Despite the commercial success, Cole still couldn't crack his face

L.A. Noire might not have been the most even of releases – the open-world crime drama overstayed its welcome by several hours – but it’s still deserving of its success. For all of the game’s faults, it should be recognised for its sheer innovation. Everything from the facial technology through to the very deliberate pacing resulted in a remarkably refreshing experience; especially in an era when the industry is so unwilling to take risks.

As such, it’s exciting to see the title record a tally of almost five million sales. Publisher Take-Two revealed the number during the firm’s quarterly sales report this week. The figures made L.A. Noire the biggest selling new IP of 2011, beating out other favourites such as Dead Island and Catherine.

Elsewhere, Take-Two used the call to update numbers for a couple of its other hits, including Red Dead Redemption, which has now sold an impressive 13 million units.

The company’s next big release, Grand Theft Auto V, was also touched upon, with gaffer Strauss Zelnick confirming that Rockstar North is making “incredible progress” with the project. Still no release date though.