1 out of every 3 people who ever bought a PS3 in the US bought GTA4.

Explain how that's “selling so poorly”?

Well, yes, and this seems to be the obvious answer, but this is a franchise that people bought playstations for in the past, so one would assume there'd be a lot of people out there who assume GTA still means playstation. And it looks, right now, like Microsoft took that advantage for Sony and mitigated it almost entirely.

This is the "best game this generation" according to many reviews, and it's on the verge of being outsold by Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii just a few weeks after release, when Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii has been out for many months.  What happened to people buying the PS3 for GTA 4?

I think it's telling that Devil May Cry 4 for the PS3, from a series that has traditionally been heavily associated with the Playstation brand, sold about 171k less than the 360 version, according to VGChartz data.

The more substantial user base has to be the answer.

I think GTA IV's sales on both systems have been quite good. It's the PS3 version's legs that really surprised me. Sales crashed back to earth in a hurry.

Titles that sell as spectacularly as the GTA franchise games are quite scarce. Sony may have some big AAA titles ready to be unleashed this year, but I still think they have a legitimate cause for concern.

This is exactly what I'm talking about.  It's not like there have been a ton of good PS3 releases in 2008 so far that GTA 4 has had to compete with.  So far, it's really *the game* for the PS3 thsi year, and it's sales have fallen off more quickly than anticipated.

What this shows third parties is that if they want massive sales in the US, they obviously release on the Xbox 360.  No matter what franchise and no matter how strong Sony has been for that franchise in the past: the big sales are on the 360 here in the US. 

Why is GTA IV not boosting PS2 PS3 hardware also?

If we follow this train of thought, I can't fathom the amount of money Konami would make if they ever decided to release MGS4 for the 360.

360 easily has won the GTAIV battle all over the world...

Wish next GTA to be XBOX exclusive!!!!!

Eliasg,

Why would Rockstar deny itself the possibility of making the millions of extra dollars a multiplatform offering guarantees?

Why would any company? 

Dunno, ask Konami and Square.

Meanwhile, Capcom does a yearly jig all the way to the bank where they dump in loads of cash.