Also, here's a slightly more in-depth version of the trailer with analysis:

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Originally posted by RJT Looks can obviously be deceiving, but by all rights that trailer just oozes polish - I hope the delay was well worth it (early reports seem to indicate it was - though depending on what you read some people are still saying the PS3 version has some framerate issues, take that with a grain of salt though until you play it and decide for yourself how badly they affect your own play through).

This game is just beautiful all around. The voice acting is spot on, the storyline seems intriguing (from what I can tell), and the city looks glorious.

There have been several reports of various "reasons" as to why the game was delayed. In the end, I want to say I read that it WAS indeed the PS3 version that was holding development back. The lack of Blu-ray/HD-DVD on 360 was also a hindrance due to lack of disc space, but I think that issue was resolved a little ways back.

Chances are, like many other developers, this game was started on the 360 and eventually was ported to the PS3 later in development, and since the two are so vastly different in system architecture, the PS3 version probably needed a lot more work done.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 360 version ends up slightly superior. Then again, maybe this delay allowed R* the necessary time to patch things up and make them identical. (an IGN article interview with a R* developer claimed the two games are literally identical, right down to framerate, lighting, etc.)

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Originally posted by Moongoose But in the end it will still play the best on the PC Especially when you load it up with all the mods. I always waited until he game came to the pc, it was worth it.

+1

But then again, I started playing them (GTA3) on the PC, so I learned on the mouse+keyboard combo. Personally, I'm way more accurate with a mouse than an analogue stick. [Plus, my PC was a beast at the time so I got to crank out a way higher res than my console bretheren.]

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What?

This is looking oh so good. I will buy this game.

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Alright, so here is some food for thought - it's become clear the past few days that the downloadable content for GTA 4 is going to be a 360 exclusive (i.e. expansions, etc. will only be available through Xbox Live).

Sony has come out pretty aggressively stating that for a game that is supposed to have about a hundred hours of gameplay in it, no one is really going to care about or notice downloadable content - and for the moment, as simplistic as it sounds, I think they're right. It certainly, in my mind, will not prevent anyone who was previously going to purchase GTA 4 think twice about it (unless they have both consoles).

There is, however, one caveat that I think needs to be noted - and that is if sometime this fall R* releases some DLC that is very, very impressive (whatever that may be - all that matters for this discussion is the possibility of it being "great/must buy" DLC), what will that do for future sales of GTA 4?

I, for one, have yet to be impressed by much DLC for any console games - the Mass Effect DLC was just more of the same, and though it was interesting from a storyline standpoint, there really wasn't much substance to it. GTA is R*'s baby, so my guess is that there is at least a possibility of them really doing DLC right, and if half their market is cut off from it I wonder how upset people will be that Sony didn't go after the rights to DLC as vehemently as MSoft did, as they certainly have the resources to do it.

Thoughts?

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Originally posted by RJT Alright, so here is some food for thought - it's become clear the past few days that the downloadable content for GTA 4 is going to be a 360 exclusive (i.e. expansions, etc. will only be available through Xbox Live). Sony has come out pretty aggressively stating that for a game that is supposed to have about a hundred hours of gameplay in it, no one is really going to care about or notice downloadable content - and for the moment, as simplistic as it sounds, I think they're right. It certainly, in my mind, will not prevent anyone who was previously going to purchase GTA 4 think twice about it (unless they have both consoles). There is, however, one caveat that I think needs to be noted - and that is if sometime this fall R* releases some DLC that is very, very impressive (whatever that may be - all that matters for this discussion is the possibility of it being "great/must buy" DLC), what will that do for future sales of GTA 4? I, for one, have yet to be impressed by much DLC for any console games - the Mass Effect DLC was just more of the same, and though it was interesting from a storyline standpoint, there really wasn't much substance to it. GTA is R*'s baby, so my guess is that there is at least a possibility of them really doing DLC right, and if half their market is cut off from it I wonder how upset people will be that Sony didn't go after the rights to DLC as vehemently as MSoft did, as they certainly have the resources to do it. Thoughts?

Like you said, DLC hasn't made much of an impact on me from what I can tell. However, one game that is beginning to prove the significance of DLC is Warhawk on PS3, the multiplayer-only, online-only game that has seen new maps, new weapons, and new vehicles added. Maybe that game's infrastructure is a bit different in that DLC plays a bigger role vs. DLC's presence on GTA.

First, I have to ask, is DLC really exclusive to 360? Like, did Microsoft pay R* to keep it only on their system? From what I know, the PSN is actually way more flexible in that there is no size limit of files (whereas on Live, there is), so is it possible that the DLC will hit both consoles?

Anyway, unless MS or R* advertises the presence of DLC on the 360, I doubt it will impact sales, considering most GTA fans are casual gamers who aren't necessarily up to date on news tidbits like this. If R* does indeed spread the word in such a fashion that it becomes part of TV commercials and the like, then yes, I'll be betting a sales switch in favor of the 360.

That being said, Sony has a point, this game is so massive in and of itself that the presence of DLC will hardly make a difference. That is, unless what I mentioned in the previous paragraph does occur.

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Originally posted by CONNERMAN2000 Like you said, DLC hasn't made much of an impact on me from what I can tell. However, one game that is beginning to prove the significance of DLC is Warhawk on PS3, the multiplayer-only, online-only game that has seen new maps, new weapons, and new vehicles added. Maybe that game's infrastructure is a bit different in that DLC plays a bigger role vs. DLC's presence on GTA. First, I have to ask, is DLC really exclusive to 360? Like, did Microsoft pay R* to keep it only on their system? From what I know, the PSN is actually way more flexible in that there is no size limit of files (whereas on Live, there is), so is it possible that the DLC will hit both consoles? Anyway, unless MS or R* advertises the presence of DLC on the 360, I doubt it will impact sales, considering most GTA fans are casual gamers who aren't necessarily up to date on news tidbits like this. If R* does indeed spread the word in such a fashion that it becomes part of TV commercials and the like, then yes, I'll be betting a sales switch in favor of the 360. That being said, Sony has a point, this game is so massive in and of itself that the presence of DLC will hardly make a difference. That is, unless what I mentioned in the previous paragraph does occur.

To quote Sony's Scott Steinberg "[Microsoft] spent the GNP of several small Latin American countries to get that [content]"

http://www.destructoid.com/sony-dow...78354.phtml#ext

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Originally posted by RJT To quote Sony's Scott Steinberg "[Microsoft] spent the GNP of several small Latin American countries to get that [content]" http://www.destructoid.com/sony-dow...78354.phtml#ext

Well, here's hoping their investment pays off. It's almost as if Sony is playing damage control with their lack of communicating with R* at an earlier date to keep GTA4 a PS3 exclusive (imagine the weapon that would become in this console war) by saying "it doesn't really matter, we also have THESE games coming too!"

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Originally posted by CONNERMAN2000 Well, here's hoping their investment pays off. It's almost as if Sony is playing damage control with their lack of communicating with R* at an earlier date to keep GTA4 a PS3 exclusive (imagine the weapon that would become in this console war) by saying "it doesn't really matter, we also have THESE games coming too!"

As far as I understand the situation, Sony never legitimately had a chance at GTA4 being an exclusive, and that any stories to that affect were just rumor.

It certainly would make sense from a cost vs. income POV to keep as many R* titles as possible on multiple consoles, especially considering that while GTA4 does very well for them, the bulk of their other games wind up still costing them small fortunes to make/get released, and making them nothing or losing them money.

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Originally posted by RJT As far as I understand the situation, Sony never legitimately had a chance at GTA4 being an exclusive, and that any stories to that affect were just rumor. It certainly would make sense from a cost vs. income POV to keep as many R* titles as possible on multiple consoles, especially considering that while GTA4 does very well for them, the bulk of their other games wind up still costing them small fortunes to make/get released, and making them nothing or losing them money.

I think the whole "will GTA4 be PS3-exclusive" fiasco was gaming journalists playing around with the idea since the GTA-exclusivity issue was so significant during the last console war (many people ultimately claim it was GTA that made the PS2 win against the competition, although I happen to believe there were many more factors), so you are probably right in that it was not feasible in the first place. Game development costs have shot through the roof to the point that making games exclusively for consoles is actually a risk, because, like you mentioned, these companies need funding for not only that individual game, but other, smaller titles they will be releasing as well.

It's really come down to Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, and any second-party developers owned by each of them respectively that will mainly be producing exclusive titles. That, or third-party companies that are paid by the aforementioned first-parties to make a title for their console.

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Indeed, and as I said above - the ratio of hits to misses from a financial standpoint for R* is definitely skewed heavily in the "miss" column.

I don't know how true this belief is, but I honestly believe the only reason R* still exists is because of GTA3 - since then, GTA has been their cash cow.

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