A lot was riding on GTA IV. But did it deliver?

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Grand Theft Auto IV was a chosen entity in the gaming world even before it launched. As the fourth installment of a multi-million selling series and the first iteration to appear on next-gen systems, Grand Theft Auto IV had a lot to live up to.

Especially when Sony and Microsoft were depending on this entity to bring in massive sales for each of their respected consoles allowing the victor to gain bragging rights for what is arguably looking to be the biggest selling video game of the year. More importantly than being the central object of a pissing match, GTA IV was, and still is, the shining hope for an industry which is slowly being hammered by a failing economy and hostile takeovers. I am of course referring to the Take-Two/Electronic Arts takeover currently going on as I am typing this and you are reading it.

On May 7th, Take-Two Interactive announced that Grand Theft Auto IV sales had topped $500 million, selling 6 million units globally in the game’s first week of release, with $310 million (3.6 million units) of that made in the first day. These numbers shattered the all-time entertainment records for both a week one and day one release, previously held by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End which grossed $400 million in the first week. Yes, these numbers also beat out Halo 3 for the bestselling video game at launch, which generated $300 million.

For Take-Two, distributers of the game, these numbers mean a certain vindication for holding out through EA’s onslaught offers until GTA IV launched. What once seemed like a tasty $25.74 per stock for shareholders of Take-Two, looked a little less filling when the game launched to over $26 a share and as of May 7th at 1:03 p.m. EST is at $26.31 a share. While both sides expected GTA IV to bring in some astounding numbers, it comes down to a matter of pride for Take-Two chairman, Strauss Zelnick, who said in a recent interview with the New York Times:

"The critical and consumer response to Grand Theft Auto IV vindicates our strategy of waiting until the launch with regard to E.A.'s offer."

Of course, now that GTA IV has launched with such numbers, Take-Two can confidently go into a negotiation meeting with EA and pretty much demand anything they want to. Ah, the power of having a multi-million selling weapon at your disposal.

So what about the piss match contestants Sony and Microsoft? What did they gain from this? While there is no overall winner yet, there is an overall leader. According to ELSPA/Chart-track, Grand Theft Auto IV sold more on the Xbox 360 than the PlayStation 3 by an astounding 20% in the U.K. What makes that 20 percent so astounding is the fact that the U.K. is where Sony had the leading edge over Microsoft… until now.