NEW YORK — Take-Two Interactive Software said retail sales of its “Grand Theft Auto V” video game surpassed $1 billion in three days, hitting that mark faster than any other game or movie.
The title, a mayhem-filled fantasy of thug life in Southern California, reached the mark sooner than any other entertainment property, New York-based Take-Two said Friday. “Call of Duty: Black Ops II,” from Activision Blizzard, took 15 days in 2012, while the Walt Disney film “Marvel’s The Avengers” made it in 19 days.
The results validate game developers’ strategy of releasing fewer, high-quality games. Publishers this year are poised to benefit from an installed base of as many as 100 million working Xbox 360s from Microsoft and PlayStation 3s by Sony, according to Michael Olson, an analyst with Piper Jaffray.
