Grand Theft Auto IV

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I wasn't implying that it was a PS3 only problem, but I was implying that the PS3 needs GTA4 more than the Xbox 360 in order to shift units.
 
Halo 3 is really hurting the industry :)..... Joking. I really dont mind the delay. Haze. Guitar Hero 3, Rock band ,Unreal Tournament 3, Uncharted, Need For Speed Pro Street, Heavenly Sword, Socom, GT5 Prologue and Warhawk should be more than enough games hold ps3 owner over, and thats just whats coming this year.
 
ExigeExcel
I wasn't implying that it was a PS3 only problem, but I was implying that the PS3 needs GTA4 more than the Xbox 360 in order to shift units.
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Well actually you were referring to PS3 owners, not Sony getting kicked in the go-nads because of the missed opportunity to shift more units.

Regardless, even for Sony, I don’t think they are sweating bullets over the delay of GTA4. Sure, it would have helped sell more consoles, and would have sold plenty of copies, but it isn't even a 1st party game, like some of the ones slated for 2007 in the line-up of PS3 game titles:
  • Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
  • Lair
  • Heavenly Sword
  • Folklore
  • Warhawk
  • SOCOM: Confrontation
  • Coded Arms: Assault
  • Eye of Judgment
  • Time Crisis 4
  • Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
  • NBA 08
  • SingStar
  • Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
And of course there are timed exclusive titles that may help sell consoles, like Haze and Unreal Tournament 3, and the exclusively enhanced multi-platform 3rd party games like Colin McRae: DiRT coming out soon for PS3.

Then there are the upcoming highly anticipated exclusive PSN games, like Little Big Planet, Wipeout HD, and Echochrome among others.

And I suspect Sony's upcoming "Home" online service may also increase demand for PS3s.

So, no I don't see how PS3 owners just got their go-nads kicked.

Shall we get back to GTA4 now? ;)
 
Digital-Nitrate
Well actually you were referring to PS3 owners, not Sony getting kicked in the go-nads because of the missed opportunity to shift more units.
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I know people who've bough PS3s and now don't play them much on the basis that the right games just aren't out. I look in the Argos catalogue and very few games have caught my eye enough to even partially convince me to buy a PS3.

Regardless, even for Sony, I don’t think they are sweating bullets over the delay of GTA4. Sure, it would have helped sell more consoles, and would have sold plenty of copies, but it isn't even a 1st party game, like some of the ones slated for 2007 in the line-up of PS3 game titles:
  • Gran Turismo 5: Prologue Yay, glorified demo. That'll please all the casual gamers.
  • Lair
  • Heavenly Sword
  • Folklore
  • Warhawk
  • SOCOM: Confrontation Good game, but not a console seller IMO.
  • Coded Arms: Assault
  • Eye of Judgment
  • Time Crisis 4 Isn't going to take up alot of people hours..
  • Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
  • NBA 08 I think the winning Eleven/PES games will do more to shift consoles and appease non-North American players than this.
  • SingStar PS2 version still going strong.
  • Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Will make more than a few kids Xmas' lists for sure.
And of course there are timed exclusive titles that may help sell consoles, like Haze, and the exclusively enhanced multi-platform 3rd party games like Colin McRae: DiRT and Madden NFL 08 coming out soon for PS3.
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Colin McRae is also a good game but much in the vain of F1:CE it won't appeal to an audience of casual gamers. And face it, Sony need to be selling and entertaining the casual gamers right now if they want to keep the PS3 strong. Hardcore gamers will find games and latch onto them for months, a casual gamer's attention is much shorter.
Then there are the upcoming highly anticipated exclusive PSN games, like Little Big Planet, Wipeout HD, and Echochrome among others.

And I suspect Sony's upcoming "Home" online service may also increase demand for PS3s.

So, no I don't see how PS3 owners just got their go-nads kicked.

Shall we get back to GTA4 now? ;)
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The fact is, GTA is a franchise that appeals to everyone from the casual gamer to the 100% completer. And if the majority of the PS3 owners I know are saying that they're waiting for bigger games to come out, then I think it's fair to say that may reflect the general opinion.

And for more proof, just check https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=97096 for some more PS3 owners who are eagerly awaiting block buster games.
 
ExigeExcel
And for more proof, just check https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=97096 for some more PS3 owners who are eagerly awaiting block buster games.
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Actually that's proof that the vast majority of those responding to the poll feel the PS3 was worth every penny they paid for it... not exactly a rallying cry from angry PS3 owners eagerly waiting for some future title... and that's even with Duck's fowl vote. ;)

We could go back and forth between bullet points and anecdotal evidence, but I have a feeling it isn't going to get us any where, except farther off topic than we have already gone.

Digital-Nitrate
Shall we get back to GTA4 now? ;)
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👍👍
 
August 1st - The day GTAForums exploded. :D

This doesn't make since though. 4 years, 150 developers, nearly 90% complete...with 16 hour work days...wtf are they doing then?
 
Has this delay actually got anything to do with the lack of a hard drive on the Xbox 360 Core system or is this just more indulging in idle speculation like the previously retracted claim about a potential Xbox version being a third the size of the PS3 version?

I'd like to see a reliable link that showed that the reason for this supposed six month delay is because of the lack of a HDD in the Xbox 360 Core, otherwise it just sounds like more bull**** foaming at the mouth anti-Xbox nonsense.


KM.
 
Digital-Nitrate
... and that's even with Duck's fowl vote. ;)
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Just to clarify, my vote in that poll was relative to now, not several months off like some other votes. You'll see me masturb... drooling to a TouchSense-enabled Killzone 2 next spring.

*McLaren*
August 1st - The day GTAForums exploded. :D

This doesn't make since though. 4 years, 150 developers, nearly 90% complete...with 16 hour work days...wtf are they doing then?
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Good question. My guess is that they're trying to stabilize the framerate, but that shouldn't require a 6 month delay.
 
KieranMurphy
Has this delay actually got anything to do with the lack of a hard drive on the Xbox 360 Core system or is this just more indulging in idle speculation like the previously retracted claim about a potential Xbox version being a third the size of the PS3 version?

I'd like to see a reliable link that showed that the reason for this supposed six month delay is because of the lack of a HDD in the Xbox 360 Core, otherwise it just sounds like more bull**** foaming at the mouth anti-Xbox nonsense.


KM.
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The reason is unknown but it has nothing to do with either console. They've reported they ran into a snag with the game on both consoles.
 
Duċk;2731183
GTA4 Delayed Until April 2008
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Gives me more time to save up for a PS3 then.

*McLaren*
August 1st - The day GTAForums exploded. :D

This doesn't make since though. 4 years, 150 developers, nearly 90% complete...with 16 hour work days...wtf are they doing then?
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Haha.

It really doesn't, I mean the game was like 2/3 of the way done when they released the 1st trailer, and it was sure to be done long before the mid-October release date at the rate they were going.

KieranMurphy
Has this delay actually got anything to do with the lack of a hard drive on the Xbox 360 Core system or is this just more indulging in idle speculation like the previously retracted claim about a potential Xbox version being a third the size of the PS3 version?

I'd like to see a reliable link that showed that the reason for this supposed six month delay is because of the lack of a HDD in the Xbox 360 Core, otherwise it just sounds like more bull**** foaming at the mouth anti-Xbox nonsense.


KM.
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I would too, even though they have link to the official sites; it just doesn't make sense to have a game that's pratically done, set to release in mid-October, then all of a sudden delay it to Q2 of 2008, wtf is going on?
 
Sigh.

Yes, it's annoying to have to wait longer for something that we've been waiting for in anticipation. I'm also sure it's very annoying to Rockstar Games, too. However, I'd much rather them get it right than release a game full of bugs and glitches, which, as we've seen, there's still a few of those.

There's obviously a good reason for this, and it's not because Rockstar wants to piss you off. It's obviously because, after working on a game for so long, they don't want to disappoint with something that's not been completed. So keep your pants on.

In fact, I quite like how Jordan over at Planet GTA worded things:
To set the mood for this news post, let me say that I've been in Florida all this week, literally listening to the Wave 103 disc from 2002's Vice City while cruising down the streets in my car, yellow Rockstar sticker firmly placed on left of rear bumper. Yeah, I realize that I'm quite the GTA fan. I even wore one of my GTA IV shirts a few days back when I went to a diner.

Regarding GTA IV, I don't feel bad at all regarding the delay of the game. I am all for it. We already knew that the PlayStation 3 version was behind schedule as was told to us in a magazine a few weeks ago. Also, I've been thinking something would happen anyway. I always expected a delay of one or two weeks as there was with San Andreas for PlayStation 2, but this new delay that was announced today is a bit longer than I expected.

This game is mammoth. In order to create a mammoth game, it takes a lot of time. After that long amount of time, tweaking and fixing time is needed. Then the game is released. Imagine that such a mammoth game that was many years in the making was not worth it in the end due to lack of promised features or excessive code bugs.

I'm sure that the people at Rockstar North as well as in New York are working extremely hard, taking way too much time away from family and friends. These people are top-notch when it comes to their field. Instead of releasing an extremely buggy game as Electronic Arts did with NCAA Football 2008 for the next-gen systems, months of extra development time are being added for Rockstar Games to finish GTA IV properly. The amount of bugs I have personally found in that American football game is absolutely embarrassing for EA.

Moving forward, a few things are obvious:
  • The episodic content release date will be pushed back into Summer, Fall or Winter 2008.
  • Second, the PR campaign for the game will be thrown off. We have two trailers and only expected one more, but now with many months more remaining, I can't help but think that we will see some new PR moves from the company.
  • Third, the game will have extra time to be polished. As I said above, the fans of the franchise want a great game with the least amount of bugs possible. If extra time was needed for this, then extra time would be given. Well, extra time is needed, and it has now been given.
I am looking forward to this game just like everyone else, but I want it to not only be right, but rather overachieving. These added months will hopefully allow time for this. This game has the potential to be as special as Vice City or III or SA. Give them time.
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Jimmy Enslashay
Sigh.

Yes, it's annoying to have to wait longer for something that we've been waiting for in anticipation. I'm also sure it's very annoying to Rockstar Games, too. However, I'd much rather them get it right than release a game full of bugs and glitches, which, as we've seen, there's still a few of those.

There's obviously a good reason for this, and it's not because Rockstar wants to piss you off. It's obviously because, after working on a game for so long, they don't want to disappoint with something that's not been completed. So keep your pants on.
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+REP Well said! 👍


In fact, I quite like how Jordan over at Planet GTA worded things:
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Agreed.

While it is disappointing news, I think it's quite premature to hit the panic button, and one thing can be known for certain, it means the game will have another six months of development/testing time under its belt, and that can only benefit those that will play it when it does finally get released! 👍





*McLaren*
The real reason why Take Two delayed GTA IV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU

Maybe this will cheer some up. :)
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;)

However, if you are going to RickRoll someone to cheer them up, at least RickRoll them Family Guy style:


:D
 
A six month delay must really be a serious problem. Oh well, one less game to try to make time for this winter. :)
 
KieranMurphy
Has this delay actually got anything to do with the lack of a hard drive on the Xbox 360 Core system or is this just more indulging in idle speculation like the previously retracted claim about a potential Xbox version being a third the size of the PS3 version?
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So, the lack of a positive reply means that's a big fat NO then. There's no reason to think that the nature of the problem is something that could result in the game being released on time if it wasn't for the lack of a hard drive on some Xbox 360s.

Seriously, if it was a software fault minor enough to allow the game to be released on time and possibly could be patched later, would it result in a six month delay?


KM.
 
KieranMurphy
So, the lack of a positive reply means that's a big fat NO then. There's no reason to think that the nature of the problem is something that could result in the game being released on time if it wasn't for the lack of a hard drive on some Xbox 360s.

Seriously, if it was a software fault minor enough to allow the game to be released on time and possibly could be patched later, would it result in a six month delay?


KM.
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Kieran, no one really knows what the problem. What we do is it that is isn't a specific console. This problem apparently is on both.
 
*McLaren*
Kieran, no one really knows what the problem. What we do is it that is isn't a specific console. This problem apparently is on both.
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I agree, I'm just sick of all this daft fanboyism where people are all too eager to gush lavishly about their own pet console and get the dig in at the "enemy" at every available opportunity.


KM.
 
Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms," said Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick in a statement.
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uk.gamespot.com/news
This implies that working on one platform wouldn't have been a problem. But it only implies that. Suffice to say that they may have bit off more then they can chew by going for a simultaneous release on two platforms.

And just to clear up, the second financial quarter for Take Two runs from February so it may not be that late...perhaps.

And this even with the 50 million that Microsoft supposedly gave them (money that would be recuperated via exclusive DLC). I think this hurts Microsoft more than Sony, though it'll hurt them both for sure. What games do either have in their Autumn/Winter line up now?

PS. There will be conspiracy theories going round though. There's speculation that Microsoft is ditching the Core so the delay fits in with a date for when there are no Core 360's anymore meaning Rockstar can make them game HDD compliant. This is one theory I'm sure will do the rounds...:rolleyes:
 
This is the first time I have heard this but I really am not surprised. They need to get co-op or do something innovative for this GTA that hasnt already been done in other sandbox style games. Crackdown, Saints Row, and Just Cause were extremely fun sandbox style games and so far I didnt see anything in GTA4 that these games didnt already have.
 
KieranMurphy, I don’t know what it is you are ranting on about. At least in this thread, since news of this delay was posted back on post #627 I think everyone has agreed that we don't know why there is such a long delay, and it looks like most of us agree that in the long run, this delay will likely result in a better game for ALL of us to enjoy.

As for speculating how the lack of an HDD might be a factor in the delay, yes it is somewhat reasonable to consider this. If a game is released knowing that there would have to be an update patch released sometime afterwards, then the developer has to consider how many of their potential market doesn't have a HDD that would allow them to update their game.

However, I personally do not think this is the case for a couple reasons. If it was simply about a patch, then I wouldn't think it would take six months to make the necessary changes...(although it did take Evolution Studios six months to finally release the 1.2 software update for MotorStorm that fixed the 'boost cheat', and improved online features, and so it wasn't a big update… so who knows maybe RockStar is taking in account the fact that many of their potential customers do not have a HDD to download a future update).

Also, as long as there wasn't some kind of deal with MS to not release the PS3 edition before the Xbox edition, then Take-Two could have released the PS3 version now, assuming this delay really is just about fixing some bugs and adding some features that could be done by releasing a future update.. but I doubt this the case, or at least I doubt this would be the only reason for the delay.

As for 'fanboys' getting in digs at their so-called 'enemies', the only post that initiated any kind of ‘dig’ towards an opposing console, was the one about PS3 owners getting their go-nads kicked, but I think that was resolved fairly quickly, and in hind sight I think it was said more in jest than as a real opportunity to 'dig' in at the "enemy" as you say.

While you may not agree with someone else’s opinion, that doesn't make them fanboys, and just because someone prefers one console over another doesn't mean they consider those that support a different console as "the enemy", you may very well feel that way, but I suspect many, such as myself, do not. Nor is it unreasonable for those with differing opinions to discuss their own speculation, and certainly not wrong to post actual facts without ranting and raving and relying on excessive exaggerations or untruths to support their opinions.
 
Another possible reason why GTA:IV is delayed:

August 3, 2007

Pachter: PS3 Port Caused GTA IV Delay

Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter says Take-Two management has "stumbled badly for the first time" with the delay of GTA IV, and said that he believes difficulties porting the game to the PlayStation 3 are to blame and that the company's new green light policy appears to be a failure.

"We think it is likely," said Pachter, "that the Rockstar team had difficulty in building an exceptionally complicated game for the PS3, and failed to recognize how far away from completion the game truly was until recently."

"We think it is also likely that Take-Two had a contractual commitment to Sony that it would not favor competitor Microsoft by launching the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV prior to launching the PS3 version," he continued, "and believe that any delay of the PS3 version necessitated a delay of the Xbox 360 version."

The delay has caused somewhat of a valuation quandary for Pachter, as he adds "we are unprepared to predict what Take-Two management can truly deliver until we see some positive results."

"We think that new management is doing many things right," he says, "but believe that some structural obstacles remain. The company has begun an initiative to improve the green light process for new projects, but given the delays of Manhunt and GTA, its process for monitoring projects under development appears to be a failure."

Pachter concludes, "Until we see evidence of better controls over work in process and greater diligence in project selection, we are not confident that the company will gain market share in future years."

POSTED: 07.18AM PST, 08/03/07 - Brandon Boyer - LINK
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Jimmy Enslashay
Sigh.

Yes, it's annoying to have to wait longer for something that we've been waiting for in anticipation. I'm also sure it's very annoying to Rockstar Games, too. However, I'd much rather them get it right than release a game full of bugs and glitches, which, as we've seen, there's still a few of those.

There's obviously a good reason for this, and it's not because Rockstar wants to piss you off. It's obviously because, after working on a game for so long, they don't want to disappoint with something that's not been completed. So keep your pants on.
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Agreed man, no point in making a game for 2 consoles and have one version be better than the other.

+ Rep.
 
Duċk;2731183
GTA4 Delayed Until April 2008
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This made me so mad when I read it yesterday on Shacknews. I was soooo wanting it in October as I was hoping to have my Elite by then. Well as much as I want it now, I also want R* to take their time with it to make it as perfect as it can be. I'll just need to find something else to hold me over. *looks for copy of San Andreas* ;)
 
TS
Another possible reason why GTA:IV is delayed:
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Now that does sound like a very reasonable and possible explanation. Certainly as far as a possible agreement not to release either edition before the other, coupled with the fact that RockStar said they had started development of the PS3 edition later than the X360 because they didn't get the PS3 development tools until after they had already started on the X360 edition.

Although Pachter is mistaken when he said that the trouble might be porting the game to the PlayStation 3, as Dan Houser and RockStar have made it quite clear that the PS3 edition is not a port, and that both editions are being developed separately for each of the consoles.

What is curious though is that it was only a few weeks ago that they said the development for the PS3 edition was already catching up with the X360 edition, so again this may also still be a development issue for both editions.


BTW: I was trying to find video interviews with Dan Houser on GTA:IV, and the only thing I could find was near the bottom of Kikizo's GTA4 info page:
  • Sam Houser on GTA IV
    Developer comments on PS3 including Rockstar president Sam Houser, who is clearly discussing GTA IV
Now I watched all the way through it and I never heard him even refer to GTA:IV.

Does anyone have any links to audio or video interviews with Houser regarding GTA:IV?

Thanks.
 

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