GTA Chinatown Wars accounts for 50% of all M-rated game sales on DS @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on April 02, 2010

News: That's right Touch the Dead, you got served.

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder recently chatted with MCV about the reception Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has received on the DS and he revealed a surprising statistic, the game accounts for almost half of all Mature-rated game sales on the handheld.

УAs of February 2010, Chinatown Wars' unit sales in the US represented nearly 50 per cent of the unit sales of all M-rated DS titles in the history of the platform."

While Chinatown Wars never set the sales charts on fire (even the PSP version seemed to drop off the radar after it was released), I'd call that a success.

Of course, as of February 2010, only seven other M-rated games were available for the DS: Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, Touch the Dead, Dementium: The Ward, Ultimate Mortal Kombat, Theresia, C.O.R.E. and Crime Scene. When you look at the full list, the 50% number suddenly becomes much clearer. An eighth M-rated game, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, was just released and Dementium II will be available in stores at the end of the month.

But then Feder goes and puts his foot in his mouth by claiming the real season Chinatown Wars didn't sell better was because of piracy, У[T]he handheld market is currently challenged by weak demand and by piracy. Piracy is a real and present danger for our industry and must be addressed, especially in the handheld market. The commercial performance of Chinatown Wars has certainly suffered at the hands of piracy.Ф

Yeah, I'm not sure I buy that. But congratulations to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on its success, and here's hoping its selection as one of the 10 Essential Games For Your Brand New DSi XL will lead to more sales.

We'll have more soon.