The controversial Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition has had a rocky rollout since its debut last year. What should have been a celebration of three of the most acclaimed GTAs of all time was instead plagued with endless immersion-breaking issues. However, this troubled takeoff has seemingly not stumped the sales of the collection, as Take-Two Interactive states that it has "significantly exceeded expectations."
For the uninitiated, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition is developer Grove Street Games' endeavor to enhance the experience of three legendary PS2-era Rockstar titles with additions such as updated textures and character models. The trio of classics in the collection include the ever so iconic Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. But, while this sounds like a dream come true for many nostalgic gamers, the public reception has been nothing but unfavorable, with the poor quality resulting in low Metacritic scores for the GTA Trilogy.
So, with such a gloom-ridden reception from critics heeded by a global outcry from gamers who were teased with amateur-level blunders in their full-priced video game, one might expect the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy to perform inadequately in the sales department. However, correlative commercial expectations as this would reportedly be far from the truth, according to the CEO of Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive. This news comes as, during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Monday, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick stated that the GTA Trilogy had “significantly exceeded” the company’s commercial expectations.
Those interested in more specific sales figures will find that the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy shipped at least 10 million units, which is a rather healthy landmark number for an AAA video game to hit. This sales figure attainment was cracked when Zelnick divulged that the entire Grand Theft Auto franchise sold over 370 million units, including over 160 million copies of Grand Theft Auto 5. Therefore, there has been a 15 million increase for the franchise since the last November investor call. Given that Zelnick singled GTA 5 out as selling another 5 million in that period, it is almost certain that the GTA Trilogy must make up the other 10 million sales.
In summary, although numerous bugs and glitches linger about to taint the re-release of these industry-defining games, it would appear that the masses still cannot get enough of the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy. On a brighter note, as the collection continues to draw in gamers, one can hope that Grove Street Games will bring updates about on a more regular basis to satisfy this influx of players.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Android and iOS ports are scheduled to release in early 2022.
Source: VGC
