According to Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President, Merchandising, at GameStop, the release of Rockstar's GTA IV appears to be doing exactly what Sony had hope it would – driving further adoption of the PlayStation 3 and convincing the huge PS2 installed base to finally upgrade.

"From our position, the launch of GTA IV has been tremendous in driving traffic to our stores, as well as providing a vigorous lift in PS3 console sales over this time last week. We attribute the growth to a huge fan base of PS2 owners who see this title as the trigger for the PS3 upgrade they've been planning," he said.

"I think brand loyalty is going to kick in for Sony... There is a huge installed base of loyal PlayStation 2 owners who have been looking for a reason to upgrade, and they have strong previous ties to the Grand Theft Auto franchise on PlayStation platforms," added Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. "Add to that a number of other big exclusive games for PS3, including Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, and SOCOM: Confrontation, to name a few, and it seems like Sony's in a great position right now."

Naturally SCEA is pleased with the game's early results as well and the company believes its "PlayStation heritage" will drive gamers to pick up the PS3 version of Rockstar's mega hit. "Grand Theft Auto fans who love the game grew up on PlayStation and we believe that rich heritage will be a deciding factor for many gamers at retail," noted Peter Dille, Senior Vice President, Marketing & PlayStation Network. "This enthusiasm for GTA IV, combined with the excitement behind Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, and Resistance 2 will further drive PS3 hardware sales."