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GTA IV on 360 outsells PS3 in US 2-to-1 News

Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 News by Robert Purchese

13 May, 2008

US retailer GameStop has revealed that 64 percent of its Grand Theft Auto IV sales were for Xbox 360.

The figures were given to Newsweek blog Level Up, and show Microsoft with a near two-to-one lead over its rival.

But despite the initial reaction, these results actually point to GTA IV under-performing on Xbox 360, Newsweek reckons.

You see, at the end of March this year, Microsoft had sold 9.9 million consoles in the US and Sony had sold 4.1 million PS3 units. That's a split of 70.7 percent to 29.3 percent.

Compare that to the 64 percent to 36 percent GTA IV sales split and, relatively, it shows the PS3 actually over-achieving.

However, the full US story will not be known until the end of April when the official NPD figures are released.

Here in the UK, the gap between the Xbox 360 and PS3 sales of GTA IV widened this week, rising from 55 percent to 62 percent in Microsoft's favour.

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Comments: 1-50 of 65 in total | next 50 »

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Mike P
13/05/08 @ 10:55
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This comment thread is now closed, thanks for taking part!

/crosses fingers
Uncle_Fishboy
13/05/08 @ 10:56
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NO ONE CARES
M83J01P97
13/05/08 @ 10:56
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Couldn't all this GTA4 sales news be saved and put into one big handy topic at the end of each week or something? Daily doses is getting a little bit tedious...
Xerx3s
13/05/08 @ 11:08
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"NO ONE CARES"

Irony.
Putty Man
13/05/08 @ 11:08
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But whats the comparison of GTA IV on Angolian PS3's versus Kazacstany 360's? Eh eh, yis dont know that one do yis!
StanleyPointLarge
13/05/08 @ 11:11
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Can we stop this 'news' pls, i really don't care any more and didn't much care in the first place.

The install base of 360 was higher than ps3 anyway.
Quint2020
13/05/08 @ 11:15
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Fanboys!! ....... CHAAARRRRGE!!!!
Skooch
13/05/08 @ 11:16
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FFS, it can STOP now!

You can argue this until the cows come home (and the fanboys certainly will) but article after article on sales figures is boring - especially when each console has basically sold equivalent to its market share.
Skooch
13/05/08 @ 11:17
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Breaking news! Game sells volumes roughly equivalent to the respective console's market share - my my!
tobsen
13/05/08 @ 11:19
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This is getting ridiculous. Why is EG even bringing this kind of irrelevant news EVERY SINGLE DAY? This site feels more and more like an Microsoft PR mouthpiece.
rob230
13/05/08 @ 11:21
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Slow news day huh EG?
The Bodybuilder
13/05/08 @ 11:22
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I can't see MS caring. Can you?
sanctusmortis
13/05/08 @ 11:23
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Can I just say, as a voice of REASON, that it's likely that more people who own a PS3 will be interested in playing such a game, due to the higher hardware price point translating to an older average user?
Gaol
13/05/08 @ 11:24
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Normally I would agree Vercetti but these updates are becoming tragic and just dilute real news, hence why most users are just voicing displeasure now.
BlueDot
13/05/08 @ 11:27
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Surely you meant the end of May, rather than April.
The Bodybuilder
13/05/08 @ 11:27
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>"This is getting ridiculous. Why is EG even bringing this kind of irrelevant news EVERY SINGLE DAY?W"

Hits my good man, hits.
Let's be honest here, much as EG derails fanboys, it's fanboys that usually increased the number of hits on the site, which in turn they can show advertisers to show how successful they are, so they can stump up more cash. Heck it was the original halo review (and influx of fanboys, both sony and MS) that made EG uber-popular.

I mean, stevie wonder can see such "news" cause nothing but flames, yet EG keeps making them. Why? There can only be one answer.
Mr_Dodger
13/05/08 @ 11:29
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Strange how the majority of the "this is boring" etc crowd seem to be PS3 owners.
BarcaAzul
13/05/08 @ 11:29
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Been trying to get a copy on the PS3 since launch.

The guy getting me a copy in the UK said that there were 360 copies available, but none for PS3, which would suggest that there were more 360 copies available, which makes sense as there are more 360's than PS3's in the UK to date.

Its completely irrelevant though on 2 weeks sales!!

Probably the drop in sales is also due to lack of copies on both formats as well.
Mr_Dodger
13/05/08 @ 11:43
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@ Mr_Dodger : maybe because they're not 12 year olds

Your argument presumably being that they are more mature and therefore express that maturity by incessantly posting in threads that have no interest to them just to make a point. Gotcha.

PS - I see, egster, that you also seem to be a PS2/PS3 owner.... interesting.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 13/05/08 @ 12:44
login_name
13/05/08 @ 11:44
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if u dont care, dont post.. people posting stuff like that is worse than the fanboys who DO care and talk shit about it. or worse people who say "ohh wait till the fanboys get a hold of this" utter fannies!! if u dont have anything to say about the topic - fanboyish or not - shut your faces! DICKHEADS!

You might wanna take your own advice there.
Weezer
13/05/08 @ 11:49
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"NO ONE SHOULD CARE"

Fixed

(EDIT: Typographical inconsistencies)
Edited 1 times, most recently on 13/05/08 @ 12:50
crisotunity
13/05/08 @ 11:52
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This "news item" appeared on Joystiq or Kotaku yesterday with a health warning (ie, this is only reflecting initial numbers from a single -albeit very important- retailer).

Eurogamer, managed to (babel-)translate the American-English into English-English adding their own pinch of sensationalism. This is not a sign that Eurogamer is in Microsoft's pocket but -unfortunately- it is a sign that the site is becoming more downmarket and will do anything for a few hits. Shame, because it used to provide a witty and intelligent read (which is the reason I bothered to comment).
drumbaby
13/05/08 @ 11:57
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It should have outsold it 4:1 with the higher Xbox 360 installed base, being on home soil, the lower console price, and the much touted DLC.

So....not very spectacular news for Msoft at all, is it?
miiiguel
13/05/08 @ 11:59
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Maybe, just maybe..., this is getting too far, but, I think most of this was due to the pre-PS3 debut where allover the place everyone was saying PS3 would be that "oh so much better" - do a google search and the comments and press releases comenting the PS3 "to be - but never was" are just hilarious.

We should move on though, we got the picture by now.

drumbaby, if you compare San And's numbers and 4's ones, you could say... yes, they are allowed to be dancing the hoola-hup.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 13/05/08 @ 13:01
boabg
13/05/08 @ 12:00
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Given the average IQ of the game buying public and their brand loyalty it's not a surprise so many opted for the PS3 version.
NoQuarter
13/05/08 @ 12:17
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It's quite obvious that the first people who buy your system probably buy the most games, the late-adopter casual crowd will of course be less likely to spend money on every new game.

I wouldn't say MS lost, they did make more money, obviously.

It does make you wonder about all the stories in the week before GTAIV's release with analysts predicting the PS3 version would sell better, win the battle, etc. They did get it rather wrong, you have to wonder who they are and why we're even supposed to listen to them.
superdelphinus
13/05/08 @ 12:17
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11% of statistics....etc
Olemak
13/05/08 @ 12:17
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This is surprising how? What idiot expected GTA IV on PS3 to outsell the xbox version at launch?

What is mildly ineresting, it Newsweeks observation that PS3 is performing better than the market share should indicate.

The reason for this (I believe) is a sharp rise in PS3 units sold, bundled with GTA IV. The numbers will thell an intersting story.

Oh - and GTA IV for PS3 is still sold out across the board here in Norway. So that seems to indicate that the PS3 is outselling the Xbox verion here in Scandinavia at least, but I guess that was unsurprising. And hardly newsworthy.
Ryze
13/05/08 @ 12:22
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Unless they want more kids to play it, they should be satisfied.
miiiguel
13/05/08 @ 12:22
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A dolar is a dolar...
imamazed
13/05/08 @ 12:35
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hmmm....

Most posts relating to these news articles are actually people saying "fanboys are a-comin'"

It seems to me a lot of people are insinuating that to prefer a console is to be a fanboy; which is ridiculous. Yes there a few people who makes useless biased comments, but many people make worthwhile points in a console's favour and are immediately labelled "F4nb01!!!!"

Agreed that it shouldn't be updated every day though :D
woodnotes
13/05/08 @ 12:36
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"What is mildly ineresting, it Newsweeks observation that PS3 is performing better than the market share should indicate. "

Tis a bit silly to compare ratios.

If we look back to last generation, GTA 3 sold better on Xbox than it did on PS2 if we look at it that way. Nobody kept going on and on about install base last generation.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 13/05/08 @ 13:37
WinstonChurchill
13/05/08 @ 12:38
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And how much is a dollar?
number9
13/05/08 @ 12:39
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Has Eurogamer been bought by MS or something?

Questions :
1. Why does EUROgamer publish UK sales figures?
2. Why does EUROgamer publish USA sales figures?
3. Why does EUROgamer NOT publish European sales figures?

Answers :
1. GTA4 360 is selling better in the UK. 60% to 40% apparently.
2. GTA4 360 is selling better in the US. 2 to 1 apparently.
3. GTA4 PS3 is selling better in all of Europe. 0.9M to 1.3M during the first week.

I find it strange that a site like EUROgamer never talks about the third fact.

You should change your name to MSgamer.co.uk. Eurogamer.net is misleading IMHO.

boabg
13/05/08 @ 12:45
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I don't think there are proper European sales figures but carry on.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 13/05/08 @ 13:45
number9
13/05/08 @ 12:53
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VGchartz.com has european figures. Of course they are not "official", but again, I don't think they are any less accurate or biased than those provided by MS themselves, and EG have no problems publishing those every day.
Official retailer data are favorable to the PS3 at least in France, Italy and Spain.
Why publish only UK and US? I would understand that both in a US or UK site. But man, they call themselves Eurogamer and the O of the name even contains a map of Europe!
Psychotext
13/05/08 @ 13:07
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@number9: VGChartz numbers are pulled out of thin air. Base anything but a bit of fun on them and you're making a mistake. (if you want proof, look at their US numbers for April and then compare them to the NPDs when they get released)

On the subject in general:

Why are people talking about percentages of users buying the games? How many percent of the PS2 userbase bought San Andreas at launch? It's meaningless... because as a system grows in sales it inevitably starts to attract gamers with different preferences and reduces the percentage of owners who are hardcore gamers.

Take for example the first week of San Andreas in the US. There were roughly 28m PS2 owners at that point and the game sold 2m units in the first week (7% of owners bought the game). Compare the PS3 in the UK with 1.2m owners and GTA IV selling 0.41m in the first week (34% of owners bought the game). Don't you think that speaks volumes about what an enlarged / more varied userbase does?

These things aren't linear, and there's a reason the PS2 doesn't have an attach rate of something like 20+ games.

muscleblade
13/05/08 @ 13:15
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"Strange how the majority of the "this is boring" etc crowd seem to be PS3 owners"

Indeed, lol.
Mr_Brown
13/05/08 @ 13:20
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Is the gap big enough? What do you mean by that? Does it mean that Microsoft will go bankrupt and be forced out the console market if Sony catch up with them? Are Sony in trouble of going out of business because competitors are selling more than them?

I'll answer all those questions. No they are not. So long has each company are recording a profit, thats all that matters. Who is making the biggest profit, is just inter company pissing competition and has very little to do with gamers. All companies are doing well, thats all that matters to us. End.
muscleblade
13/05/08 @ 13:22
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"Has Eurogamer been bought by MS or something? "

If you honestly believe that - your kind of stupid. No offense though.

muscleblade
13/05/08 @ 13:25
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"They must be idiots to purchase more of the version that is selling less...or? "

The PS3 is selling more than the 360 in Norway so thats the reason.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 13/05/08 @ 14:39
miiiguel
13/05/08 @ 13:34
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oh ffs..., can we stop with the pathetic spins already? Now it's the "attach rate" that matters, or "in Scandinavia"; or "in this Swedish site"..., I mean..., shit, it sold more on 360, get over it, no big deal.
It's no reason to be cranky. The games incredible, MS did what they had to do to put their machine on GTA's radar, they worked hard - they are working hard..., I think it's just honest to admit. Sony took too much for grant, and I bet they will do things diferently from PS4 on.

Price cut did wonders tough, yes it did.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 13/05/08 @ 14:37
GamesConnoisseur
13/05/08 @ 13:36
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Seem to me that reliable European stats (software and hardware) are harder to get compared to US and UK? If that is not the case then please add link so that Eurogamer.net have no excuse but to use them as correctly pointed out the name is Eurogamer!

However if its bears out that due to diversity and complexity of Europe, EG rarely in position to get stats for Europe wide data, then we need to accept that bias are just apparent and not intended.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 13/05/08 @ 14:36
number9
13/05/08 @ 13:42
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@muscleblade

Only a moron would take the comment on MS buying EG literally. But anyway, you can still try to answer the question on why Eurogamer publishes all but european figures.

Also, the IQ argument against PS3 buyers is so flawed. It can easily be used against xbox360 owners, or even Wii owners by just changing the ps3 disadvantages by those of the other systems.



anomagnus
13/05/08 @ 13:45
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i think we can assume my xbox penis is bigger than your ps3 penis

lets move on
Darren
13/05/08 @ 13:45
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@muscleblade - And what if you wanted the PS3 to watch Blu-ray movies on or play MotorStorm, Resistance FoM, Ratchet & Clank ToD, Unreal Tournament III, MLB 08 The Show, Uncharted, GT5 Prologue or the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid 4 and Wipeout HD... does that make you stupid too? :P

Seriously though, there's nothing at all stupid about buying any console because no one system allows you to play all the great games that invariably come out for them so if you stick with one then you'll miss out on all the classics on the rival systems. It's the reason I've always been and always will be a multiformat console owner; it means I have the best of all worlds! If you ask me, provided you have the means obviously, it's stupid NOT to own all the consoles... :)
Psychotext
13/05/08 @ 13:48
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@GamesConnoisseur: Yeah, the only way you're getting European hardware / software numbers is if you pay for them from Chart Track / GFK or a manufacturer chooses to include them in a press release. That's why Eurogamer rarely posts them as news.
t8yman
13/05/08 @ 13:49
#48
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"hey advertisers, look how many hits we get"

"wow, you must be a real informative and interesting website"

"no, we just post flamebait now, and wait for the hits to come"
zedzee
13/05/08 @ 13:51
#49
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@ Putty Man:

Personally, I'm more interested in the sales of GTA-IV in Mongolia versus Benin!
boabg
13/05/08 @ 13:51
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What do you mean "now"?

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