Xbox 360 GTA IV Outselling PS3 version 2-to-1?
Oh god, here comes another PR fest. The release of GTA IV is sparking wordy battles between Microsoft and Sony about which version of GTA IV reigned supreme. Look for plenty of twisted statistics that will be beneficial to whoever it is reading them. Starting off the battle is Microsoft’s Aaron Greenburg saying:
What we’ve heard anecdotally from our retail partners is that the Xbox 360 version of the game is outselling the PS3 version by a margin of two-to-one…That mirrors what we saw with pre-orders, but it continues to hold true at retail, at least for the first couple of days. It’s a great sign.
First of all, I’d like to thank Mr. Greenburg for pointing out that this is a great sign for Microsoft. Seriously though, if these numbers are true then it is a very decisive win for Microsoft. The GTA series has been a Sony related franchise from the beginning and if Microsoft and the Xbox 360 was able to just swoop in and rake in the most sales, they should be applauded. One of the reasons for this abrupt change may be the 360 exclusive dowloadable content. Greenburg said:
[The DLC's] making a big difference in peoples’ console purchase decisions. … GTA fans are switching over to Xbox 360 just like Guitar Hero fans and Madden fans did. …The same thing is happening with Grand Theft Auto IV.
Mr. Greenburg seems to have a point. GAH, he’s brainwashed me! It’s okay, Sony’s PR will change my mind. Sony’s saying that the 2-to-1 ratio “doesn’t line up” with what Sony’s heard from their retail sources.
Of course there’s also some skirmishing over who sold more consoles. SCEA released a statement saying that GTA boosted consoles sales. That was unexpected. And Greenburg said:
But we expect that GTA IV is definitely driving a lot of people to Xbox 360. … The fact that we know that we’re outselling [the PS3 version] two-to-one on the game is a pretty good sign that a lot of those games are going with a new console out the door.
Again stating the obvious, but Mr. Greenburg seems to have slipped up a little bit. Mr Greenburg, do you know that the 360 version is outselling the PS3 version two-to-one or do anecdotally know? Next time recite your lines in front of a mirror a little more.
This will probably be the first of many statements released by Microsoft or Sony claiming that they’ve won the GTA IV wars. Fantastic.
[via Next-Gen]
This post has 10 comments
May 4th, 2008
That bonus content better be worth it. A threesome with prostitutes would be nice.
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May 4th, 2008
and from your review of gta iv, it seems like you cant wait for the dlc to come out, whenever it does come out
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May 5th, 2008
Indeed. Fall 2008 can’t come soon enough.
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May 5th, 2008
is it coming out in Fall? When was that announced?
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May 5th, 2008
It says Fall 2008 on the GTA 4 instructional manual.
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May 6th, 2008
oh haha… well that’s official enough for me.
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May 6th, 2008
GTA 4 wasn’t even sold out when I bought it, so I am unsure why people are saying it is always sold out.
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May 6th, 2008
I’ve actually never seen an anticipated game that was sold out…What do you think the sales figures will be for GTA IV?
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May 7th, 2008
Now that I think about it. I have never seen any games sold out at my local stores. Halo 3 was the highest selling game in 2007, but I was able to get a copy of that at launch without pre-ordering.
I can’t give you an exact number on GTA 4. Considering the fact that it is the best GTA game, I would say that this will be the highest selling GTA game. At least, it will be the highest GTA game until GTA 5.
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May 7th, 2008
well GTA III had a much bigger potential userbase so i doubt itll sell as much as gta III did to begin with, but the overall sales of GTA IV may be greater
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