Sony: We don't need no stinkin' GTA
by Joystiq Staff 
{ Jun 22nd 2006 at 9:28AM }
Sony is so confident that their next-gen console is going to be such a smash hit, that the loss of exclusivity of their huge PS2 and PSP top-seller, Grand Theft Auto, will be no skin off their bones. In an interview with TheStreet.com, Jack Tretton, executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, was asked if the loss of GTA as an exclusive franchise would hurt the PS3. His response: "There's no question that having the Grand Theft Auto franchise helped us a lot and helped us sell some units, but I don't think the battle would be any different with or without Grand Theft Auto."Completely dumbfounded by Tretton's response, TheStreet asked one more time, just to be sure. "No, I don't think it hurts us. No, I really don't," Tretton said. Whatever the execs at Sony are smokin', please let me know because I would love some of that. Exclusivity is pretty much the one thing that Sony really has going for it. To dismiss the true effectiveness of holding titles in your hands like Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy or God of War is just complete ignorance. I don't believe for one second, however, that Tretton or any Sony exec truly doesn't care about losing GTA. Whether they want to admit it or not, it hurts.
[via Team Xbox]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Fan @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:35AM
Well the GTA franchise was not really exclusive. It was just out earlier on the PS.
I just hope they dont dumb it down to make it run on the 360.
Kye @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:40AM
...And in other news Satoru Iwata has recently stated that allowing Microsoft to have the Legend of Zelda franchise would not affect Nintendo's sales in any way what so ever.
...Later on that day he was seen wearing a big red nose, riding unicycles and juggling balls with Shigeru Miyamoto, who also thinks that Nintendo can do without Mario.
Now for today's weather, we'll link live with Krusty the clown.
GunForHire @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:40AM
To #1, somehow I doubt that's going to be a problem. After all, nobody knows right now how much more powerful the PS3 is than the 360 other than developers, and it's not like the 360 is underpowered either. Besides, GTA games haven't really had a standard for pushing the hardware to it's limits in the past anyway.
Version 1.0 @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:42AM
This guys an idiot...
KR @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:45AM
We've got our weekly Sony-idiot comment in. I was starting to worry for a minute.
GTA4 will be fine on the 360. By the time its out developers will have their heads wrapped around the 360, while there will probably still be a few PS3 issues here and there that will take some getting used to. The fact that Rockstar is giving the 360 exclusive add-ons helps too...although something tells me those add-ons will be Oblivion-esque in their enjoyment/longevity level, which isn't saying much.
cap-n-crunch @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:45AM
Rockstar comment please!!!
clo1_2000 @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:46AM
Execs rarely have a grasp of what their consumers want in any business, gaming is not excluded. I know people that went out and finally bought a PS2 when GTA came out. To say that it will have no effect is complete idiocy on the part of that exec. Do they honestly think that if they lost exclusivity of FF that it would have no impact on sales either? If so, I am really worried for Sony's future.
hey alex @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:47AM
At the time of release, there was no indication that GTA would ever be released on another platform. So it was considered a console exclusive. And it was a system seller. A huge one.
It wasn't until a year before the contract expired that there was even a hint that the series would be released on Xbox. By then, the game had already been out for an eternity on the PS2.
I can't imagine why they would dumb it down. If anything, they'll use the 360 as the reference platform and port it over to the PS3. Last generation, the PS2 was the reference platform, and it was ported to the Xbox.
RazorElite @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:48AM
The usual Sony arrogance. The developers should really pull the PS3 version and make it 360 exclusive and we'll see how much it didn't help then. I highly doubt there'd be much diff between PS3 and 360 versions of games. And with all the rumours of even more PS3 downgrading, could be no diff at all.
JimmyHACK @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:52AM
No system "Needs" GTA, he is just pointing out how having teh 6 month or whatever exclusivity, will not hurt them much in the long run.... cause any real die hardcore GTA fan will most likely buy a PS3 anyway sooo....
Adamo0 @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:54AM
What do you want them to say? OMGZ WE LOST GTA WE R DOOMED!!!
Ki @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:00AM
"What do you want them to say? OMGZ WE LOST GTA WE R DOOMED!!!"
Yeah that but more dramatic, and maybe some tears and long very dramatic and long ,"why".
Paranoised @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:06AM
I bought a PS2 to be able to play GTA3 and Vice City, and I almost bought a PSP for Liberty City Stories. I doubt that I'm the only person, as this franchise has been known to hugely drive hardware sales.
Losing exclusivity to GTA4 means that they lost a sale to a potential customer who is now content with the franchises available on competing platforms (Xbox 360).
J B Cougar @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:06AM
Well conrats to Sony. While every company must spin somewhat, it's called advertising, Sony has now taken their spin to FOX News/political levels.
As Sony continually shoots itself in the foot almost on a weekly basis now, I ask an honest question, no bias intended: What, exactly, will the PS3 offer that is not already readily available and for less of an asking price?
Paulo @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:08AM
"9. No system "Needs" GTA, he is just pointing out how having teh 6 month or whatever exclusivity, will not hurt them much in the long run.... cause any real die hardcore GTA fan will most likely buy a PS3 anyway sooo...."
Except for the fact that GTA is the definition of casual gaming, and for casuals, GTA on 360 is US$200 less than GTA on PS3.
digitalFrequency @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:10AM
personally, the reason why i bought a ps2 was to play Square-Enix and exclusive Konami franchises like MGS2/3.
i game because of the games, not the system.
Thomas Crymes @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:14AM
I agree with other people when I say that no one from any company is going to say something a competitor did is going to hurt them.
Even though GTA4 is not exclusive to any console, 360 has exclusive episodic content which gives the 360 an edge if you are into GTA. So they will roll out new levels and such for 360 and Sony won't be able to counter.
Pii3.14 @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:14AM
I was one of the people who bought a PS2 for GTA 3. And then Vice City, and then San Andreas. In between, I bought maybe ten games, many of which were exclusive titles.
In fact, go back even further, and I bought the PS1 in anticipation of FFVII.
Sony's systems have sold because of their great library of games, many of which are exclusive titles, and must-haves at that. Why buy a PS3 if you can get a 360 for cheaper and have the same games? Were I a Sony exec, I woulnd't be so quick to burn this bridge . . .
Anonymous rep @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:16AM
"After all, nobody knows right now how much more powerful the PS3 is than the 360 other than developers" - actually, just about anyone who can read the specs knows.
The systems themselves are close to a wash - Microsoft has said that from day one - there is NOT that much difference between the systems. NOW - whether the HDMI output on the PS3 will matter or not, that's a different story. I just saw a retail HD-DVD player in a store on a 50" HDTV, playing an HD movie, and saw no pixelation standing 3" from the screen.
As for the rest of the article and his comments...
"Going to your point about first-party software are you saying that Sony has anything comparable to Microsoft's Halo 3?
I think it's a fact that Sony Computer Entertainment software has far outsold Halo, because Halo was the one and only title to come out there. So, do we have a title? I don't know."
We do - you don't.
"Do you have any estimate of what your losses will be or when you might turn a profit in the games division after it's launched?
No, I think it's always been the razor and razorblades business"
For those of you that don't understand this, razor companies sell their razor VERY cheap - way under cost. Then they sell you blades for years at huge mark-ups, so they recoup the cost of the razor many times over and make huge profits. That's one reason why many blade razor companies hate electric razor companies.
"I don't think we ever got into this business with any expectation other than winning and winning early on. We've always done that. If we had suffered the struggles that Microsoft had, I'd question whether we'd be serious about the business today. Fortunately for us, we've never been in that position. And I guess until we get in that position, it's difficult to determine how we would react. "
Perhaps he's referring strictly to the gaming side. Otherwise I'd be forced to mention Beta and UMD - two ways that Sony has struggled (and failed) on their movie side.
"There's no question they have a higher pain tolerance. I think most companies, if they'd lost the billions that Microsoft has lost on the Xbox, would question whether or not they belong in the business. Obviously, they have a different standard of success."
Obviously this guy has no clue about the Japanese business model, even though he's supposed to work for a Japanese company. How does he think that they GOT their market share in the first place? They sold products for losses to gain market share - then as the process of making the product improved AND as the competition took hits due to loss of market share, were gradually able to increase price so that eventually there IS a profit. Japanese companies plan for the long term on anything, whether it's Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi - doesn't matter. And to them, long term is anywhere from 10 to 50 years down the road - not the next quarterly shareholders meeting.
"Well, I guess if price is the only consideration, then we've won the war, because we've got a $129 PlayStation 2 that outsells the Xbox 360 today. "
Huh - but how do those sales compare to YOUR OWN sales from last year? Down a huge amount, aren't they? If you were in the car market, would you be saying that I've got $10,000 Kia that outsells $40,000 Cadillacs? Compare apples to apples, not mopeds to sports cars.
"If you look at the cost of the components and more importantly, the value to consumers, you have everything in the box at $399 on the Xbox 360; and it still falls well short of what the PlayStation 3 offers at $499."
REALLY? You mean I've got an upgradeable system, whereas you've got a cheap Blu-Ray player that's a computer, oh, and it may play games - and your main feature, which is the Blu-Ray drive, doesn't have an HDMI output? What's the point, then? Oh, and WHEN Microsoft does come out with larger HD's for the 360, it'll be a simple case of snap on (or plug in). What can you do? Your $500 system will STILL have a 20GB HD.
Ryan @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:16AM
Exclusivity is not the only thing that the PS3 has going for it. In addition to being the console with the most potential for power, it will also be the most affordable Blu-ray player on the market, even at $600.
jc @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:16AM
GT3 and GTA3 were the reasons I picked up the PS2 5 years ago. If Forza and GTA3 were available on the Xbox at that time, the next 40 games I bought would have been from MS and not from Sony.
Of course it hurts Sony to lose 'System Sellers', but do you really accept them to admit it?
Thanks for the laugh, Kye... funny stuff.
Mark Felps @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:19AM
Why do people keep referring to MGS as if it were exclusive. I've played MGS games on virtually every system out there, including XBox and Gamecube.
Maybe you have a different meaning for exclusive?
Sam @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:22AM
"i game because of the games, not the system."
That's exactly why the loss of GTA exclusivity will hurt Sony. Think of the number of people who have PS2s just for GTA. Now imagine none of them buying PS3s because the 360 is cheaper. Anyone with half a brain can see how detrimental this will be for the success of the PS3.(Sorry Mr. Tretton, I guess you're not in that group.)
It would be the same if FFXII and XIII released on Xbox as well as PS3. All Final Fantasy fans would just drop the idea of buying a PS3.
Chris @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:22AM
I believe, and I don't know who told me, that a exclusivity just means that it appears a number of months (3 to 6) on one platform ahead of the other platform..... i may be wrong
Either way, I will get a wii, and maybe a 360 and GTA will not sway me because every iteration so far has left me bored after 45 minutes...
darryl @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:25AM
When I bought my PS2 there was no such thing as GTA (on a console). The Playstation has a lot more going for it than just GTA people. Joystiq, could you at least *try* to appear semi-unbiased. Reading comments like "Whatever the execs at Sony are smokin', please let me know because I would love some of that" makes me really really want to smash in your skull.
"Exclusivity is pretty much the one thing that Sony really has going for it."
O RLY!? What a statement! Joystiq used to be kinda cool... y'know when they covered gaming news for gamers. Get off the soap box man. Or find new writers with a fresh, untainted perspective.
CitrusC @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:26AM
Truth be told, titles like GTA always made me turn away from my PS is favour of my PC and N64, and it was no different with the PS2. I enjoyed the very first one, I doubt anyone played the 2nd one, but the 3rd one was just too... hmm. I don't want to say 'common', but I can't think of any other words to accurately describe my thoughts on it.
The game is based on the sort of 'life of crime' concept that kiddies these days think is 'cool', and - although this doesn't have a major impact on my dislike of the 3D-style games - the way they stereotype ethnic cultures and the whole 'rap' scene just disgusts me. Either way, I highly doubt I'll be buying a PS3 unless they release Silent Hill 5 for it, in which case SH5 would be the most expensive computer game I've ever purchased. Oh, I'd probably get MGS4 as well, if I got the console.
Marc @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:27AM
Umm.......does this mean that GTA might be on the Wii?
Fan @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:34AM
"It would be the same if FFXII and XIII released on Xbox as well as PS3. All Final Fantasy fans would just drop the idea of buying a PS3."
Why do you assume this? Is it because of the price? Not all consumer choices are cost driven. What if consumers decide to get the system that is or is percived as the best? When they are no longer bound to one system why should they not invest 100$ more and get better equipment?
I love the non exclusivity. I love to be given a choice of what kind of hardware im gonna game on.
To #3
Well dumb down is a harsh word. But my concern is that the game will not be buildt around allways knowing you will have a HDD or using too much of procedural generation instead of artists to save disc space.
Izuna Drop @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:35AM
Cap'n'Crunch - "Rockstar comment please!!!"
What kind of comment are you looking for?
steve almada @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:37AM
PS3 is gonna sucks balls anyways, everything they say they wanted to do never hit the devlopment stages.
dualshock....still up in the air
2 HDMI ports.....yea lucky if you can get ps3 1280x1024i
blu ray? hhmmm still a figure of a jap mans imagination....it will cost too much to make games.....
and the list goes on, i think sony has more to worry about than the GTA franchise, like making a console to play the GTA franchise.
Marc @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:38AM
"O RLY!? What a statement! Joystiq used to be kinda cool... y'know when they covered gaming news for gamers."
Sorry darryl but, Joystiq isn't a NEWS site. Joystiq is a blogging site. Therefore they can be as biased as they want. And, if you think about it, they are being biased towards Nintendo. But only because everyone is rooting for Nintendo nowadays.
Even Sony and Microsoft are with Nintendo now (seeing as how both want Nintendo as a partner). So can you really blame Joystiq?
Fan @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:38AM
"The game is based on the sort of 'life of crime' concept that kiddies these days think is 'cool', and - although this doesn't have a major impact on my dislike of the 3D-style games - the way they stereotype ethnic cultures and the whole 'rap' scene just disgusts me."
Im sorry but you seem to have missed all the refrences to 90's movies and music. Its more a satire of the media reality of the 90's than an actual depiction of how people lived.
LaylaLore @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:39AM
I honestly never cared much for GTA, but my boyfriend does; as long as FFXIII and Assasin's Creed are PS3 exclusives Sony still has a good chance at getting my money (eventually, ... not at launch. Most likely when FFXIII actually comes out.) I see a huge opposition from my BF tho...the loss of GTA exclusivity means that the PS3 will benefit only me ;). Lol..I might have to forgo the PS3 to keep the peace.
Marc @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:44AM
^ Actually Fan, I agree with what this guy is saying.
When ever I see a news story on gaming (minus a story about Brain Age) it's always a bunch of young guys playing something violent (GTA, NFS, etc). This gives people the conception that ALL gamers are soon to be criminals.
I hate that stereotype. Which is why I hope Nintendo's Wii won't actually become a failure.
(I'm rooting for all 3 of the companies, but I'm rooting for Nintendo first cuz I want them to get rid of that ugly gamer stereotype.)
Staticneuron @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:46AM
Let us say that every sale that A GTA title has, made someone buy a ps2 (you know because GTA is that good.
# Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (13.63 million) [439]
# Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (13.44 million)
# Grand Theft Auto III (11.42 million)
(according to wikipedia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best_selling_computer_and_video_games#Sony_PlayStation_2
To date 103.6 million ps2's has been sold.
That would leave 65.11 million consoles behind. Still the leader of the pack by a healthy margin. Added to this Chances are the people who bought 3, went out and bought the other iterations, which makes the number smaller.
And contrary to popular belief here (IMHO, of course) the majority of GTA owners had a PS2 before the games came out.
I know people think that not needing GTA seems "arrogant" But if you refer back to the wiki list I am pretty sure that there are well over 100 series that will help influence people to buy the ps2.
GTA wont make or break A console in this gen. It will help but thats about it.
Adamo0 @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:47AM
"Why do people keep referring to MGS as if it were exclusive. I've played MGS games on virtually every system out there, including XBox and Gamecube."
Oh? you have to tell me where I can get a copy of MGS3 for Xbox because all major retailers don't seem to have it.
Robert @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:47AM
It seems obvious that huge titles like GTA help console sales when they're exclusive to that console. Imagine if all titles were available to all consoles... I'd save a ton of money and fewer consoles would be sold.
GTA was a major exclusive back in the day. Sony can't admit it for a variety of reasons. The main reason being it's just not good business sense to admit you've lost an edge on the competition.
Pancakeshouse @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:48AM
I'm shamed to admit it, but when GTA: Vice City came out, I was working at Gamestop (formally FuncoLand) and the night of GTA: Vice City's release, the store was packed with people waiting for the game to arrive. I'm talking around 75 people. We sold about 45 PS2's that night to people buying the game. That's more than half the people buying Vice City, bought a PS2 with it.
Sony is worried, but they won't ever admit it.
Kazi @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:52AM
@26 "What kind of comment are you looking for?"
Rockstar,"LOLOLOLOL, okay Sony, no GTA for you, we'll give your version of it to the Wii, LOLOLOL, fools. Talk down our game's popularity and importance, lol, you deserve this shit, lol. I hope you crash and burn, lolol."
lloyd @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:53AM
16. "...Even though GTA4 is not exclusive to any console, 360 has exclusive episodic content which gives the 360 an edge if you are into GTA. So they will roll out new levels and such for 360 and Sony won't be able to counter."
if i'm not mistaken the PS3 (even the "cheap" model) will contain a hard drive and internet connectivity... how can you say they won't be able to provide additional content to the game?
Staticneuron @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:56AM
I am a big FF fan but that doesn't mean I would buy the PS3 for FFXIII only. Or to buy the 360 for Halo 3 only. For GTA4 to become exclusive to the 360 it wont break thier stride. For Gta4 to be multiplatform really doesn't hurt either. I don't see , MGS, onimusha, and the gta pack sales being hampered on the PS2 because of some titles going over to the Xbox. Nor the RE4 sales for the gamecube being hurt because RE went to the PS2. There is more arrogance in the people who say that sony need GTA instead of sony themselves.
Russ @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:00AM
I guess the fact EA never made a game for the Dreamcast did't hurt Sega either......
The PS3 is serious stuff to Sony. If it tanks..... they are in BIG trouble. Their Blu Ray wiill go in the toilet and they are counting on the "Arcade" division to pull them out of financial ruins. They better hope Square stays faithful.
One huge advantage Microsoft has is they are getting pretty good and making their own games.
Clint @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:05AM
Yawn. This site isn't what it used to be. You're starting to be as stale as the Atari 2600 is now.
Azrael @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:05AM
hahahaha, that was rich!.. read the entire article then read below:
Via teamxbox.
Oh yeah, thats really "unbiased", hahahahahaha
Of course no Sony PR guy is going to say they are hurting! no Japanese PR will ever admit in public any companty problem! (that would be "dishonarable" for the company!) also they are TRULY confident about their sells, because:
a).they have a HUGE PS2 fanbase world wide (we are talking about 100 million users!) and at least some of them are crazy enough to buy the PS3 (any price, any how)
b) Their current strategy is "buy PS3! its a cheap blu ray player and a PS2 Media center too!".It may sound stupid, silly even ludicrous but believe me they ARE going to sell a lot of consoles (to HD Techno geeks) with that!
Oh man! another day, another pointless article about the PS3 and sony "dying". But this one was down right funny.
Anyway sadly GTA has become some kind of a hot potatoe around these days, Thanks to "conservatives" who try to bolster their careers by censuring it and getting as close to "Banning it from the US" as possible. Worst of all GTA sales arent that great outside US specially in Japan. So maybe is not such a "hot" idea to keep it as an exclusive after all. (at least from a business point of view)
Izuna Drop @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:16AM
Kazi - "we'll give your version of it to the Wii"
I know you're picking on Sony here, but I don't think that's ever coming out for the Wii.
Ninegauger @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:24AM
I don't think this GTA thing will hurt the PS3 any more than the price already has. Does anybody really think the PS3 will be worth $200 more than an Xbox 360... back in the good ol' days you could buy an entire console for that difference.
What does the PS2 do? For some all it does is play Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid. That's not to say that there aren't great games beside these i.e. Devil May Cry, but these are the real heavy hitters.
Sony has lost one of these exclusives and doesn't even compete price wise. I think that will have significant negative effects on the sales of the Playstation 3. It'll still do fine in Japan, I'm sure, due to Final Fantasy, only because I don't see them suddenly adopting the Xbox 360. But Europe and North America? Up for grabs as far as I'm concerned.
It wouldn't be proper to omit Nintendo, I see serious potential there, but I can't be sure if it's good prediction on my part or wishful thinking.
Clint @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:26AM
When asked about the PS3's high price, Tretton countered by suggesting that the Xbox 360 can't even compete with the PS2 currently. "Well, I guess if price is the only consideration, then we've won the war, because we've got a $129 PlayStation 2 that outsells the Xbox 360 today," he noted. "If you look at the cost of the components and more importantly, the value to consumers, you have everything in the box at $399 on the Xbox 360; and it still falls well short of what the PlayStation 3 offers at $499."
Juan @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:32AM
If the PS3 is not going to have GTA I will not buy a PS3, I waited until GTA was available for the PSP to buyit, and it was the first grat game for the PSP, not port.
Even if there is a period of exclusivity for the Xbox 360 I would delay my PS3 adoption.
Check my site: brooklyn22.com (some video game stuff, funny I hope)
SuicideNinja @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:41AM
I know GTA isn't going to sway me one way or the other.
I still don't see the allure to the game.
Jim N @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:41AM
So since the PS3 is going to have Blu-Ray do you think the people at Rockstar are going to create nine times the extra content to fill up a Blu-Ray disk and then look at the 360 and say "See if you had a format that could hold all this extra content we would love to give you all these extras but since you don't tough luck!" No, they are going to release the same content on for all the consoles they support. And here is a perfect example of why Blu-Ray should not be forced on us, it should be optional.
OK back on topic. The GTA series is a big deal, Sony is going to down play it because like everyone has said it would make consumers nervious, and game publishers.
#23 well I am sure you will rise to the ocassion to defend XBox when Joystiq is bashing them when they are making bad business decisions also. Right now the masses of consumers are not happy with the decisions Sony makes. That does not make the writers bias it makes them in touch with the majority of consumers.
#30 I think the GTA series is a form of escape for most people. People who like to watch The Sapranos, the Godfather, OZ, and other gangster films and TV. This is way to let the bad side of all of us come out to play with out the legal and moral conflict, then come back to reality and real life.
#36 They make their own good games, and buy up companies that make good games. Square has flirted with Microsoft a little bit, but I do not see them jumping ship anytime soon unless the PS3 really tanks.
As to the folks looking for a Rockstar response. They probably will not post here but watch their offering for Sony products over the next couple of years and there you will probably see their response.