I'd blame the sales on bad word of mouth. GTAIV just wasn't as fun as the older ones. The emphasis on realism and the "mature" theme resulted in the removal of a lot of the mayhem that brought people to the series in droves.
Most casual GTA players just liked to blow crap up with crazy weapons and attack helicopters. GTAIV had little of that, and as a result had weak legs compared to its predecessors.