Mark Berger

Gaming Demand: Halo 3 Snipes GTA4; Wii Still Dominates Consoles

Several analysts have told Daily Variety that they expect Grand Theft Auto IV to possibly exceed $400 million in sales at launch, a figure which would see it eclipse the $300 million sales mountain achieved by Microsoft's Halo 3.

$400 million would give the game a chance of topping the current No.1 film debut of all time, currently set at $404 million by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

The $400 million sales figure is backed up by leading retailer Blockbuster. CEO Jim Keyes told Variety that Grand Theft Auto IV is likely to do "two times the volume" that Halo 3 achieved for his chain.

However, GameStop senior vp of merchandising Bob McKenzie told Variety that GTA 4 is currently slightly behind the record-setting Xbox 360 title.

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Speaking to MCV, Play.com's head of games Gian Luzio has revealed that Grand Theft Auto IV is "far and away the biggest selling title" he's ever seen on PS3.

Demand has been so high for the title that retailers are struggling to keep up with pre-orders. However, Luzio predicts Play.com will have more stock for the game's release on Tuesday, April 29.

Luzio added: "This is the biggest ever title for PS3 by a long way - and probably 360 as well. I've been really blown away by how quickly it's sold on PS3.

"Sales have gone crazy and have proven to be a real hardware driver already. We've sold out now, but will be getting in more stock as soon as it becomes available.

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Janco Partners' Mike Hickey recently predicted the game would sell nearly six million in its first week, racking up $360 million in revenues and potentially stealing thunder from Iron Man at the box office.

Now Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst has done Hickey one better, predicting (as part of his massive fiscal '09 outlook report) that GTA IV will be the No. 1 selling game in all of 2008 with a total of 13 million copies sold.