Grand Theft Auto 5 is getting closer and closer to its September 17 release date for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and gamers around the world are eagerly waiting for the game to launch. The game has been predicted to sell so well that the game reverses the falling sales for game software for all of 2013, and now an analyst has thrown a solid number prediction for how much the game will sell.
Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia, in a note to investors obtained by Gamespot, predicts that the game will sell between 18-20 million units by the end of the financial year, which is March of next year. In comparison, Grand Theft Auto 4 sold 13 million units in the first nine months of the game's life, and as of November 2012 the game has sold 25 million units overall. Bhatia's logic for predicting 18-20 million units for Grand Theft Auto 5 in the first six months of the game's life stems from the fact that the user base for the game has expanded since Grand Theft Auto 4's release date. With an estimated three times the amount of consoles owned by gamers, Grand Theft Auto 5 is poised to be a monster success for Rockstar and Take-Two when it comes out. However, one potential factor in derailing the game's long-term success is the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 is the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. If enough gamers switch to the next-gen consoles in the months following the game's launch the sales of the game could suffer and fall short of this lofty prediction.
In other Grand Theft Auto 5 news, the game has been rated by the Australian Classification Board as 18+, erasing fears that the game could potentially get banned in the country like Saints Row 4 has been. The game's sole consumer advice note is for drug use, and the game will not be modified in any way, as the rating is for the original version of the game, meaning that Australian readers will get the full Grand Theft Auto 5 experience, warts and all.
Rockstar recently released new screenshots for the game, as well as hinting that information about the game's multiplayer mode will come sometime in August. The game has been heavily hyped, and despite not being on the PC gamers are eager to get their hands on the game. Look out for more Grand Theft Auto 5 news as we get closer to the game's release.