Grand Theft Auto IV racked up more than $500 million (dollar figures U.S.) in sales in its first week of release, with cash registers ringing up $310 million on the opening day alone.

Publisher Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. said Wednesday that the video game has surpassed all-time entertainment records for Day 1 and Week 1 sales by dollar value. Released April 29, Grand Theft Auto IV has sold some six million units around the world for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with 3.6 million selling opening day.

Halo 3, an Xbox-exclusive title, took in an estimated $170 million in its first 24 hours of release last fall and $300 million in its first week, according to Microsoft.

In contrast, Iron Man made $201 million at the box office worldwide through its first weekend.

Such comparisons are slightly skewed, however, in that a video game can cost $60 compared to $12 for a movie ticket.

The latest instalment of the blockbuster Grand Theft series puts gamers in the role of Niko Bellic, who has left his native eastern Europe to escape his past. Bellic seeks his fortune, along with cousin Roman, in fictional Liberty City where the two find themselves slipping further into the criminal underworld.

"We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player's experience ...," Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said in a release. "Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well."

"Grand Theft Auto IV's first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date."

One of the game's producers estimated the game cost $100 million to develop. Earlier games in the series had total sales of 70 million copies.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise, developed by Rockstar Games, is seen as ground-breaking in the video game world because it moved gamers into a wide-open world full of choices ' and consequences ' rather than taking them along a rigid path. Rated M for mature, the game also drew fire for its "do anything to anyone" style of play that includes murder, carjacking and assault.

The latest game has drawn rave reviews. Gamerankings.com, which compiles reviews, rates the game as the No. 1 title ever released.

Take-Two, which owns Rockstar, has been subject to a $2-billion hostile takeover bid from Electronic Arts since February.

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