Take Two's GTA V starts strong with $800 mln in first-day sales
(Reuters) - "Grand Theft Auto V," the fifth installment of the video game that became a focal point of debate about gratuitous violence and explicit content in the media, came out guns blasting with $800 million in global first-day sales.
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc's most lucrative franchise went on sale at midnight on Tuesday.
The sales figure marked a first-day record for the Grand Theft Auto series in which players freely roam, mainly via automobiles, in a game world based on real-life locations such as Los Angeles.
Take-Two shares closed up 1.2 percent at $17.20. The stock has climbed 12 percent since July when the company raised its fiscal 2014 forecast and the buzz grew louder around the game's September release.
Retail revenues of $800 million would translate to sales of about 13 million to 14 million units of the game, analysts estimated.
"The last major Grand Theft Auto title sold just under 13 million in the course of the year. This did that in a day," said Daniel Ernst, an analyst at Hudson Square Research. The sales beat his expectations.
The 16-year-old Grand Theft Auto franchise has won numerous awards and become embedded in popular culture over the years. The criminal drama and action-adventure series has also stirred its share of controversy over the violent and adult nature of its content.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...98H0Z720130918
