Inconceivable: PS3 to get its own "exclusive" GTA IV episodes
Exclusive. The gaming industry keeps using that word. We do not think it means what they think it means. Or perhaps they do -- only the meaning changes from press release to press release, requiring a keen knowledge of context and PR deciphering techniques in order to obtain it. Eurogamer today reports that a source within Rockstar North (probably an exclusive source) indicates that, like the Xbox 360 version, the PS3's Grand Theft Auto IV will receive downloadable and undoubtedly "epic" episodes of an exclusive nature. Surely this renders Microsoft's previous claims to exclusivity invalid? Actually, no. At this year's X06 event, the Redmond giant touted "exclusive access to two downloadable, epic episodes of GTA IV via Xbox Live, each with hours of entirely new gameplay and available only on Xbox 360 just months after the release of the title." As we suggested before, barring the case of Rockstar releasing only two episodes in the game's lifetime, such wording does not rule out different episodes for the PS3.
Exclusives and tired movie references aside, perhaps our concern should first switch over to the actual game (releasing in October 2007) before discussing the status of microtransacted add-on episodes. Is doubting GTA IV's quality ... inconceivable?
[Thanks, Meh and Ethan.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Saneless @ Oct 17th 2006 4:41PM
Yay. As gamers we, um, win? Wait a minute...
It just leaves room for the inevitable reselling of the game with all the episodes in them.
JodyAnthony @ Oct 17th 2006 4:42PM
excellent choice of picture!
and I think we all saw this coming. They will be different episodes than the xbox 360 will be getting, surely, so huge gta fans will get both versions just to play the new missions.
nothing but good business sense on rockstar's part
DidYouLoseASock @ Oct 17th 2006 4:49PM
So basically the PS3 gets GTA IV: Blue while xBox 360 gets GTA IV: Red. I hope at least they can trade Pokemon with each other.
Marty @ Oct 17th 2006 4:49PM
As long as they put out a PC version with all the "exclusive" episodes available later on sometime, I'll be happy. I'll leave the fighting of which of their versions is better to the PS3 and 360 fanboys.
Either way, all versions of the game will look like whatever system is the lowest common denominator at release time.
J.Goodwin @ Oct 17th 2006 4:52PM
Not to mention that when the exclusive downloadable content for 360 was floated at E3 (you remember E3, it was in May, five months back), it was immediately made known that GTA4 would have different and also exclusive downloadable content for PS3.
Eurogamer continues to resurrect half year-old news in a feeble attempt to create "good news" to whitewash all the bad news from the Sony camp (including today's notice that PS3 would only ship 1 million units this year, instead of the 2 million promised when they notified that they would only ship 500,000 at launch).
Monsterbeard @ Oct 17th 2006 4:54PM
Why do you keep saying that word? I don't think it means what you think it means.
Xbox 360 gets the "Kill drug dealer with delivery truck" mission while PS3 gets the "Use delivery truck to kill drug dealer" version.
LordMinogue @ Oct 17th 2006 4:55PM
I'm not buying GTA 4 until its $30 or less, after playing 3 and Vice City past completion I have no real urge to play another GTA or GTA Clone.
Judd @ Oct 17th 2006 4:56PM
You only think they got the wrong exclusive! That's what's so funny! They switched alliances when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against Sony when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...(falls dead).
virtuadept @ Oct 17th 2006 5:27PM
I guess the moral of this story for gamers is to save your money and wait for "GTA 4 COMPLETE EDITION".
pete @ Oct 17th 2006 5:32PM
really though is this news. well it is, i guess, but i think we all saw this coming. anyway GTAwii. oh yeah! one can dream.
MetaHuman @ Oct 17th 2006 5:33PM
This is Bizarro World! Wallace Shawn is the Bizarro Peter Moore! Peter Moore never got the GTAIV Tattoo because he found out the day before that Kaz Hirai had one and when both found out, you'd think it'd be very awkward, but in Bizarro World, 'exclusive' means that everyone wins and the companies are willing to share 3rd-Party properties!!!
JodyAnthony @ Oct 17th 2006 5:35PM
Judd wins at life, now and forever.
Agent MOO @ Oct 17th 2006 5:36PM
This just in, GTA 4 episodes will be exclusive to planet earth! Space tourists FTL!
crono141 @ Oct 17th 2006 5:37PM
LOL at judd
GoPodular @ Oct 17th 2006 5:55PM
"nothing but good business sense on rockstar's part"
Or a complete con of their customers. Depends on which side of the fence you're on. ;)
For me, good business sense is providing the greatest value for the customer. Not trying to squeeze every penny you can out of them. People will go to a different title.
JodyAnthony @ Oct 17th 2006 5:58PM
hey, I never said I liked it, I just said it was good business sense.
the only downloads I am going to pay for are wii vc downloads. if there were any "bonus" downloads for purchase for any wii game, no way in hell would I download them.
..ok, thats a lie. I would buy every zelda bonus dungeon ever, if there was any. I may be a crafty consumer, but I am a zelda whore first.
DBX00 @ Oct 17th 2006 5:58PM
J.Goodwin
1) The 1 million was in reference to the U.S. shipment, so they are on track for the revised shipment numbers.
Spartacus @ Oct 17th 2006 6:00PM
I laughed when I saw the picture for this post.
I laughed even harder at Judd's post.
Joystiq, nice job. You made a boring post a fun highlight. Judd, thanks for picking up on the movie quote and adding to the laughs. Man I love that movie...
duscrom @ Oct 17th 2006 6:01PM
But why play GTA 4 when Saint's Row is better?
I'm with everyone else though.. makes sense that the PS3 would have different downloadable content.
ihya @ Oct 17th 2006 6:18PM
So Rockstar played both Sony and Microsoft for fools in their lust for exclusivity...
Nice!
MosquitoControl @ Oct 17th 2006 6:19PM
Man, people speculated this would happen, but I really hoped it wouldn't.
Buy both to play it all!
As for Saints Row being better than GTA4... doubtful.
I hated San Andreas. Despised it.
And Saints Row fixed almost all the enormous complaints I had with it.
So why don't I think Saints Row will be better?
Because I'd fully expect GTA4 to fix those issues as well, and build. And have the right humor. Saints Row had great gameplay, but its parody just wasn't extreme enough, often seeming less like parody and more like attempts to be cool. It brought the game down.
J @ Oct 17th 2006 6:21PM
No more rhymes now I mean it!!!!!
Anybody want a peanut????
Best part of that movie is when Fezzick is nursing Inigo back to health and he gets up like a wet rat after being dunked in between two different barrels of water and starts screaming
"Thats ENOUGH!! Thats ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!"
Well maybe the Billy Crystal part was hillarious also. I am surprised they don't make a game out of that story. It would be a money maker. Millions of people love that movie.
Me @ Oct 17th 2006 7:47PM
I knew GTA IV wouldn't just have exclusive content on the 360 from the beginning. I was actually going to buy it on the PS3 regardless of the extra content because GTA was basically born on the Playstation.
LaughingTarget @ Oct 17th 2006 9:14PM
Saint's Row is, as far as I'm concerned, far worse than GTA. While it "fixed" many of the glaring problems with the GTA series, Volition apparently didn't think it necessary to put it through quality assurance. The game was a mess. I can handle bugs in the PC version, too many variables. But when a console game does it, no excuses.
As for this, good for Rockstar. To improve competition, the three consoles need to be differentiated. The separate exclusives are a good way to cross-platform yet further differentiate. Instead of the Oblivion route, gamers can now argue who's exclusive content is better.
The ZeroCorpse @ Oct 17th 2006 9:34PM
What bugs? I haven't run into bugs on Saint's Row, and I finished it.
Is your 360 properly ventilated?
LaughingTarget @ Oct 18th 2006 12:14AM
Yep, hanging by a string and everything.
Lets see...
18 crashes
Voices cut out in and out in cutscenes (except Milia Kunis' voice, which is really annoying)
Game frequently muted itself for a few seconds then kicks back in
Graphical glitches like vanishing highways, vanishing vehicles, vanishing city streets, vanishing player character, vanishing car player is sitting in (while wathing my guy float across the city in a sitting position)
I got stuck in the geometry frequently and had to restart, like walking along the side of the building then seeing my leg go into the wall and hold me in place
Framerate is really bad and constantly slowed to a crawl when there were more than 3 exploding cars on the screen
Just to name a few pieces examples of techinical incompetence I experienced. Not the system, the rest of the games play fine and dandy.
Pulse @ Oct 18th 2006 7:26AM
Saints Row, lol, nobody talks about Saints Row except Xbox fanboys, only cos its the only decent "Urban" game they got since GTA :)
Saints Row is a plain GTA copy that didnt quite work. Anyways, just enjoy GTA, its probably the best thing to release, I'd look more foward to that then Halo 3, seeing as you'd simply have more fun and there is much more to do :P
I'm hyped for GTA4 :P
Jake @ Oct 18th 2006 11:01AM
#8 laughing my arse off
B1gC72 @ Oct 18th 2006 1:11PM
wow what a surprise! i had no idea this was coming at all! this is so unexpected that they would also release exclusive content on the PS3! omg im speechless!
(with gobs and gobs of sarcasm poured all over that...)
jojo29 @ Oct 18th 2006 7:37PM
"nothing but good business sense on rockstar's part"
Yes it is, but we LOSE here. How?? by purchasing the 'extra' content, we are telling developers that we are willing to pay MORE THAN THE $60+ games are gonna cost.
Rockstar: Hey lets put all this content in and be done with the game!!
Rockstar Corp.: ARE YOU CRAZY! just get the game out as quickly as possible, nevermind the fact that we are not even close to being done, well just tell those 'gamers' the actual missions we left out are 'bonus' missions and charge like $5 after they shelled out the $60 premium for the initial game!!
Rockstar: GREAT IDEA!!
You see whats going on here? Those rumors about games being $70 are TRUE because in order to 'fully' get all the content you have to BUY the microtransactions they are asking you for that they SHOULD have put in the game in the first place.
All you MS fanboi's complaining about how expensive the PS3 games are gonna cost need to STFU!!! You are ALREADY paying more than $60 bucks and us Sony boys are going to too.
/end rant