Grand Theft Auto will sell 20 million units, predicts analyst

With Grand Theft Auto 5 now confirmed for a spring 2013 release, analysts have begun weighing in on how they expect the highly-anticipated game to perform in terms of sales. Keep in mind, aside from a brief announcement trailer and some screenshots, we — or anybody else — know very little about the game, which Rockstar Games has kept a close-guarded secret. Still, that isn't stopping industry experts from making claims based on the amount of hype and attention GTA 5 seems to be getting.

Arvind Bhatia, CFA and Brett Strauser from Sterne Agee expect Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive to ship 13.5 million units of Grand Theft Auto 5 during the March quarter. The game itself, they predict, will sell 18 through 20 million units in its lifetime.

Pretty bold claims considering we know absolutely nothing about the game, except for its setting. Then again, we also know that fans are excited for this one. GTA 4 managed to sell 22 units in its lifetime and GTA: San Andreas has amassed 27 million units. Will Grand Theft Auto 5 match those or fall short?

It's hard to say based on our limited knowledge of the game. That should all change come November 8, when nearly 18 pages of GTA 5 details are released via a GameInformer exclusive feature. One thing that may hurt sales is whether or not GTA 5 will release for PC. When Rockstar revealed the expected launch window, they only confirmed Xbox 360 and PS3.

[CinemaBlend]