There's little doubt that more copies of Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 4(Xbox 360, PS3) will be sold for the Xbox 360 than for the PlayStation 3, but analysts say that there's more to gain for Sony in this picture than there is for Microsoft.

This is so, say the experts, because more PlayStation 3s will be sold than Xbox 360s as a direct result for the launch. While it's true that the Xbox 360 has a larger install base, the PS3 benefits more in the long run because the game will expand its user numbers and pave the way for other triple-A releases like Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2, and LittleBigPlanet.

"I think PS3 'wins' this battle," says Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. He explained that if GTA 4 sells nine to 12 million copies before the year ends, the PS3 should sell two million more units compared to the Xbox 360's one million.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Edward Williams agrees. He believes that some old PlayStation 2 fans may just be holding their money in while laying in wait for big releases like GTA 4.

"So many people who owned the PS2 went into PlayStation family because of GTA," he adds. "The release of GTA 4 could expedite their decision to upgrade."

Microsoft, however, is not letting up. It plans to be the "better" GTA 4 platform by putting together a bigger marketing campaign and snaring an exclusive deal that will give it exclusive rights to GTA 4 episodic content for its Xbox Live service.


Buy: [Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3), (Xbox 360)]