We'll have a greater sense of just what kind of impact Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV had on Xbox 360 and PS3 sales in the U.S. when the NPD data is released on Thursday, but in the meantime both Microsoft and Sony seem to be pleased with the GTA boost. According to GameStop's sales figures, 64 percent of GTA IV copies sold during week one were for the 360.

That said, Sony today remarked as part of its earnings call that weekly hardware sales of the PS3 have actually increased by 50 percent (presumably worldwide) since GTA IV hit store shelves on April 29.

As Peter Dille, SCEA's senior vice president for marketing at PlayStation, pointed out to Newsweek, despite the large installed base gap between Xbox 360 and PS3, Sony's machine seems to be doing pretty well for itself when it comes to GTA purchasers.

"...we're confident that the PlayStation loyalists--the guys that grew up playing GTA on PlayStation 2--would clearly be a factor, and again, I think we're seeing that. Keep in mind as well that we're looking at a couple weeks of data. If [the 360 vs. PS3 ratio] ends up being 50-50, that would be a monumental victory for PlayStation 3. The fact that it's close to 60-40 right now is a huge victory. But if you could catch up against the installed base advantage that they have and get it to 50-50--I mean, my God, that would be unheard of," said Dille.