$400m Opening Predicted For Grand Theft Auto IV

Sources close to Take-Two Interactive have predicted that the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto IV on Xbox 360 and PS3 will generate $400 million in revenues in its first week, breaking current records and selling around 6 million units at retail. The unnamed sources were quoted by Hollywood trade paper Variety, along with Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes - who suggested that the game could sell “two times the volume” of Xbox 360 exclusive Halo 3, which holds the current first week sales record at $300 million and sales of around 5 million units. Analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Partners has previously predicted sales of 5.8 million units for Grand Theft Auto IV in its first week, equivalent to $360 million in revenues. Meanwhile, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello recently spoke of concern within Hollywood that Grand Theft Auto IV could exceed and adversely affect takings for forthcoming movie Iron Man. Variety also quotes GameStop senior vice president of merchandising Bob McKenzie as saying that the game is currently tracking “slightly behind” Halo 3.