GTA IV surpasses 22M shipped, franchise at 114M total

by Alexander Sliwinski on Sep 16th 2011 8:50PM

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed at a recent conference that Grand Theft Auto 4 has shipped over 22 million units. Gamasutra listened in on ThinkEquity's Growth conference, where the executive noted that the latest installment surpassed the 21.5 million shipped by GTA: San Andreas, with the franchise reaching 114 million shipped since 1997.

Zelnick also discussed how downloadable content can limit rapid used sales for new titles, a tactic the developer experimented with for GTA IV but got exceedingly good at with Red Dead Redemption. He said that once core development is done, doing the development for DLC in a high-quality way is a lot easier and quicker.

"At the time we put out Red Dead Redemption in May, we didn't even have a fantasy that we'd be putting out a zombie title [the Undead Nightmare DLC] for Halloween. But we [did], as it happens." Red Dead Redemption has shipped 12.5 million units in a little over a year.

Source: Gamasutra

Tags: Grand-Theft-Auto-4, GTA4, microsoft, pc, playstation, ps3, red-dead-redemption, Rockstar, Rockstar-Games, Take-Two, Take-Two-Interactive, xbox

Reader Comments (49)

I REALLY hope the swingset launch glitch makes it into GTA V. IV was awesome; still play it.

@Schlecht

Wouldn't mind flying a passenger jet, like the one in the hanger in Las Venturas, with the updated physics and graphics as well... it'd be so awesome

Yay for Rockstar!

Been fans of theirs for a long time. Can't wait for Max Payne 3!

Also, I hope they announce the next GTA soon!

My wishlist for GTA V:

1. GTA IV's quality storytelling
2. San Andreas's variety in vehicles and missions
3. Vice City's atmosphere and nostalgia
4. GTA3's focus on the Mafia

@slickie

5. Graphics comparable to GTA4 with iCEnhancer

@slickie
Dude, you summarized it beautifully. Especially #3, I loved Vice City's setting and overall atmosphere.
And, in general, I hope GTA V takes itself a little less seriously than GTA IV did.

@blueskyv201

I like the more serious turn that GTA IV took. Actually, I'd like an even darker and more serious tone for GTA V. The problem with IV is that it took a serious story into a pretty goofy world. It was occasionally jarring. Saints Row took the goofy low road all the way, and I say let THQ have it. I don't need the two biggest sandbox genre games competing over who can make the best dildo weapon.

@A Sandwich

GTA IV had a seriously cliched story. I didn't really consider it any more serious than San Andreas, really. It was just more whiney.

@Mmmmz

I get that. I'm just saying that they went for serious but they didn't go far enough.

@slickie,,,Dude, if Rockstar dosn't make GTA 5, I think you should. That is exactly what I'm craving.

@A Sandwich

Rockstar needed more time on GTA4, it wasn't totally completed. Look at some of the screen shots that came out when it was announced. They had a Silenced Pistol! And Jimmy Peg story line just didn't have a lot of substance, and I know, I've played the game over 15 times total.

I really hope though they make GTAV for the newer Consoles so they can have better Tech to really mold their world and enough time.

@slickie

I thought the story in GTAIV was absolute, horrific garbage. It was sooooo bad.

@blueskyv201

The more serious the better, and none of this trivial satire bull, they need to go all the way. But that doesnt seem likely seeing the casting info for V. And hopefully no more minority criminals, its got to a point where every minorty is a criminal badass. How about a the protagonist who is a nerd who can hack stuff? how about a little change Rockstar? I would totally want to play as a nerd like Freeman who is edgy enough to wield guns and stuff you get the picture.

@A Sandwich

The story in GTA was OK--nothing more, nothing less. But it took itself WAY too seriously. And the forced "man-dating" to keep your relationships at a decent level was downright frustrating. I've loved every GTA ever made, but if it wasn't for the excellent multiplayer modes of GTA4, I'm not entirely sure it would have been as memorable for many.

@slickie

I feel like San Andreas and Vice City struck the perfect balance of serious story but also had it's fair share of fun missions as well as ridiculous stunts and challenges. GTA IV was a tad too dark and serious at times, I dont want that again.
At the same time, I don't want GTA to become another Saints Row. F*ck no! The perfect balance is hard to achieve, but they've done it before, they can do it again.

Niko bellick was original which is why I liked it

That picture would had been hilarious if it had the caption, "UMAD?".

@Master Troll

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/2825/gtaumad.jpg

@nycjunglist

LMAO! You win.

IV's engine in San andreas would make my life perfect :< I liked working out (Workout online :D?)

i still need to play San Andreas. =(

@kentuckyfried You've had 7 years my friend.

@kentuckyfried
I got San Andreas for 400 microsoft space points during a sale, haven't gotten around to it either.

I really want them to make a game about ancient rome... Gladiator fights and wars online / Making a shield house (legion?) with your friends...

their dlc strategy was/is great.

A friend told me he didn't like RDR. He hasn't been able to speak since.

@soorma

RDR bored me to absolute tears. The poor story, the incessant use of ma'am, etc. I think I traded it in after 12-15 hours or something. You're friend isn't alone, there are plenty of us out there.

You hear that EA? Make good DLC, not online passes.

@APCMice Shhh, but what about all those omg-dlc-should-be-on-game boycotts they'll then have to face?

@Crayola Q Pants ESQ

Nobody expects dlc the size of Ballad of Gay Tony to be in the game. A few extra costumes for £3 are the things that piss people off.

I wanted my money back. I was driven nearly insane by my fat cousin constantly asking me to go on a date with him...That's what I get for playing Saints Row 2 before GTA4...Once you have played SR2, GTA4 kinda sucks in comparison....

@freelancer91

I know, right. I mean, sure, GTA IV had better graphics, gameplay, story, physics, replay value and online play, but Saints Row has a restaurant called Freckle Bitch's, which is, I think, a Hi-larious pun about Wendy's. Saints Row = Insta-win!

@Lucky48

More overall fun for you, maybe. Shoddy gameplay, stupid humor, and horrible physics make for a lackluster experience in my book. And I don't think every game needs a customizable main character. It can certainly be a cool feature, but it ultimately adds very little to the overall experience, in my opinion.

@A Sandwich

I'm with Sandwich on this. I'll never understand the "overall fun" argument. EVERYTHING in the game contributes to overall fun. This non-existent fun factor talking point doesn't even make sense. Though I can understand the opinions I don't share, I absolutely had more fun with GTA4.

@Haizeus

THANK YOU! I can understand when somebody says "I like this gameplay element over he other" but I hate it when somebody just throws out "too bad that game's not fun!" as some kind of sloppy excuse.

@Lucky48

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I had a blast with GTA IV, and it's the one game that my friends and I always come back to. Taking the gameplay lessons that Rockstar learned with Red Dead, and the technology that they came into contact with in L.A. Noire, and I don't see how GTA V could be less than fantastic.

@A Sandwich

Agreed, although I think it belongs in the Saints Row series. Having my own special fatty with a huge mohawk whose voice I could choose, that would appear in every cut-scene the way I made him was pretty cool. I definitely don't want it in the GTA series, though. I don't even think it belongs in the ME series.

@A Sandwich

You completely missed the point. It's not the low brow humor, it was that the game was simply more fun than GTA. I enjoyed both immensely, but each excels at a different area.

@Brian Griffin

No. You're missing the point. The phrase "more fun" is completely sub-fu*cking-jective. It's a fact that GTA IV is technically superior to Saints Row. It's a fact that it has a better, more capable physics engine. It's your opinion that Saints Row is somehow more fun. And saying something is more fun is not an argument in and of itself. A poorly-coded, poorly-written mess is not fun to me. That's my opinion.

@A Sandwich

And me saying Saints Row 2 was more fun is MY opinion, that's why I said it. What i was attempting to say was that the general feel and play of SR2 was indeed more "fun" than the feel of GTA.

And, I was replying to your INITIAL response was a put-down which made it seem as though anyone who enjoyed SR2 was solely placated by bathroom humor.

Yes, the graphics were not on par with GTA , but SR2 made up for that with an environment that fostered more freedom, a system that gave players infinite customization, more variety in missions, and very well-implemented co-op. And, frankly, the story in GTA wasn't anything spectacular, so that's subjective. I enjoyed both games immensely for what they were, but SR2 was more "fun."

Looking forward to GTA V, whatever it may turn out to be!

Just give me a nicer shooting experience and I'll be happy. For everything else that GTA does well, they have really got to step it up in that area

They just released all the old GTA games on the Mac App Store, and they have been doing very well.

Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969 and Vice City are my favorite titles in the GTA series. I also did enjoy GTA 4,.. but I really enjoyed the DLC content "The Lost and Dammed and Ballad of Gay Tony"

RDR is currently my favorite Rockstar game, I enjoyed every part of it and even enjoyed killing the dead in the DLC "Undead Nightmare". ( can't wait for the next expansion)

I would love to see the RDR series keep going, just like GTA. The San Diego Studio did a fantastic job on the game and I would love to see them continue it in the future. RDR 2 for Fall of 2013. =)

So many dead hookers...

My god thats a lot of underage gamers running over civilians on the sidewalk! Gosh I loved middleschool.

GTA 4 for me was a borefest.Yes graphically it's improved,and yes there were some interesting new features.But the more serious storyline killed it for me,i'd have Vice City and San Andreas over GTA4 all day long.The missions had no variety and the characters were quite boring and uninteresting,i just felt i was doing the same thing over and over again drive somewhere shoot em all,drive somewhere else shoot em all.The only thing that was fun was playing pool bowling or going to a bar or strip joint.

The key word for me is FUN and thats what GTA 3 Vice City and San Andreas was to play.Varied missions and funny and interesting characters,such as The Truth,O.G Loc, "Big" Mitch Baker,Ken Rosenberg and Steve Scott just to name a few. There was nothing better than popping into an Ammunation store and hearing the store owners funny comments as you left.I really enjoyed using the radio control cars or planes blowing stuff up lol.And the Vehicle missions were waaay more fun and varied than GTA4.And for me how good were the Radio stations in GTA3,Vice City and San Andreas,it was well funny listening to Pastors outrageous views on pressing issues on KCHAT in Vice City.Or crusing around to classic 80's tracks around miami.

No wonder many gamers want the older GTA games touching up in hd and being released as a collection.GTA 4 was boring for me,but hey thats just my opinion,altho alot of my gaming buddies all think the same!

Sorry i meant Pastor Richards comments not just Pastor lol.

played GTAIV for 20 minutes and then I borrowed it to a friend who got robbed. I don't know if I want to play a game that old considering that now I'm 70% into the story of Read Dead Redemption. Do you guys think is still worth it?

Grand Theft Auto IV

GTA IV surpasses 22M shipped, franchise at 114M total

Reader Comments (49)

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 8:52PM Schlecht said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:08PM DarkTwisted said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 8:57PM MLC said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:00PM slickie said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:05PM Mr Hett said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:08PM blueskyv201 said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:17PM A Sandwich said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:45PM Mmmmz said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 10:25PM A Sandwich said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 12:42AM Slight of Ham said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 4:13AM ComedyInK said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 2:08PM MarkezJM said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 2:18PM dioxholster said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 2:29PM Brian Griffin said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 4:33PM blueskyv201 said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:03PM Wizardsofwaverly said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:05PM Master Troll said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:27PM nycjunglist said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:46PM Master Troll said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:05PM arucious said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:07PM kentuckyfried said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 10:27PM Tommy758 said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 11:23PM KyGuyTC7 said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:07PM arucious said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:13PM PedoJokerBear said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:19PM soorma said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 2:10PM MarkezJM said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:25PM APCMice said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 10:08PM Crayola Q Pants ESQ said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 8:06AM superfrog96 said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:29PM freelancer91 said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 10:24PM A Sandwich said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 10:55PM A Sandwich said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 11:32PM Haizeus said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 11:39PM Acosta02 said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 9:19AM A Sandwich said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 2:13PM MarkezJM said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 2:31PM Brian Griffin said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 4:03PM A Sandwich said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 6:17PM Brian Griffin said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 9:32PM Andyr2120 said

Posted: Sep 16th 2011 10:10PM Crayola Q Pants ESQ said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 1:20AM mguniverse said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 1:23AM stamps79 said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 9:42AM FreakSheet said

Posted: Sep 17th 2011 5:50PM RaultheGhoul said

Posted: Sep 18th 2011 10:03AM Booyah74 said

Posted: Sep 18th 2011 10:05AM Booyah74 said

Posted: Sep 19th 2011 12:14PM cleopatrudo said

Grand Theft Auto IV Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is a stranger in a strange land

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW