It’s hard to believe there are any remaining angles from which Grand Theft Auto V sales can be analyzed, but for all of its record-shattering, money-inhaling reatail success, there hasn’t been a whole lot of talk about how Rockstar’s mammoth impacted videogame sales as a whole. That is, until now.
NPD’s numbers have come in, and GTA’s impact on September was felt in all kinds of ways. Industry sales overall climbed 27% to $1.079 billion, an impressive boost considering we’re in the tail end of a console cycle. Meanwhile, console and portable software sales jumped up a staggering 52%, putting them over the $750 million mark.
Those gains are impressive enough, but according to NPD analyst Liam Callahan, Grand Theft Auto V not only boosted overall sales, but also accounted for “over 50% of dollar sales in September.” Now that may be the most shocking GTA V sales info I’ve heard yet. That’s like walking into the store and having the clerk say “okay, you have two choices, Grand Theft Auto V or any other game we sell, pick one.”
Less surprising but still impressive, Grand Theft Auto V achieved the highest first month sales of any GTA before it. Callahan also notes that GTA‘s impact provided a “much needed shot in the arm for the industry,” so apparently software makers should be sending Rockstar a personal thank you in addition to a congratulations. I’m not sure why people get scared when software sells less at the end of a console generation (it only seems logical), but if GTA V has the power to alleviate perceived industry issues then more power to it.
Lastly, some fun news for Sony fans – the PS3 had a great month! The Xbox 360 had outsold the PS3 for 32 straight months until now, so a Sony victory in September was long overdue. No doubt that shiny GTA V bundle had something to do with it.