The upcoming GTA 5 release date is lining up to see records broken with UK retailers setting aside 3 million copies of the game.
Despite a GTA 5 release date having been delayed from spring 2013 until mid-September, latest reports have suggested the next instalment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise will become the UK’s biggest gaming release to date, with millions of copies being set aside for launch.
Citing “an enthused retail source,” gaming expert CVG has suggested the three million copies of GTA 5 reportedly set aside for the game’s UK release will see the Rockstar published title take Call of Duty: Black Ops’ crown as the UK’s fastest ever selling game.
Although the September 17 GTA 5 release date will see the long awaited game land just weeks ahead of the next-gen Xbox One and PS4 consoles, platforms the title has not been confirmed for, the claimed insider sources have suggested this will not deter existing PS3 and Xbox 360 owners snapping up the game.
With a reported 13 million PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles currently doing the rounds in the UK, the 3 million copies of GTA 5 set aside for launch would account for a little under a quarter of all current-gen console owners. The 2008 arrival of GTA IV saw 630,000 copies sold on the launch day alone, a figure which at the time represented a quarter of all console owners.
At present the original Call of Duty: Black Ops release holds the UK record for day one game sales, shifting a staggering 1.4 million units back in 2010. Subsequent COD tiles, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 have failed to trouble their predecessor.
With retailers all vying for gamers’ cash, high street presence GAME has lowered its GTA 5 Special Edition price, knocking £10 off the bonus package of the game which is available for pre-order now at £59.99.
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