Grand Theft Auto V; rakes in record $800 million on first day

USPA News - "Grand Theft Auto V," the first new full game in the popular video game series in five years, reaped an eye-popping $800 million in worldwide retail sales on its first day of release, breaking the industry record previously set by "Call of Duty," its distributor announced Wednesday. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. said the latest installment of the Rockstar Games` hit video game series achieved a first day sell-through of more than $800 million worldwide, breaking all previous records.

The numbers exclude Japan and Brazil where the game has not yet been released. "All of us at Take-Two are thrilled with the initial response to Grand Theft Auto V," said Take-Two Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick. "Once again, the team at Rockstar Games have outdone themselves, setting the entertainment industry`s new standard for creativity, innovation and excellence." Fans of the game, which is rated for mature audiences only, lined up outside stores across the world to be among the first to get their hands on the highly-anticipated game. In North America alone, more than 8,300 stores opened their doors at a minute past midnight on Tuesday to sell the game, which has been released for PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. "Consumers around the world gathered in anticipation to be among the first to experience the evolution of this remarkable series," Zelnick said after releasing the initial sales numbers. "We are incredibly proud of Rockstar Games` creative achievement and could not be more pleased with the success of this launch." The figures for the latest installment break the industry record previously set by "Call Of Duty: Black Ops II," which achieved sales of approximately $500 million during the first 24 hours. By comparison, "Grand Theft Auto IV" sold 3.6 million copies, totaling $310 million, during its launch day in April 2008.