A recent legal dispute has inadvertently brought several key performance metrics to light.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and its spin-off, Vice City Stories, have returned to the headlines due to a trademark conflict. Take-Two Interactive, the publisher behind the series, took legal action against a firm known as DT Global Investment Holdings.
The conflict stemmed from the latter’s attempt to register “Vice City Subs” as a trademark for a proposed sandwich shop and restaurant chain.
Media outlets discovered that in the filings supporting Take-Two’s claim to the “Vice City” name, attorneys detailed the cultural weight and history of the brand within Rockstar’s iconic GTA franchise. Interestingly, these documents also included specific sales figures for the titles involved.
According to the legal records, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories—originally launched in 2006—has achieved lifetime sales of over 7 million units. This is a significant jump from the last official estimate provided in 2008, which sat at 4.5 million copies.
However, when referencing the primary Grand Theft Auto: Vice City title, the legal team stuck to the legacy figure of 17.5 million copies, a total that has remained unchanged in public records since 2008.
Source: iXBT.games