GTA IV boosts UK retail sales

Rockstar raise the economy

The Wall Street Journal this week reveal that the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV actually gave the UK economy a welcome boost last month, helping the the Bank of England battle the world's present economic woes.

Retail sales were apparently expected to fall by as much as 0.5% last month, but the actual figure was only 0.2%, Grand Theft Auto IV's epic launch taking the credit for a sales activity spike.

Sales were still up 4.2% for April, from 2007, although March's activity was up 4.7% year-on-year, showing that there is still a decline underway.

Can GTA IV save the country for the month of May, too? We'll keep you posted.

By Luke Guttridge