From our other sites
The story
A post on 5ch’s hardware/industry board blew up after Wakkap, a major European game retailer, tweeted a comparison of daily pre-order numbers for GTA6 and the new Zelda title, claiming “Zelda’s pre-orders are 120 times GTA6’s.” On US Amazon, Zelda topped the games category and passed 100,000 units within days of pre-orders opening, while GTA6 reportedly failed to even crack the download-card rankings over the same period. Thread posters debated whether the comparison was fair, noting that GTA6’s console packaging is said to be a paper download-code voucher rather than a disc — making it harder for retailers to track real pre-order numbers — and that the PC version’s release date is still unannounced, meaning the tally only covers PS5 and Xbox. Opinions were split.
Anyone have data comparing daily pre-order numbers for GTA6 and Zelda? I’d like to see it.
↓
■Wakkap (major European game retailer)
Source: x.com / original post here
What people said
It's #1 in games and hit 100k pre-orders within a few days.
GTA6 never even beat the download cards at its peak, so it couldn't take the top spot, and it still hasn't hit 100k.
Even in Japan Zelda's pre-orders are clearly ahead, so it looks like Zelda's on top in Japan, the US, AND Europe 🥺
Is it really giving off "Zelda's gonna outsell it" vibes?
If you're buying it for the discount anyway, isn't the paper version cheaper?
Apparently there were a ton of pre-order cancellations over the whole paper-slip-instead-of-disc fiasco.
That paper's trash the second you use it — it's not even a reusable key…
It's not like a "key" you can reuse.
It's more like a one-time redemption slip — use it once and it's done.
Bit harsh lol (´・ω・`) < That "paper scrap" is YOUR product, buddy lol lol
Retailers probably don't want to sell a paper slip with a time bomb attached 😄
Sony's ditching physical anyway, so no point tiptoeing around it anymore.
A physical release can't beat Ocarina of Time (OoT) at that game.
This physical copy arrives early so you can play right at midnight.
Isn't the bigger issue that it's a downgraded 30fps version?
If it's just a key-paper box there's no reason to buy the physical version, so retailers probably want to trash-talk it.
More like the PC version, not just digital.
Without physical packaging, not many people bother buying it on console anyway.
With just PS5 and Xbox, it might lose.
Exactly this.
Most of GTA6's sales will be on PC too.
Amazing.
No way the retailer has data on digital pre-orders.
This has to just be a comparison of physical pre-orders that went through this one retailer.
Even the PC version's probably going to need some serious specs to hit 60fps+.
Even setting fps aside, the difference between modded and unmodded is huge.
There might genuinely be some backlash from GTA5 having sold TOO much (they were giving it away for free lol).
I don't think a game that's purely about violence like GTA5 is really something the general public wants that badly.
If you actually play GTA5, the quests themselves are way more boring than you'd expect.
But the "units sold" number alone is insane, so it gets attention regardless — I watched the trailer too, of course,
and the realism in that footage really is impressive.
But maybe that's just not translating into actual purchases.
America had real riots during COVID — it was basically real-life GTA already.
The price is high too, maybe the generational handoff just isn't going smoothly.
Expectations for GTA6 have probably been hyped up way too much.
I mean, a new GTA IS genuinely a big deal, but there was this whole "even people who've never played GTA should play this one, it's mandatory!" vibe going around.
That's rare.
Must be a pretty big player.
Didn't know there was a retailer that big in Europe.
That could actually be a big factor.
One person might've bought it on PS3, rebought it on PS4, then rebought it AGAIN on PS5 (or PC).
If so, the actual number of unique users could be way smaller than it looks.
It was even given away for free at times.
Even if you already own it on another platform, you'd grab a free copy.
After all, GTA6 is supposedly doing 50 million units in its first week.
Latest entry in the series, "Grand Theft Auto VI," may hit 50-million-unit sales in its first week — market research firm releases sales forecast based on pre-order data
https://doope.jp/2026/07168184.html
If someone's seriously saying this, they've completely lost it.
How many times Concord's budget would GTA's dev costs be, I wonder. (Concord — the PS5 game infamous for flopping hard and getting pulled from sale)
Most people probably bought it on sale 😀
Even overseas, it's questionable whether GTA beats Zelda once you exclude the PC version.
And the PC version — the one that actually matters — still has no release date; this comparison is only PS5 and Xbox.
Background and key points of this discussion
GTA6 was originally slated for a fall 2025 release before being delayed repeatedly, and with rumors of a price tag over $80, it was already a hot topic before launch. That said, the “120 times” figure comes from a single European retailer’s comparison of its own in-house sales data — it isn’t an official global sales forecast or tally, and should be read with that caveat. As pointed out in the thread, GTA6’s console packaging is reportedly a paper voucher for a download code rather than a disc, which likely pushes buyers toward digital or PC purchases and makes it harder for retailers to gauge real sales and pre-order trends. There’s also a view that GTA5’s headline numbers include a large share of copies picked up for free or on sale, meaning raw unit counts alone don’t necessarily reflect true popularity. Underneath it all is a tension unique to the game industry: hype and buzz don’t always translate directly into actual sales strength.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “Major overseas retailer: ‘Zelda’s pre-orders are 120 times GTA6’s’.”
Leave a Reply