GTA IV delayed to make MS give in?

As most have already heard, GTA IV has been delayed till Q2 2008. Speculation is running all over the internet as to the exact reason for this delay. As far as gamers knew, everything was fine at E3 and on track for a big October launch.

As reported earlier this week, XF had learned about certain future titles requiring the 360 HDD for data caching, but hadn't received any specifics on which games and when this would happen. Yesterday, when XF got word of GTA IV being delayed, we had to call our source. Apparently Rockstar wants GTA IV to give a seamless experience with load times limited as much as possible and void of loading whenever possible. This requires a HDD according to our source.

[360Sheep]

ah the core system rears its ugly head

[Bill Gates]

....AAHAHHAHAHHHAHHA

I knew it! It's starting to happen....HAHHAhhaHA

Friking M$, Now us PS3 owners that ALL have a HDD need to wait because of M$'s decision not to include a HDD in a "NEXT GEN." console...

Xbox 3FixMe, PAAALEASE.

way to go M$. Because of your decision to try and milk your XBOTS, us HAPPY PS3 owners have to wait.

[toughNAME]

who agrees with him???

its one thing for Bill to act like a 7 yr old..but..12 other ppl too?

common guys grow up

EDIT - 25 agrees...are sony boys little kids?
i mean ms fanboys are immature too...but its never been this bad
all sony fanboys should be embarresed...this is just sad

[Lumbo]

@2.1:
Even though he presents it like a childish retard, he got a point. The original xBox had a HDD in every SKU (as there only was one :p) and it was praised for that, the next-gen xBox 360 for some stupid reason features a well spread "core" sku that LACKS the important HDD, even though the older system had it. Thats some serious miscalculation on Microsofts side there and it will come back and haunt them for sure, actually it already is.

[Pika-pie]

Meh

[Unknown]

I'm I dont want to wait for MS to make up its mind. How in the world do you go from including it in the first xbox and omitting it now? I know they're trying to be mainstream but dude, we're beyond that point. Get rid of it all ready. Oh and you SONY gamers should be used to waiting with your SonyWait_station3!!!

I had to take a shot at you guys for that xbox3Fixme joke lol.

[BIadestarX]

mmm.. let me see.. let's analize this....

Someone that used to own a PS2 buys a core.. because he does not see the importance of a hard drive or online multiplayer... he pays $299 because paying $600 is too much for a console(PS3) hence why he paid $299... Later when GTA comes out... 1-3 years after he purchased his XBox 360 core... GTA requires a HDD(not certain but less make believe)... why should they do?

A) Buy a hard drive for $80.
B) Buy a PS3 because it comes with a hard drive for $500.
C) Got back in time and spend $600 for a PS3 and watch blu-ray movies while GTA comes out 3 years later and miss the exclusive content that will be release only on the xbox 360..

The way I see it.. $299 + $80 is a better deal than $600...

Besides... there is a big chance the hard drives will drop price too... by the time this game is released...

[ChibiSelz]

That would just be plain stupid your ps1 games and ps2 games in the bin then theres no use anymore
anyone with a half a brain would get a ps3 to still enjoy your older games then just leave them collecting dust

afterall thats what ms did to you guys huh :)

[MarioFromTexas]

DVD 9 was good enough for lastgen, but again last gen

[360Sheep]

or could it be, buy a core 360

the realize.. ah fek.. i gotta pay to play online (Never done it before ps2)
... ah fek, i gotta buy an extra HDD to play the game I want to play
... ah fek whats with the wired controllers..
... ah fek this stupid thing has broken down 3 times before GTAIV has even come out
.. ah fek, I shoulda saved myself time/money/grief, in just purchasing a ps3 with the ps2 trade in, and never have to worry about buying any add on or extra to play the games I want to play

[shysun]

The 360 HDD's are 80$ now?

[SuicidalTendencies]

How would their PS1 & PS2 games be useless if they still have a PS2? I know a bunch of people that bought a 360 over a PS3 after having a PS2 last gen. They just keep their PS2 out so they can play it whenever they feel like it.

[Chobits]

hay 360Suckz thats actually a good point thats why i brought me a ps3.
rather have one console that does eveything in it hehe i dont want to put my ps2 next to my ps3 it just looks odd lol big/small >_<
lol my opinion though =) some people are messy (cables eveywere)

[Tommie]

What a load of crap. If this was true, Take 2 would have said it, and its just bullshit to say its because of future 360 games need an HDD, while thats not even true. People are just angry that the game is delayed, because of technical challegens, and now they are making up a bunch of crap stories.

I mean, "we called our source" says enough I think. Made up like hell. We want facts.

[w22shadow]

Yes...

Take Two would admit to having a difficulty with the XBOX 360 after Microsoft just paid them fifty million dollars.

Whatever the problem may be, I hope Rockstar is smart enough to never let it be known. There is no use insulting console manufacturings and burning bridges this early in the generation.

[hella whip]

This does sound like a reasonable explaination but so do all the others. I doubt we'll ever know the truth if the delay is down to one of the consoles.

[D_U_I]

the deal with MS.... OH!

[AllroundGamer]

everybody remembers the speech of "we don't need no HDD?" :)

[Odion]

Please rockstar wouldn't have gone blindly in to putting GTA4 on the 360 if they thought they would need a harddrive. The most logical answer is the PS3 and its retarded system (not the parts, the way it works) has cause the delay, why else wouldn't they show the game on the PS3, because its a mess

[Nameless]

A blame is on the PS3 article is posted & now a blame it on the 360 is posted. I wonder how long this back & fourth thing will continue. I wont be surprised if another blame it on the PS3 article pops up & then vice versa.

[AllroundGamer]

"The most logical answer is the PS3 and its retarded system (not the parts, the way it works)" , yeah that sounds really logical and mature also, great combo there :D oops your Bio says it all "Love my 360 and PC", now you need some real lovin, cause i think you are loosing it man...

[doublertist]

simply put the $50 million dollar contract that MS signed with R* states that they cannot preview their game on ps3 at any game show because MS is trying to get the name GTA4 to be synonimous with the 360 because they know that it cant match what it will be able to do graphically on the PS3

:WERD:

[Meus Renaissance]

It makes no sense to delay, or announce a delay this early, of 8 months. Although the HDD may be a problem in its own right, a game would not have been delayed for 8 whole months because of this.

I call FUD on this. It's not the cause of the delay.

[cookiemonster]

this theory sounds a little bit farfetched.

i don't think the company can afford to hold out on this game. the stakeholders; shareholders, managers, employees rely too heavily on this game churning out revenue asap.

there's more going on behind closed doors than hardware issues whether it be 360 or ps3. stop trying to point out causation so quickly without knowing anything beyond nextgen graphics idiots.

[aquaviva71]

All that PS3 bashing around Dec 2006 and Jan/07 and so on. Karma bit you xbox fools right where it hurts most-your f***in heatsink and lack of hard drive. Now look the PS3 is getting all the praise because the truth of it is that the PS3 is a mother of a machine its so tough, fast, quiet and lots of hard drive space. All it needed was time to prevail. Thats all- just time and nothing else. You xbox beatniks waiting for your little Halo 3 --ooooh can't wait for Halo--give it up--its getting old already. By the way GTA IV is going to look like heaven on the PS3. PS3 RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

[MarioFromTexas]

From what I hear the demo they showed at E3 had alot of bugs and glitches, I rather they delay it and release a great product..To be honest I don't think either version was ready for release, that's my opinion

[Whoooop]

The more GTA rumors rise, the more MGS4 rumors disappear..
:)

Now let the GTA rumor mill pulverize the hell out of N4G.

[medziarz]

well, if that's true then
MS is sabotaging the advance of video games with their cheap so called next-gen machine and their exclusives' poaching :/

[AbyssGravelord]

Always post Negative 360 news and being such a Sony Troll.

[Lumbo]

actually he posted his share of negative PS3 news, so you seem to be way off in your reasoning.

As far as i get it he posts ANY news he finds, regardless if its positive or negative for any console, so its hardly fair to diss him for a rather pointless GTA4 news.

[aquaviva71]

Oh I know; a bunch of beatniks. Call the beatniks back to fix all the problems with the xbox360.

[ALIEN]

360fans, while you have to keep buying all that s!@# for your 360, we PS3 owners are happy, WHY? here's the awnser

first off, 1-PS3 comes wit a blu-ray.
2-Hard driver "you can replace it whenever you want"
3-Internet surf
4-FREE online, while 360fans have to pay for XBOXLIVE, PS3fans don't pay s@##.
5-Full Entertaiment

What the hell you want for $599? 360 looks like a 1989 HONDA CIVIC next the PS3 a 2008 BENTLY. And tell me what you guys have beside HALO3, MASS EFFECT n BIOSHOKED? What BLUE DRAGON? S!@#! you got me FU@#$$ up

[the worst]

-

[Sevir04]

I Just about fell out of my chair LMAO.. ohhh man my stomach hurts...

this just puts the icing on the cake

" What the hell you want for $599? 360 looks like a 1989 HONDA CIVIC next the PS3 a 2008 BENTLY. And tell me what you guys have beside HALO3, MASS EFFECT n BIOSHOKED? What BLUE DRAGON? S!@#! you got me FU@#$$ up"

lol!!!!!! kid thats probably the best comeback i've heard. anywho

i dont think this is the real reason for delay. in all honesty i think rockar just couldn't make the lofty goal of october. end of story. lol!!! in all honesty it's probably the smartest thing they could have done.

[GameOn]

The only true next gen console......WITH RUMBLE.

[crck]

I think the game just isn't ready on either platform. Take Two is hurting for money badly. They dont have the funds to play Chicken with MS.

[ALIEN]

say 360 ain't that expensive, S!@# you got me fu@#$% up. NOW, you have to buy all that S!@# for your 360. FU@# that i ain't buying S#$%, I have a PS3, a full entertaiment system. YEAH! it's right xbox 360 is a gaming system, but that is all you can do on 360 play games n pay for XBOXLIVE. While Ps3 is a full entertaiment system. Tell me it ain't!

[razer]

Can you do custom soundtracks yet? Can you do cross game invites yet on PSN?? It aint!

Your comment is plain worthless.. Welcome to my ignore list fool..

[AllroundGamer]

just calm down man ;)

[AbyssGravelord]

Jesus Christ man calm down! Did you forget to take your medication today?

[kevin1122]

razor, i can do custom soundtracks. It's called a cd player.

[Bloodmask]

But you can code a game to use the HDD if it is present. And if the HDD is not detected the game will not use the HDD for caching.

The only difference is the Core 360 would have longer and/or more frequent load times than the models that have HDD.

This argument has become tiresome.

[Imalwaysright]

Said that this game will have only 1 loading time so ahhh 20 minutes to start the game????

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

When will be enough of that bullsh!t between fanboys and the press searching ways to blame a console?

And even, who gives a sh!t? Now everybody will have to wait for the game!

And frankly, there is knowed issues in BOTH versions... Probally Rockstar just showed-up with some Beta, that Take-Two don't like too much, see the need to more polish, and the chance to escape from the ton of games coming Q4 2007 in both systens... Just Rockstar problens and Take-Two economic interests... Why one of the consoles HAVE to be blame?

[razer]

The 360 already has games that require the HDD.. So this would be no different.. Talk about a huge stretch..

Does it really matter?? Even Rockstar was quoted as saying they have an "agreement" with Sony for a simulataneos launch so who is holding up who if you think about it.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

I have to disagree.

If a contract means SIMULTANEOUS, it involve MS too. So if the PS version was late, they hold 360. But if the 360 was late they have too hold the PS3 version... This is the only way to make it SIMULTANEOUS... And I really doubt such contract would exist, since GTA was to launch 2 weeks later on PS3...

I really don't think there is a racional way to blame any console, unless Take-Two/R* come up with it and say it loud and clear "Blame this console!".

[aquaviva71]

They are so unconventional and oh they lost the schematic diagram of the console too. Those damn beatniks. We all knew we shouldn't of trusted the beatniks. Now all the XBOTS are suffering. I hate beatniks.

[Bathyj]

I always maintained the game just wasn't ready for either console, but out of all the speculations so far, this one sound not only likely, was quite plausible. No HDD and small disc space aren't just hurting Xbox owners.

I guess we'll know for sure if the next GTA go PS3 exclusive.

[power of Green]

Stop posting the garbage. Its the PS3 that gives almost all devs the Multi platform problems. Have you ever seen the Working just fine PS3 version?.

[UltimateTroll]

Everytime i see a pro Sony article just saying that they are doing good for themselves and people should accept that i see you leaving hatred comments, i can actually picture you crying with anger when i read your posts i can't do that with anyonelse, after all it's just text, but with you you can tell your a WHINGING FUKING RABID MS FANWHORE!

[Imalwaysright]

Wasnt the Ps3 version only 2 weeks behind the 360 version???

[aquaviva71]

Its all microsoft's fault, their the ones who hired beatniks to build the XBOX360 without a hard drive. I own a PS3 and look at me I'm so happy with my purchase unlike you; all miserable. Not good; I have an idea go buy a PS3.

[ironwolf]

without enough cahones to list his personal info on the site. He wouldn't know a beatnick if one smacked him in the nose with a set of bongos.

[airjordan9]

Rockstar should release the ps3 version in october and delay the xbox 360 version for Microsoft to fix the problem first. worst comes to worst: cancel the xbox 360 version because it has caused a lot of trouble already for microsoft and pull the plug on the xbox franchise.

[Rhezin]

oh it's cool, if the sh!tty ass ps3 needs time for a finished product then fine, I got halo 3 this winter, thas something you ps3 f00ls will never get, oh yah and Bioshock...ouch.

[Sevir04]

PS wont ever get a cartoony HD painted Halo 2 on their ps3, because PS fans care not about halo. we have other and better things to look forward to and it's UNreal so you can keep halo. we can play bioshock on the PC. because i have one that can handle it. like i've said Halo is only for the 9 million halo fans that want it. for every other peron in the world it'll be like a Meh, ok halo 3 is out and back to your regular scheduled gaming uninterrupted by RROD.

Jack ass

[WilliamRLBaker]

DVD drive in the 360 is plenty fast enough, heres what you do......Make the game take advantage of the hard drive if its there...if not...then dont....

Its that simple people.

[Imalwaysright]

I think that 360 version is pushing back the development of GTA. Why???you may ask because the only dev that opened his mouth was Dan Houser and i think that everyone here knows what he said...

[MoonDust]

Blah. No one knows who's at fault. Speculation is just that. Worthless.
1. PS3vesion was weeks behind
2. 360 core systems fault.

[UrbanJabroni]

Guess what? Games get freakin' delayed all the time...maybe the delay had to do with the HORRIBLE framerates they were getting on 360 and the even worse ones they were getting on PS3. Maybe it is being delayed like MOST of the larger next-gen games have been...just maybe.

Of course not! Rockstar wants to lose money by not releasing it this fall and pressuring MS. Of course!

I hate the crap that gets approved nowadays.

[tomfoolery]

This thread is jam-packed with Sonytards.Even if you try to give
any logical or positive 360 input you'll get dozens of disagreers.
N4G.......the Sonytards site!
I'm off to a real gaming site,
but I'll be back for entertainment purposes.Ciao.

[sovietsoldier]

f*ck who ever don't have a hard drive, i want my gta! dont be so f*ckn cheap and go buy one!

[BIadestarX]

You know something is wrong with a console.. when the first thing people tell you is that they can watch movies with it. Almost every Sony fanboy starts his sentence with, "First of all blu-ray.."... how about you people start by talking about the large list of game available on the PS3 compared to the xbox 360 or the number of demos and downloable content on PSN that makes xbox live to like childs play.. or better yet... all the features available today on PSN that kicks xbox live to the grown (Promises don't count)... after all the PS3 is a game console... and playing games should be it's primary purpose... trying doing that.. without mentioning blu-ray or hardware specs...

[Primetimebt]

Blu ray! Blu Ray!

[AbyssGravelord]

Ahh bladestar I love the taste of sarcasm.

[SofaKingReetodded]

back when I still owned a 3FIXME I remember going into the store for months on end to only see a whole bunch of sh%*^& games and a couple of good ones. WHICH I ALREADY OWNED.

so all this talk of "amazing game lineup" is more xbot BS.

[darkvenom]

someone please think of the children!but seriously this is going to keep going back and forth as to which consoles fault it is.meanwhile Rockstar is probably watching all this pointless banter,and probably laughing at all the conspiricy theories the media and fans are spinning,but at the end of it all we're going to get an awesome game.am i right?,just my two cents.

[s8anicslayer]

who's ever fault it is why in the hell does the delay have to be 6 month's, it's rockstars fault morons, this game has been in development for a while they knew the core 360 had no hard drive,it that was going to be a problem they wouldn't have anounced a 10/14 release, maybe their was too many bugs with the game so they decided to take more time for quality control purposes

[Primetimebt]

Please people who gives a sH^*. On the XBOX side halo would be out Sept 25? So if GTA 4 where to come out in mid Oct only couple weeks after halo release really mean anything to you guys?

On the PS3 side this gives Sony time to line there cards up with Killzone expected release of Feb 2008, MGS March, maybe another price cut could before than, and in April GTA 4. That's 3 triple A title back to back.

[THAMMER1]

Reads comments....

Reads article....

Checks to see if reason would help....

Looks at XBOX360PRO....

Looks at empty space that could fit a PS3....

Checks games release list for both consoles....

Smiles and goes to bed....

[BrianC6234]

And remembers the 360 is dead and in the shop. No gaming for two weeks. Cries self to sleep

[MistahBZ]

OK DON'T U KNOW OR EVEN THINK IT COULD BE THE LACK OF ONLINE COMPATIBILITY ,& MAKING DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT 4 PS3 & 360 YES THEY HAVE CONTENT 4 PS3 SO STOP COMPLAINING...THESE IS A RUMOR, GO 2 OTHER WEBPAGES AND SAY DIFFERENT STUFF 2 OK NOBODY REALLY KNOWS IF ITS A RUMOR OR NOT ,IF NOT I THINK IM GOING 2 PAY R* A VIST!

[Kyur4ThePain]

"after all the PS3 is a game console"

WRONG.

Say it with me....Computer Entertainment System.
There..that's the OFFICIAL term used, by SONY.

Now, please quit trying to compare the Wii or 360 to it, ok?

[HateBoy]

...you are either a blind retarded fanboy or just extremely stupid. Think for two seconds, would they do this KNOWING their stocks would go dramatically five seconds after the announcement? NO, stupid. The person who wrote the article should read a book, take some economy classes or just get a fakkin' clue.

[crippler666]

The reason that PS3 owners go on about Blu-Ray is the storage capacity. I do not buy films on Blu-Ray, it is so bigger games with unrepetative textures can exist.

Sandbox games on 2 disks = linear game play. The only way it can work is by an install for all cut scenes onto the hard drive and the game in the DVD drive.

No console is to blame, the software company is. For giving us a false release date and then trying to make excuses for why the game is going to take around another 8 months. If it was only a small problem the game could have come out in November and still sold bucket loads before Christmas.

I will still buy GTA IV but I do hope that another Sandbox game happens along and kicks its a$$.

[elmerdaddy]

if rockstar and other companys want to use the hdd to make gameing better,so be it ,i am a 360 gamer who bought a 360 with the hdd so i could have the added benifits of what the hdd can give you ,so if a better gameing experiance is one of these benifits then let those who saved 100. bucks on their xbox 360 without a hdd go buy one ,i have already paid to have this experiance

[slugg]

San Andreas ran fine on the PS2 without a hard drive, and San Andreas' map was larger than the one for GTA 4. So you can spout more textures this, higher resolution that, but in those cases the longer seek times from blu-ray and the divided nature of the PS3's memory would cause problems, not having a HDD to cache too. Remember, all GTA games until now were made on PS2 first, a system without a hard drive, then ported to xbox, a system with, but from my recolection (owning the ps2 versions of all GTA games, then trading them in for the later xbox ones) the PS2 versions streamed off of disc fine. Also, MS has been all about getting GTA 4 day-and-date with the PS3 version since before the 360 came out, let alone the PS3. Rockstar has had 360 dev kits longer and has been working on the 360 version longer, so do you really think they finally, just now, came to the conclusion they couldn't do it on 360 without a HDD? They have known for 3 friggin years that not all 360's would have one! TRUTH: PS3 version is "at least two weeks behind" the 360 version, and falling farther behind. Why? No one knows. But do some research and point me to any article that claims someone has played or seen a demo played on PS3-- both trailers and all live demonstrations were of 360 version. How do you explain that?

[Mike134nl]

the xbox 360 core was never aimed at the same target group as the premium version it was meant to compete with the Wii. So why care about load times for the xbox 360 core.

If the hard drive would be the problem, they certainly wouldn't delay especially considering their financial position at this moment the can't launch this title soon enough, but do have high stakes in this game which easily explains the delay since failure isn't a option for them

Same goes for the elite xbox, also note that the elite version gives Microsoft the opportunity to dictate the ps3 price since sony most likeliy won't drop their ps3 price below the xbox.

[rhood022]

While all this is pure speculation from both sides as to why their was a delay, (buggy 360 version or delayed PS3 version) one issues that has been nagging me is what happens with the extra content?

Due out originally in March 2008,it has now been pushed back to fiscal 2008 (sometime in 2009) for the first episode and even later for the second. One of the selling points for the 360 version was "the complete experience." Yet, taking into consideration the 4-5 year cycle MS has had with the Xbox, the new content will drop about the time MS is ready to announce their new console.

My question is, will the EC be worth it (to MS) at that point? I mean, by that time, the 360 will be in its final cycle and there are more intriguing sandbox games coming out (Prototype and Infamous) and no doubt other excellent titles on both consoles that, unless you are a diehard GTA fan, would make most gamers go "meh" at the EC.

If that's the case, then the only real difference at this point is how much one is willing to pay for a console to play it. Owning both, I was looking forward to the EC content but now am on the fence about which version to get.