It’s official. Take-Two Interactive Software said Wednesday that Grand Theft Auto IV surpassed all-time entertainment records for day-one and week-one sales by dollar value.

Released on April 29, GTA IV had global sales of six million units with an estimated retail value of more than $500 million in the first week. On opening day, GTA IV sales were approximately 3.6 million units with a retail value of $310 million globally.

“The dollar amount is not particularly relevant. The unit numbers are what matters and six million is a great number,” said Michael Pachter, a research analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. “Take-Two should be extremely proud. I expected greatness and they delivered. It doesn’t change the value of the company at all.”

Take-Two’s Back-Patting Bonanza

“We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player’s experience, with its compelling story line, extraordinary game play and action that ranges by a broad

urban canvas. Now it has broken sales and rating records as well,” Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick said.

GTA IV’s first-week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and Zelnick believes these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to period, though some industry analysts have criticized such comparisons.

Performance figures aside, the goal is to build each new title in the GTA franchise better than those that preceded it, and GTA IV is a smashing success on that score, according to Ben Feder, Take-Two CEO.

“Grand Theft Auto IV makes full use of the potential of next-generation technology and offers players an experience strange in the interactive entertainment medium,” Feder said. “This game sets a new standard in the industry, with critics hailing it as both an artistic and technological masterpiece.”

Does GTA IV Cross the Decency Line?

GTA IV is rated…

Orginal post by Top Tech News