GTA6 Launch Looms — Can PS5 Be Saved? 5ch: ‘Expecting About Half the Last One’s Sales’

From our other sites

The story

Ahead of GTA6’s release, users on 5ch’s Hardware & Industry (“Geha”) board have been debating the sales conditions for the PS5 version. Discussion centered on the PS5 version’s specs — 30fps, fully offline at launch, and a code-in-box setup even for the physical release — with many arguing the game could struggle this time despite the previous installment, GTA5, having sold 230 million copies worldwide. The thread also cited data showing Amazon’s purchase count over the past month had halved from 8,000 to 4,000, splitting opinion between those who saw falling expectations even before launch and those who believed the previous game’s astronomical popularity guaranteed another hit.

What people said

1AnonymousOct 15, 2026 08:14
Have they already given up on it?
2AnonymousOct 15, 2026 08:19
At least they're not kicking Microsoft or Nintendo while they're down
102AnonymousOct 15, 2026 16:01
Re: #2
Because MS's legs would snap under that.
4AnonymousOct 15, 2026 08:21
It's a game that only appeals to wannabe criminals anyway.
5AnonymousOct 15, 2026 08:30
I figure that game only appeals to wannabe criminals, but the last one sold 230 million copies…
Are there really that many wannabe criminals in the world?
6AnonymousOct 15, 2026 08:33
From PlayStation's perspective, it's a killer app.
9AnonymousOct 15, 2026 08:44
It's probably popular, but everyone already knows it won't sell much in Japan no matter what.
15AnonymousOct 15, 2026 08:56
This is supposed to be PlayStation's last big fireworks show, so Sony should be marketing it like crazy…
24AnonymousOct 15, 2026 09:28
They've gotta be seriously regretting not launching on PC at the same time.
28AnonymousOct 15, 2026 09:32
Re: #24
Like Re: #25 said, modern GTA is exactly the kind of thing that should have appealed most to PC gamers
Why did they go and defer to PlayStation like this…
86AnonymousOct 15, 2026 13:48
Re: #24
I think this one's gonna get dragged down because of its PlayStation ties…

My guess: about half of what the last one did.

I think this'll be another reminder that you just shouldn't get tangled up with PlayStation.
26AnonymousOct 15, 2026 09:30
Here's the scary part — the PS Store rankings for GTA6 across different countries aren't much different from Wolverine's, which PS fanboys loved posting about.
So where exactly are these amazing preorders supposed to be?
42AnonymousOct 15, 2026 10:07
Re: #26
Wait… isn't Wolverine's global sales still shaky even for hitting a million?
And in Japan it still hasn't even broken 25,000 copies…
30AnonymousOct 15, 2026 09:37
Re: #28
They were probably developing it since the back half of the PS4 era
Back then they probably never imagined PlayStation would fall this far.
31AnonymousOct 15, 2026 09:44
Re: #30
Earnings and shipment numbers are way better than PS4 though
That's about all.
45AnonymousOct 15, 2026 10:14
It was like this with FF16 and Wilds too.

What I always think is — no matter how many times they repeat the same mistaken assumption, they never seem to notice.
46AnonymousOct 15, 2026 10:18
Re: #45
Regardless of FF16 itself, 2023 was the best-selling period ever for the console
Well, the breakdown was probably mostly scalper demand though

https://teitengame.com/hard.html
57AnonymousOct 15, 2026 10:40
What are you even talking about?
The last one sold 230 million copies — this is a game that's literally in a different league.
62AnonymousOct 15, 2026 10:45
Re: #57
230 million is 10 times Tears of the Kingdom's total sales
Tears of the Kingdom's first week was 10 million copies, so if GTA is 10x as popular, its first week could hit as much as 100 million
And here's the really crazy part: that 230 million was for GTA5, the PREVIOUS game — GTA6 could end up even more popular than that.
63AnonymousOct 15, 2026 10:45
Re: #57
600,000 on PS3, 400,000 for the cheap PS4 re-release
Since it basically halves every time, that makes this a 200,000-copies title at best.
69AnonymousOct 15, 2026 11:24
Re: #57
Isn't most of that from deep discounts or free giveaways?
There are probably tons of people out there who own 3 copies each.
59AnonymousOct 15, 2026 10:41
Re: #55
Honestly, the whole Wilds mess did a lot of damage to PlayStation's brand image too
Throughout that whole Wilds firestorm, it became pretty obvious to Monster Hunter fans that "Wilds defenders" = PS fanboys
Because every time those guys open their mouths, they're trashing Rise.
77AnonymousOct 15, 2026 12:51
Re: #59
I've seen a few people here and there saying they got fooled by the Rise-bashing too.
72AnonymousOct 15, 2026 12:22
No PC version, online not even implemented, it's an incomplete release — they probably just realized the hype would be short-lived
And it's hell after launch too.
73AnonymousOct 15, 2026 12:27
Re: #72
And in Japan, the PS5 version is the censored version only, so that's all you get to play.
88AnonymousOct 15, 2026 14:14
Amazon's purchase count over the past month dropped from 8,000 to 4,000, so people probably sensed something.
107AnonymousOct 15, 2026 16:25
Re: #88
That's literally half
That's rough.
89AnonymousOct 15, 2026 14:17
It's mainly the 30fps thing, I bet
The mood clearly changed after that came out.
94AnonymousOct 15, 2026 14:51
Re: #89
It didn't help that the "Hekimin" (5ch slang for PlayStation fanboys) started mounting bizarre, indefensible defenses of it either
Combined with the fact they'd just been bashing Elden Ring's 30fps on Switch 2, it tanked their image even among users with no stake in the console war.
96AnonymousOct 15, 2026 14:53
Re: #89
If it were at least the Pro model hitting 60 in performance mode, fine. But 30fps…
97AnonymousOct 15, 2026 14:55
Re: #89
And on top of that: fully offline-only right at launch, plus a code-in-box for the physical version, as the finishing blow
No, seriously, these are the worst launch conditions I've ever seen.

Background and Key Points of This Debate

GTA6 is the sequel to GTA5, which set a historic worldwide sales record of 230 million copies, and this installment is likewise slated for release on PS5 and Xbox. The specs that fueled discussion in the thread — 30fps, offline-only immediately after launch, and a code-in-box setup even for the physical edition — aren’t speculation but actual announced launch conditions, and posters drew a parallel to the recent Monster Hunter Wilds 30fps controversy and the fan-vs-fan defense wars that followed, reviving the same argument. Opinion split between an optimistic view holding that the previous game’s astronomical real-world sales guarantee another worldwide hit, and a pessimistic view that factors like hardware performance and online features being added later will cause this release to stumble. It’s also worth noting that the Amazon purchase-count trend is just a snapshot from one period on one marketplace, and doesn’t accurately reflect overall preorder trends or sales across other platforms.

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hardware & Industry, aka “Geha”) thread “The People Who Used to Say ‘GTA Will Win When It Comes Out’ Have Vanished.”

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *