Despite breaking sales records left and right, GTA IV didn’t cause any measurable uptick in console sales. That probably hurts Sony more than Microsoft, seeing as though the GTA series has, since GTA III, been seen as a PlayStation franchise; Sony was expecting PS3-holdouts to see the game and buy a system. Didn’t happen.
In fact, sales of the Xbox 360 version nearly doubled those of the PS3 version, 867,000 to 443,000. A function of install base, sure, but still not something Sony wants to see parroted around the press, on blogs and message boards for the next few days.
An NPD analyst puts it quite plainly:
The continued success of GTA IV is not translating into big hardware sales for the PS3 or the 360. But there may yet be a lift in June due to gift-giving for Father’s Day and graduations
Sure, a bounce because of Father’s Day. Pretty sure my dad is too busy, you know, working, to be playing video games.
So there, no Halo effect.
I eagerly await PS3 fanboys—ahem, Josh—to now accuse me of hating the system, when the truth of the matter is I couldn’t give a damn. And why should I?