty of games. I haven't seen a game actually sell out in many years. You may find individual stores that sell out, but I have no doubt you could still find the game. The only reason I bother pre-ordering these days is if there is some sort of freebie I want.

ThePremierAssassin @ Apr 16th 2008 10:26AM

@ vid

Your opinion means less to me than a pile of steaming sh*t.

Vidikron (FU) @ Apr 16th 2008 10:34AM

Wow.. such hostility. The fanboys are touchy today.

T H @ Apr 16th 2008 11:01AM

LOL, yes.. see:

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/16/soul-calibur-iv-coming-july-29-in-regular-and-premium-editions/

rv @ Apr 16th 2008 11:26AM

Im gonna buy it, but Im probably not going to get a chance to play it until the end of the semester.

Khaeos @ Apr 16th 2008 9:08AM

of course its going to blow halo 3's record away..Halo was only realeased on X360 and this is a dualplatform release!

baby sea tuna @ Apr 16th 2008 9:13AM

Plus, it's GTA so it's got wicked selling-power. I hated the other 3 and I'm still going to pick this up!

Khaeos @ Apr 16th 2008 9:19AM

yeh..im prolly gonna do the same..even though GTA isnt my style of game..i still bought the other 3..and im prolly gnna buy this one aswell

Vidikron (FU) @ Apr 16th 2008 10:29AM

Ha... I'm pretty much the same as you guys. While I didn't hate the games, the only GTA game I've ever bother to finish is GTA III. The rest were just too tedious. I mean, SA with all that stupid worrying about eating and working out? WTF? Is this The Sims? Lame. But that said, I still like to just roam around the game environment and I'm really interested in the MP modes.

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 16th 2008 1:18PM

This one being multiplatform didn't stop all of the ps2 only GTA games trouncing halo 1 and halo 2's sales. Point is GTA is a much more well known franchise despite little marketing, and is a much more successful franchise.

Vidikron (FU) @ Apr 16th 2008 1:32PM

@tmacairjordan87

But the PS2 had a massive install base to work with. Much larger than the Halo had to work with. IIRC, I think Halo had a higher tie ratio... meaning it sold to a larger percentage of the Xbox user base than GTA did to the PS2's. Plus, the GTA games were eventually ported to the Xbox and sold there as well. GTA may indeed be more popular (but that's a given), but it would be interesting to see how sales would turn out if Halo was released on Sony systems. That, of course, will never happen though.

Vidikron (FU) @ Apr 16th 2008 1:33PM

Oops.. I meant to say "but that's not a given".

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 16th 2008 9:14AM

i wouldnt be surprised by this at all. this game will sell a ridiculous amount on day one. it was huge as a PS2 game, but now its a huge PS3 and 360 game. it will sell massively. if it's going to sell 6 million in week 1, i would say a 4 million 360 to 2 million PS3 split which is a crazy amount of games. this one can pull it off.