Since its release in late October, "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" has sold 4.4 million copies. Assuming $50 per copy (the average price of the game), that puts cumulative gross revenues in the neighborhood of $220 million. Those numbers are more than double what "Grand Theft Auto III" (2001's top-selling game) was posting in the same time frame.
You often hear the gaming industry compared to Hollywood, so let's put that number into perspective. $220 million is $7 million better than "Austin Powers in Goldmember" took in at the box office. It's $10 million better than "Back to the Future." It also tops "Toy Story," either of the "Mission Impossible" films, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and "Gone with the Wind." In fact, the number is so strong that only 34 films have posted box office receipts greater than what was spent on "GTA: Vice City".
Granted, there are a few caveats there. In terms of overall exposure, movies still win hands down. And those sales numbers don't include VHS and DVD sales – but keep in mind that "Vice City," published by Take Two Interactive Software (TTWO: Research, Estimates), is still topping the sales charts with only one serious competitor coming its way anytime soon (Nintendo's "Legend of Zelda"). And future installments of "Grand Theft Auto" are on the way (expect an official announcement at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in May).
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