GTA4 for PS3 and X360

By Patrick Garratt Published 10 May, 2006

Simultaneously.

For those of you wondering why no Grand Theft Auto announcement materialised in Sony's pre-E3 conference yesterday, Microsoft answered the question tonight by confirming the game will ship simultaneously for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Microsoft honcho Peter Moore took great delight in revealing the news, showing off a fake tattoo in homage to his Halo 2 release date "stain" in 2004.

Rockstar's confirmed street dates for the crime title, which will release in America on October 16 2007. The PAL version hits three days later on October 19. That's next year, mind you take note.

While Rockstar was comfortable enough to give Microsoft the glory of announcing the game, details were completely non-existent. A press release emerged after the conference, saying only that "Grand Theft Auto IV, the next-generation console debut of the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto franchise" is "developed by world-class designers Rockstar North," and would be made available simultaneously for the two consoles.

Separately, Microsoft and Rockstar announced a deal this evening that will see the GTA publisher distributing "exclusive" episodic content via Xbox Live. While specific projects remain unannounced, Microsoft said the deal would allow Rockstar to provide Xbox 360 owners with "ever-expanding gameplay experiences". Extra cities for your brutalising, anyone? Microsoft described the deal as involving "exclusive Rockstar games."

"Through Xbox Live, we have a unique opportunity to reach out to our audience in new ways," added Rockstar boss, Sam Houser. "This strategic alliance allows us to craft experiences that fully leverage the on-demand distribution power and sheer size of Xbox Live."

Comments (56) Latest comment 6 years ago

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  • IJ #1 6 years ago

    That is a LONG time away. How can you be so exact in a date when its 18 months away!

    JR

  • Yossarian #2 6 years ago

    Owen-B, exactly. they should focus on squeezing more goodness and detail into a much smaller area

  • Blerk #3 6 years ago

    The release of a game 'also on 360' is seen as a coup?

  • Kostabi #4 6 years ago

    Considering GTA is normally exclusive on the Playstation for at least 6 months, I'd say this was a bit of a coup, yes.

  • alpha-0ne #5 6 years ago

    Blerk, one of the the most popular franchise ever, has always been sony exclusive for AT LEAST 6 months i know my self i bought a ps2 to play san andreas

    It a huge difference for people to know this game will be on the xbox at the same time as ps3

    the reason for the early announcement it send a message out thet sony are losing grip on some of their most popular games, WWE RAW included which has always been sony exclusive

  • renzo #6 6 years ago

    Isn't Table Tennis the exclusive Rockstar game?

  • Blerk #7 6 years ago

    I'm not allowed to talk about Table Tennis. I did once and almost started a war.

  • SeesThroughAll #8 6 years ago

    This is the last definite sign that publishers are abandoning Sony and joining MS... which is actually very very bad for the consumer in the long run, they'd better go and massively support Nintendo.

  • Blerk #9 6 years ago

    But they didn't 'abandon Sony', did they? It's coming to PS3 as well.

  • SeesThroughAll #10 6 years ago

    But they didn't 'abandon Sony', did they? It's coming to PS3 as well.

    There's a trend, isn't there? XBox versions of games not having to wait, more exclusives for both the XBox and (thankfully) the Wii. Sony's time is ending. The PS3 will be the next Dreamcast... well, not quite. The Dreamcast was way more innovative for it's time in comparison.

    I wouldn't say anyone's abandoning Sony at all.

    Would you say that pricing a console at 600 euro doesn't turn it into a niche product? They certainly see at this point that there will be less money to be made from PS titles.
    Edited by SeesThroughAll at 10/05/06 @ 00:16

  • Ed_209uk #11 6 years ago

    Anyone know the level of $$$ that Sony paid to keep GTA exclusive in the past?

  • tengu #12 6 years ago

    Exclusive download content is all well and good, but will it let you buy clothes for your car?

    "WWE RAW included which has always been sony exclusive"

    Um... no, Raw has always been Xbox exclusive. Smackdown is the Playstation one.
    Edited by tengu at 10/05/06 @ 00:20

  • Blerk #13 6 years ago

    No, just armour.

  • drumbaby #14 6 years ago

    So the recently flagging GTA franchise is hoping for a next gen' kick up the ass asap, and with Xbox 360 having its temporary 3,000,000 unit advantage and PS3 bound to sell like hot cakes Rockstar stand to make more money early on by hedging their bets with both?

    Yep...makes MUCH more sense than some of the silly doom-and-gloom theories stinking up this thread.

  • tiddles #15 6 years ago

    Ok let's just say that PS3 owners will be getting GTA IV, 360 owners GTA IV + expansion packs plus whatever Rockstar will be delivering via Marketplace. This won't show up on Sony's machine.
    Is it easier to understand?

    No-one's said there won't be (different) exclusive content for the PS3 version, available for download via Sony's version of Live. Rockstar will almost certainly be milking both platforms for all they're worth.

    Since MS will have undoubtably offered Rockstar huge great sackloads of cash for exclusivity (which, frankly, is the only sensible thing to do), you have to wonder why Rockstar went for this more limited option...
    Edited by tiddles at 10/05/06 @ 00:33

  • Carrybagma #16 6 years ago

    It's bucking the trend though isn't it? It's been PS2 first for the past however many years, 'cos the PS2 was a cash-cow for publishers. If publishers think the 360 is where the cash will next be, well, that's significant.

    If reaction on this site is similar to reaction elsewhere on the net, then Sony will be worried. And we can probably expect more spec changes.

  • dllord #17 6 years ago

    tiddles "Since MS will have undoubtably offered Rockstar huge great sackloads of cash for exclusivity (which, frankly, is the only sensible thing to do), you have to wonder why Rockstar went for this more limited option..."

    Because XB Live has proved its self?, Sony on-line hasn't???

  • ali-uk #18 6 years ago

    Cannot wait.

  • Sko #19 6 years ago

    If the exclusivity deal had flip-flopped, the doomsayers in the thread might have a (very tenious) point but all I see is a deal lapsing, hardly rats-from-a-sinking-ship.

    As someone who plays GTA on the PC, mind, I'm used to the long waits... :)

  • Sko #20 6 years ago

    I like the line on Rockstar's GTA4 site - "Pre-order now to avoid disappointment"

    I do believe someone is taking the piss :)

  • Jonathan_Fakenham #21 6 years ago

    Nah, the pre-order line is a standard comment on all upcoming titles..

    I figure, when the day comes, there'll be a release-date conundrum on which version to get, though.

  • puppypower #22 6 years ago

    This's a question dso you guys like DSes or something or do you like xboxes that come with a game?That's my question
    Edited by puppypower at 10/05/06 @ 02:04

  • puppypower #23 6 years ago

    hello is anybody here

  • PearOfAnguish #24 6 years ago

    Episodic content? Fuck off. This is an unpleasant new trend. When I pay for a game I'd like to pay for the whole thing.

    So the recently flagging GTA franchise

    Eh? How is GTA 'flagging' exactly? San Andreas was huge and LCS is the only reason to buy a PSP.

  • Venkman90 #25 6 years ago

    It does seem that Sony are finally feeling the strain of competing with the bottomless pockets of Microsoft. Sony my be huge but they don't have the cash reserves to keep losing money on hardware.

    If Sony think Kutagari "makes markets" and that they are too established to falter then they are dead wrong, Sega and Nintendo can testify to that.

  • Feanor #26 6 years ago

    "Considering GTA is normally exclusive on the Playstation for at least 6 months, I'd say this was a bit of a coup, yes."

    Good point.

  • mystic_mick #27 6 years ago

    There's plenty of time for sony to give rockstar a bung to put a stop to the simultaneous launch. Will the PS3 be ready in 18 months? From what I've seen at E3 the PS3 is years from completion.

  • smelly #28 6 years ago

    @Owen-B

    I want to see gta4 take place over an entire country.. no.. planet! :-)

  • juho #29 6 years ago

    I think PS3 could sell even just for it's ability to play Blu-Ray movies, given that stand-alone BR players will debut at around $1000.

  • AOFanboi #30 6 years ago

    "Would you say that pricing a console at 600 euro doesn't turn it into a niche product?"

    No. The PS2 was way more expensive than its competition (Dreamcast, N64, Jaguar), but it still sold - though mostly as a DVD player at first.

    If people see value in the €600 product they will buy it.

    (Otherwise, how can BMW sell their more-expensice-than-a-Toyota cars? A car can take you from A to B no matter its cost, so why pick the more expensive one? Because price isn't the only factor.)

  • reality_cheque #31 6 years ago

    @juho: "I think PS3 could sell even just for it's ability to play Blu-Ray movies, given that stand-alone BR players will debut at around $1000."

    I don't want bluray. I'm happy with DVD tbh, they'll just fill the discs up with more extra feature commentary by the bloke who fetched the doughnuts (should that be donits?) and the man who made the tin cans in the alley where the man got stabbed.

  • reality_cheque #32 6 years ago

    @AOFanboi: There is more difference between VHS and DVD than there is DVD to BluRay, at least to the mind of the average purchaser.

  • Raziel #33 6 years ago

    Who's to say the PS3 isnt getting exclusive content either?

    Anyway, I wouldnt start worring 'till we see whats so exclusive, for all we know its 10 new cars for GTA4 at $9,99 each. Dount it will be worth getting a 360 for, since I was allready planning to get a PS3 and a Wii.

  • Scimarad #34 6 years ago

    "This won't show up on Sony's machine."

    You mean just like San Andreas being a PS2 exclusive? Exclusive content has a way of becoming non-exclusive...It rather depends on wether the Sony online service takes off. I seriously doubt Rockstar will leave the PS3 owners out in the cold if it could alienate potential customers.

    It's not as if MS were going to mention that at their press conference.

  • lennon #35 6 years ago

    This is for me a significantly better deal for MS than for Sony as far as I can see. Many people will have purchased a ps2 for the GTA games which was exclusive for a significant time now it will be out on both systems together and there is a pretty good chance that buying a 360 to play it on will be a couple of hundred pounds cheaper than playing it on ps3.

  • Mr_Whacker #36 6 years ago

    "and the man who made the tin cans in the alley where the man got stabbed"

    I love that guy's work.

  • Flying_Pig #37 6 years ago

    All

    This is clearly all about cash from Rockstar's perspective: Why limit your audience to that of a 12 month old console, when you could more than double it by including the 360 for not much more investment.

    This should sitll be OK for Sony, assuming that the game looks better on the PS3 due to the promised extra horsepower over the 360...?

    This isn't good for Sony, but it ain;t great either. At least they get the game the same day as Microsoft.

  • Hicksy #38 6 years ago

    Presumably the vresions will be near identicle... big kick in the nuts for PS3 :o

  • PearOfAnguish #39 6 years ago

    It is a very big kick in the nuts. How many people bought PS2 and PSP on the basis of GTA games? Now it's going to be available on a console which is cheaper and already on the market the same day as it comes out for PS3.

    This should sitll be OK for Sony, assuming that the game looks better on the PS3 due to the promised extra horsepower over the 360...?

    By all accounts the two are so close in performance as to be near identical.



  • kangarootoo #40 6 years ago

    It strikes me that it may simply not be in Rockstar's interests to do an exclusive release anymore. When that kind of deal is struck, the dev gets a wodge of cash for the exclusivity. They lose sales because they aren't on other platforms, but the wodge of cash offsets those sales and a lump sum is more secure that sales based profits.

    However, when a game series gets as big as GTA, their sales are guaranteed on any platform they choose to touch. The wodge they would require to be Sony exclusive therefore has to go up to match. Its probably just a case of it not making econmic sense to either Rockstar or Sony.

    Rockstar know their 360 sales will be huge, so they don't want to lsoe the profits. Sony don't want to pay a collosal fee for exclusivity (which they would have to do to offset Rockstar's profit loss).

    I don't think this is setting a trend. I think it more about GTA and the huge success it has had.

  • kangarootoo #41 6 years ago

    "It is a very big kick in the nuts. How many people bought PS2 and PSP on the basis of GTA games?"

    How is it a kick in the nuts? The game being available on other platforms doesn't mean you won't get to play it on your Sony hardware anyway.

    I guess if you bought Sony kit purely for this series then it is a bit of an arse, I agree with you there. But no promises were made and its not like this is a new concept is it?

  • kaosridder #42 6 years ago

    kangarootoo - how hard can it be to fathom that this is huge? GTA has been a system seller and is a system seller. PSP's and PS2's sales have been boosted by timeexclusive deals of this franchise, no doubt. Not anymore. With this agreement that is one less reason to wait for the ps3 this fall. Get it?

  • gizmo #43 6 years ago

    Wow, thats a HUGE coup for Microsoft, no doubt about it. Especially with the episodic content.

  • kangarootoo #44 6 years ago

    @kaosridder

    Errm, I'm not quite sure what point you are making. In fact I thought you were responding to someone elses post but referring to me by accident.

    I didn't say this wasn't important, I didn't say that GTA wasn't a system seller. I simply said that I didn't think it was setting a trend and gave what I believed were the reasons behind the move.

    I think you trying to find an argument where one doesn't exist. Get it?

  • Talha #45 6 years ago

    OK, shameless plugging mode on: All of you, stop posting meaningless comments about a game that is just a gleam in its designer's eyes. Instead, head to the reader review section and find my review of GRAW PC (SP), which might be the ONLY GRAW PC review you get on EG. Not to mention the best one. And wonder of wonders, it focuses just on the first level. Because that's all I have gotten through.


    /hope EG let me get away with this....fingers crossed

  • Rambaldi #46 6 years ago

    One less reason to buy a PS3...

  • king_skins #47 6 years ago

    One of the guys in work with me has always been a PS buyer and one of the main reasons was GTA. He's not quite a casual gamer but not a hardcore one either, but he is now seriously considering getting a 360 after the GTA announcement and the PS3's price point...

    We where also talking about casual gamers we know that bought PS2's as they where only £200 and it had games like FIFA and GTA. These people are Sony's traditional audience and they are not going to pay £500+ for a console, even after a big price reduction you are still looking at £400.

  • gizmo #48 6 years ago

    The mainstream news is reporting the PS3 as somewhat of a disappointment it seems. Heard that on Radio1 yesterday and the same comes through on the BBC website today. They seem to be hot on Nintendo.

  • NoCodeNed2 #49 6 years ago

    @KingSkins - £500+? where did you hear that? didn't they announce that the euro system price was inclusive of VAT and would retail at £350/£410 at current exchange?

  • PearOfAnguish #50 6 years ago

    I didn't say this wasn't important, I didn't say that GTA wasn't a system seller. I simply said that I didn't think it was setting a trend and gave what I believed were the reasons behind the move.

    Nobody said it was setting a trend...

    The reasons behind the move are obvious but it doesn't change the fact that this, coupled with the high price of the system and its later release date, do not bode well for Sony at this point.

    @KingSkins - £500+? where did you hear that? didn't they announce that the euro system price was inclusive of VAT and would retail at £350/£410 at current exchange?

    Still 400 squids. No one who has a clue is going to buy that cut-down version.
    Bet there's going to be plenty of disappointed kids who get one only to find it can't talk to their PSP.

  • Rubzo #51 6 years ago

    AOFanboy: "No. The PS2 was way more expensive than its competition (Dreamcast, N64, Jaguar), but it still sold - though mostly as a DVD player at first. "

    Which is pretty odd, considering that the PS2 couldn't even play all DVDs at first, right? Anyone remember those little stickers that shops used to put on DVDs that said "Playable on PS2!"?

  • kangarootoo #52 6 years ago

    @PearofAnguish

    "Nobody said it was setting a trend... "

    Errrm...

    "There's a trend, isn't there? XBox versions of games not having to wait, more exclusives for both the XBox and (thankfully) the Wii. Sony's time is ending. The PS3 will be the next Dreamcast... well, not quite. The Dreamcast was way more innovative for it's time in comparison. "

    Anyway, I agree with what you say here.

    "but it doesn't change the fact that this, coupled with the high price of the system and its later release date, do not bode well for Sony at this point. "

    You hear that, I agree, never said I didn't. I'm not part of this post E3 announcement fanboy war (not saying you are a fanboy BTW PoE) and I don't plan to be. So there :)

  • captain-future #53 6 years ago

    It a very important victory for MS, that they break the exclusive Sony titles - and GTA was the PS2-system-seller number 1.

  • Zerimski #54 6 years ago

    Joy :|

  • Ed_209uk #55 6 years ago

    Will there be h0r$3s?

    /sorry

    Agree that San Andreas, whilst superb, was definitely too big of a play area. A couple of mates gave up on it because of this reason. I hope Rockstar go for quality over quantity.

  • mazzl #56 6 years ago

    this does mean that, both games will be almost the same.
    this does not mean that ps3 is failing, this just means that rockstar gets a bigger check from m$
    this does show how important the success of BR is for sony is BR failes ONLY then will the ps3 be way to expensive

  • Blerk #57 6 years ago

    Heh heh. Are people STILL painting this as some kind of huge success for Microsoft?

  • AtomicBanana Verified Level Designer, Playground Games #58 6 years ago

    'Heh heh. Are people STILL painting this as some kind of huge success for Microsoft?'

    Maybe because it is! For the casual consumer, this is *huge* I know you don't give a crap about the series (and I don't care that much either tbh) but this is a big deal - the GTA series lauching the same day on the 2 platforms is really important.

    Again when joe public goes into the store - they want GTA, are they going to pay *more* for the ps3 and a copy, when they get exactly the same game, if not potentially more on the 360 version, which will cost less?