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GTA IV sells 6 million in its first week

3.6 million on day one.

Grand Theft Auto IV sold 3.6 million units on its first day and 6 million units in its first week, according to publisher Rockstar Games.

That means it "surpassed all-time entertainment records for day one and week one sales by dollar value", apparently, notching up USD 310 million on 29th April and more than USD 500 million for the week.

The last time a game managed anything like this was Halo 3 in November, which achieved first-day sales of USD 170 million in the US.

"Grand Theft Auto IV's first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date," said Strauss Zelnick, chairman of Take-Two, Rockstar mother-company.

"Rockstar's goal is to make each new title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise even better than those that preceded it," said Take-Two CEO Ben Feder.

"Grand Theft Auto IV makes full use of the power of next generation technology, and offers players an experience unique in the interactive entertainment medium. This game sets a new standard in the industry, with critics hailing it as both an artistic and technological masterpiece," he added.

Guilty as charged - we called it "the best openworld game yet" and complained that it would "take something miraculous to rob it of game of the year status".

Earlier this week, Chart-Track announced that GTA IV sold 926,000 copies in its first week in the UK - 514,000 on 360 and 413,000 on PS3. If you ask me, that adds up to 927,000 copies, but then I'm not a respected chart monitor so what do I know.