GTA 4 Exclusive Content and 360/PS3 Versions
Way back at E3 2006, Microsoft’s Peter Moore famously made two big GTA 4 announcements (along with the GTA tattoo). The first was that the usual PlayStation exclusivity period would be gone and that both platforms would get the title on the same date. The second announcement was that the 360 version would get exclusive episodic content. For those not in the know, “exclusive” means that it won’t appear on any other platforms such as the PS3.
Since that announcement, nothing has changed. The 360 will still be getting 360 exclusive episodic content. gamesindustry.biz and several other sites are re-reporting this as if something has changed, but it has not. The 360 exclusive content was never under question and remains that way.
On the other hand, there is an unconfirmed rumor that the PS3 will also get its own exclusive content. The 360 exclusive content has been announced, confirmed, and reconfirmed several times. The PS3 exclusive content has been rumored and Take Two officials deny to confirm or deny. This is pure speculation, but this may be a PR issue. Microsoft likely paid a lot of money for this deal. This was Microsoft’s biggest announcement at E3 2006. It is possible that Rockstar and Take Two have contractual restrictions that prevent them from discussing PS3 exclusive content which would ruin the impact of Microsoft’s announcements.
One other point worth mentioning, is Dan Houser’s (Rockstar creative VP and senior role in pretty much every GTA game, Manhunt, and Bully) strong comments from a 2004 interview (San Andreas) where he wishes for more storage space than dual layer DVD. I won’t repost the quotes again, see interview link below if you haven’t already.
Now that the PS3 fulfills his storage wish with Blu-Ray and the 360 doesn’t, will PS3 users see a benefit?
To summarize:
- 360 Getting Exclusive GTA 4 Content: Yes. Widely announced. Public knowledge. Confirmed and reconfirmed.
- PS3 Getting Exclusive GTA 4 Content: Eurogamer cites Rockstar insider as yes. Officially uncofirmed, but not denied. Definitely at the rumor stage.
(thanks to fleakitten for the link)
gamesindustry.biz reconfirming 360 Exclusive Content
Exclusive GTA IV content for PS3, too – source
2004 Interview: GTA Creative VP Wishes for More Storage Space
Try now - 
June 16th, 2007 at 11:28 am
This is the way it goes. Microsofts doesn’t have too AAA developers in house. Bugie , Rara. Sony on the other hand has a few. Microsoft has to pay for thrid party exclusives. Will this hurt. It depends on the price of the PS3 when GTA launches and if Halo3 moves the 360 units shipped bar any higher. I think that there are not too many Halo fans that haven’t previously bought the 360 or bought it to play the beta. Sony needs games. Games of all sorts. Their PSstore games are lackluster. It should be filled with twitch games of all sorts. And their lineup won’t get a boost till September-October after the games have been out for a while. It’s going to be interesting and Sony better have their marketing and advertising game on full when it happens.
June 16th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Can’t downplay this. If the exclusive episodic content is more missions, more weapons, or anything significant than we PS3 owners are going to feel slighted. The 360’s stuff is confirmed but PS3 exclusive stuff is not. Until they come out and confirm it, we really can’t count on it happening. Sony really should have broke the bank to keep this game timed exclusive. It’s bad enough that the game will be on 360 but it’s even worse if they get a superior version than we do.
June 16th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
If you have both PS3 and X360… You will surely get the X360 version because it is now confirmed to have more content.
Whilst the PS3 is just a rumor.
June 16th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Lifendz, I am downplaying the fact that there have been no new developments. The 360 is still officially getting exclusive content in ‘08 and the PS3 still is only rumored to get separate exclusive content. Nothing has changed.
Both, I think we can agree that:
Great Product That is in stores and you can buy now
> (is greater than)
Officially Announced Content that will supposedly come out next year
>
Rumored Content that will hopefully come out next year
June 16th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Apparently, rumour has it Microsoft paid $50m for the two episodic content.
June 16th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
If that rumor is true about the 50m then MS is bankrolling the entire development of GTAIV and then some. It probably would have costs less then that to buy it as exclusive unless Take Two refused that route.
Also at 50m MS will never make that back unless GTAIV sells nearly 8 million copies on 360 before it goes greatest hits, since MS only earns $7 per copy sold of a 3rd party game.
From the take 2 financial reports 360 wont see any exclusive content till after April 08 though. So most likely DLC isn’t even started on either platform, at least till the games hit gold. A lot can happen in a year. Both systems will have seen price drops and larger install bases.
June 16th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Isn’t Take 2 getting ready to sell it’s shares after this game gets released? The alleged PS3 content will probably never materialize if Microsoft buys Take 2.
June 16th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
50 million. Holey Moley. I’m sure that Microsoft is going to charge for the downloadable content. Well they are desperate for content.
June 16th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Mike, That’s less reliable then I I just said “isn’t Bungie going to dissolve after halo 3?”
Take 2 at the moment is worth more then what any developer is willing to pay. They are worth twice what Vivendi Games entire games devision which included Blizzard and Sierra, was asking for few years ago. The ‘rumor’ that Take2 were for sale was due to the shareholders trying to oust the executives, as a defensive move to prevent that. No buyers were willing to pay the amount that Take2 is worth so it didn’t happen and the executives are out already. Now they are on a restructuring plan to return to the black.
The problem with studios like Take2, is that only a fraction of the revenue comes from each console. So if MS (or Sony) bought them it would shave the majority of the companies business, lower profits and cause layoffs. Once they are streamlined into a Subsidiary it would takes over a decade to turn a profit if every game was a smashing hit. Microsoft still isn’t anywhere near breaking even on Rare’s purchase
EA is about the only one that can afford Take2 that would have the least redundancies, but even then it would be far cheaper and safer to just create new IPs.
June 17th, 2007 at 1:50 am
50m sounds like a lot for us mere mortals, but compared to MS’s pockets, the current XBox deficit or the previous XBox advertisement campaigns, it’s chump change. And marketing-wise, it’s likely worth hours of prime-time TV commercials.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Just a thought but couldnt most of the new content be included already and in the price of the game on the Blu Ray ps3 disc rather then the limited Dual layer DVD? this could eliminate the need for extra content on the PS3 and would instead leave 360 users feeling left out. I dont really mind as I have both systems so will make the decision as to what one to buy nearer the time
June 18th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
No, it can’t be on the BD since Rockstar is making GTAIV still. It probably wont even be started until the games are gold.
If you look at the financial report, you will see MS paid 25m each for 2 exclusive episodes. First should be complete around April 08 and the 2nd to be around August 08.
June 19th, 2007 at 7:41 am
I’m glad Sony is working hard on their 1st party lineup. Microsoft is going to try to monopolyze every thing it can throw money at.
June 24th, 2007 at 9:42 am
A bit late responding, but here goes: I’m aware that if Microsoft buys Take 2 than that company can no longer make money selling games on Nintendo or Sony systems. Isn’t the point of being bought out that they don’t have to really worry about the bottom line though? Bungie could make even more money with Halo 3 on PS3 and Windows XP PCs, but they don’t really have to worry about it since Microsoft is cutting the checks for everything anyway. Microsoft doesn’t really seem to care about losing so much money on their entertainment division, which would make them a comfortable fit for a company that wants to make elaborate, big budget games. Hell, even Rare hasn’t been held to high standards in terms of making games that can sell well (Viva Pinata was a bomb) and they were bought for $400 million. Between that and $50 million for DLC (not even the game itself exclusive) I wonder if Bungie is starting to think they sold out (not using the phrase in a negative manner) too soon.
Anyway, I would not even say the DLC is what helps Microsoft win when it comes to the battle over GTA4. If I gotta pay more money for stuff that should have come with the game to begin with, I’m not that thrilled as a consumer, and I won’t be buying it.
However, they DO win in a very important area: GTA4 will be the biggest game of the year, and as of now, it sounds like it will do absolutely nothing to take advantage of what PS3 can do.
- It has to fit on a 7GB 360 disc, so it won’t take advantage of Blu-Ray unless the PS3 version has higher quality audio
- It has to work on the 360’s without a hard drive, which means some things are going to have to be compromised (can’t make caching an absolute necessity for every part of the game)
- It doesn’t sound like there are going to be as many flight vehicles, so they probably aren’t going to do much in the way of motion controls
That said, I’m still amazed at how good this game looks given the scale, and that is a pleasant surprise considering how many “next gen” games look like modest upgrades over what came out on the previous systems. It’s just hard to ignore the fact that beyond all the hoopla of the DLC, Microsoft’s best move was putting this game in a position where it will not likely take advantage of what PS3 has to offer. So if both versions end being identical, it’s going to be a lot easier for people to buy it on the less expensive system.
Oh well, could always be worse. Just imagine GTA4 being the San Andreas engine with waggle… the horror…
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
All right, this is VERY late, but seeing as how theres only 2 months till the release, here’s my debate. I have a PS3, Elite, and a 50 inch Sony Bravia, Sooo….. Hd is of HUGE importance to me… Both will be pumping around the same (if not identical) graphics, so heres the seller for me, both are said to have some kind of Online play, and I dont know about anyone here but no one I know have Ps3’s… The only thing is, Im stuck on if Id rather have achievements or trophies (HOME)…… I dont care about the DLC, but it is catching my attention. DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT KIND OF TROPHIES THERE COULD BE FOR THIS GAME?
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:22 pm
No idea of what trophies/achievements there will be.
No way this is coming out in two months. I say April at the *earliest* and probably later than that. This is definitely my most anticipated game though.