Why GTA V's delay could cause an industry-wide ripple effect

Gamasutra- With the delay of Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar essentially lobbed a hand grenade into the holiday period -- one that was going to already be plenty chaotic.

[animegamingnerd]

well i don't expected the next gen consoles to start immediately have great success day 1 and the months after they come out and GTA 5's delay only my points it out even further

[camel_toad]

I bet the publishers and devs with releases in March breathed a huge sigh of relief when they heard the news.

[animegamingnerd]

i think take two may have push GTA back so they wouldn't have to worry about bioshock infinite

[soniqstylz]

I think it's the other way around -- they didn't want Bioshsock Infinite to get crushed by GTA5

[adorie]

I'd pick up Bioshock Infinite before GTA V. That's just my preference though.

[BattleAxe]

^^^

Poor taste

[SolidStoner]

I only hope that GTA5 will be on next gen consoles!!! it should be!!!! PS3 and xbox just cant handle any more these graphics, it will look good, but still we all know that PC version will be better.. hell and if GTA5 will be on next gen , I will be buying it again and play it, Im sure it will look like on PC or even better! :) and best part same good for everyone!!!

[joab777]

I am guessing that the gun violence issue is the biggest reason. They cannot afford to be the poster child for gun violence. It could have negative consequences for rocstar's earnings as well as the video game industry as a whole. It could get very ugly. Best to push and see.

[ddurand1]

theyve been the poster child for violenec for what, a decade?

that has nothing to do with it.

[LOGICWINS]

"GTA, which is usually a system seller, could have the opposite effect this time around -- keeping players away from the new consoles by offering a compelling reason to stick with their Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s."

Good point right here.

[edwineverready]

Maybe they delayed it so that they can also make a xbox720 version?

[dubt72]

I was thinking the same, although, it would have to be a port job to some degree, as they would have to be at least 50-60% done by now on the game to make that window. It may have been planned this way from the start, especially with how important GTA 3 was to the PS2 launch.

[2pacalypsenow]

Ps2 was released March 2000 Grand theft Auto October 2001 more than a year later not really a launch game

[MikeMyers]

This is the problem with such high profile and large budgeted games like this. They do have an impact. I could also see this game being released on new hardware as well. The trailers suggest quite a jump in graphics from the last one and an even larger scale. It's not unheard of of to have a new game release on old and new hardware like Zelda did for the Wii and Gamecube.

Games like this take years to make so it is difficult timing it with current hardware. This generation is also lasting longer than normal.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Yep, along with huge pieces of future DLC planned. Yeah, GTA could very well be a new system ( seller, nope ) repellent.

[3-4-5]

Maybe that gives Both Sony & Microsoft an excuse to Delay the Next Gen consoles until 2014.

doubt it though.

[pompombrum]

To be honest there is little point releasing it before Easter at least, there is so many quality games out between now and then that the delay shouldn't sting much.

Summer release would have been nice though however on the plus side of this, as someone slightly older I can laugh at all the kids complaining because it's going to be released around the time everyone starts back at school/college etc.

[Bobertt]

I don't think the next gen systems coming out this year. If they announce the system i expect around a year before it actually comes out. PS3 was announced at 2005 E3 and released in Nov 2006. I expect anytime from FEB-E3 they will announce one of the new systems and next spring or fall it will come out. It makes more sense, you have games like Last of US, God of War, GTA 5, Bioshock Infinite, and the next CoD coming out this year. Its still a good year for ps3 and xbox 360. I don't think this year's CoD will be next gen so releasing a new system and CoD at the same time but on the older system would lower sales. Next year's CoD could be from the new studio we have been hearing about or from Treyarch. Even if you don't like their game Treyarch changes the game more than InfinityWard so they would be more likely to make the new engine.

[007Bond]

Damn this sucks I was so looking forward to this! Damn Rockstar delays everything!

[romancer]

I would be surprised if Rockstar was not co-ordinating its plans with Microsoft and Sony: there may be more to this story than we've been allowed to know at this point. It's been reported that console sales are declining for both companies; so they have a need to refresh their systems this year if possible.

Is it likely that GTA5 would exist for 4-5 years as a last-generation game? Playable only on old consoles, or in backwards-compatible form on a next-gen console where we would be constantly reminded that it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a next-gen game? That doesn't seem to make good business sense, considering the price tag of developing the game so far.

As things stand, we have more questions than answers... but there's a strong hint that the delay of GTA 5 has something to do with one or both next-gen consoles.