Analysts have underestimated GTA, says Take Two

Take Two CEO Ben Feder believes that analyst projections for sales of GTA IV don’t do the title’s retail potential justice.

A ‘bullish’ Feder told Reuters: "Our expectations are very high, higher than analysts give the game credit for. All the analysts had a [sales] number, give or take, and I think we will be on the upside of that rather than the downside."

Analysts have tipped GTA IV to generate around $400 million in first week sales – beating the previous global opening week record of $300 million set by Microsoft’s Halo 3 last year.

According to Next-Gen.biz, analysts such as Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter and Janco Partners’ Mike Hickey have said that they expect the game to shift around six million units in its first week on sale.

The Associated Press reported on Monday that the game was expected to sell nine million copies by the end of the year.

PAchter told the news organisation: "The addressable market at launch is about 24 million consoles. So how many will sell in the first week or month or few months? Nine million. That’s the number. That’s about a 35 percent attach rate. By year’s end, it’ll be somewhere between 11 and 13 million because more consoles will be sold before the holidays."