GTA IV hijacks top UK chart slot from Wii Fit

[Shrygue]

via Games Industry


GTA IV, which sold a record-breaking 926,000 copies over its first five days of release, has - unsurprisingly - captured the top of the UK sales charts.

GTA IV outsold Wii Fit, last week's number one title, by a margin of over 9 to 1. Sales of Nintendo's title were down 58 per cent, which can be partially attributable to low stock.

After GTA IV, however, the remaining top five best-selling titles were Nintendo exclusives.

Just over 61 per cent of the value of all software sold this past week was for GTA IV - which Chart-Track said itself is bigger than the total software market figure of every other week so far in 2008 apart from week one.

The only other new release to reach the All Formats Top 40 chart this past week was Sega's Iron Man: The Official Videogame, which entered at number eleven.

The Top Ten best-selling games in the UK for the week ended May 3 were as follows:

1. Grand Theft Auto IV
2. Wii Fit
3. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
4. Wii Play
5. Mario Kart Wii
6. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
7. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
9. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training
10. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

[robman84]

Hmm, wonder how many copies of GTA IV went to those 18 and over...

Most upsetting I have heard of so far is an 8 year old friend of one of my kids. 8 years old. Playing GTA IV. Another kid I know of, a bit older, got it from their parents as a "surprise gift".
I think I know who is going to get the surprise if they actually watch their child playing it...

Great game for the right age group though.

[Hevyduty]

Hmm, wonder how many copies of GTA IV went to those 18 and over...

Most upsetting I have heard of so far is an 8 year old friend of one of my kids. 8 years old. Playing GTA IV. Another kid I know of, a bit older, got it from their parents as a "surprise gift".
I think I know who is going to get the surprise if they actually watch their child playing it...

Great game for the right age group though.

A few months ago, I was in Gamestop and a kid wanted his dad to buy him a used copy of GTA: Vice City. The kid was at most 10 years old. It killed me to watch the dad ask the seventeen year-old kid behind the counter if the game was appropriate for his child. So basically, a basic parenting decision was being made by some highschool kid.

Thankfully, the Gamestop guy told him it wasn't appropriate. But how many 17 year-olds out there who don't give a crap would say "yes" just to make a sale?

I know gamers hate it when politicians threaten legislation against the gaming industry, but we really should be blaming the sh*tty parents that let their kids play mature games long before they even reach their teens.

If parents actually did their jobs and paid attention to the content consumed by their kids, which isn't really that hard (every game has a rating clearly printed on the box), the industry wouldn't be under so much pressure.

When given a chance, politicians are going to jump on any hot issue that provides them with some free publicity and easy votes. That's what they do. The key is to not add any fuel to the fire. Unfortunately, there are just too many lousy parents out there too lazy to understand the ultra-easy rating systems for video games, and as a result, we all suffer.

[goliath182]

Back to the drawing board, Nintendo.

[bah]

Hevyduty: Well said.

[robman84]

Aye, well said.

I have to say, I have *never* witnessed a games shop knowingly sell an age-restricted game to a minor, and I have seen plenty of arguments where parents who are trying to buy 18-rated games for their little 'uns are telling the game shop staff to mind their own business (in certain terms). Usual argument seems to be either "I know it is unsuitable, but he really wants it" or, unbelievably, "I know it is full of violence and swearing. but he sees and hears worse on the telly". Presumably they have never heard of restricting what their kids watch either...