Despite predictions, it’s looking more and more like Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV could be edged out by Wii Fit as the best-selling game of the year.
Back in April, analyst Daniel Ernst of Hudson Square Research predicted Grand Theft Auto IV would be the top-selling game of 2008, with 13 million copies sold, followed by Wii Fit at ten million. However, according to a GameDaily report, GTA IV appears to be losing steam more quickly than expected. A joint report generated by The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track Limited and Enterbrain showed that as of late August, Grand Theft Auto IV had punched out roughly 6.3 million units, compared to 3.6 million for Wii Fit.
But like the famous race between the Testudine and the Lagomorph, slow and steady may yet put the hit Wii game on top. Wii Fit sales in the U.S. are continuing to do well on the NPD sales charts, which ranked the game in fourth place in August and second in September; meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto IV appears to have blown a gasket, and doesn’t even make the top 20 anymore.
“Wii Fit is attaching at around a 30 percent rate, so I suppose if that continues, it will outsell GTA,” said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, adding that the game targets a broader demographic than Grand Theft Auto and, like Wii Play, is “essentially evergreen.” He added that if Wii Fit does come out on top, it will be “less of a comment on GTA than a comment on the potential for other games to thrive.”
“I consider Wii Fit more of a platform than a game, as I think the compelling feature is the potential for other games like Shaun White, Rayman, or even a new Tony Hawk game,” he added. “And don’t forget Jillian Michaels Fitness.”
