Sony claims GTA IV large enough - No need for extra Xbox content
By Dave Parrack
The biggest non-exclusive game due out this year is without a doubt Grand Theft Auto 4. The game is due out on both the PS3 and Xbox 360, with the only difference between the releases, some extra content available for download for the Xbox through Xbox Live.
Whether this extra content is going to help the Xbox version sell in larger numbers is open for debate, and Sony and Microsoft differ in their opinions on the matter.
Back in February, Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, expressed his view that the Xbox 360 already owns the launch of GTA IV due to the downloadable content.
Now, Scott Steinberg, vice president of Product Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America has told a different tale, and effectively mocked Microsoft for spending so much money on content which gamers will neither need nor care about.
In an interview with GameDaily, he said:
“[Microsoft] spent the GNP of several small Latin American countries to get that [content], and if you’ve ever played San Andreas…there’s a lot of game to Grand Theft Auto and there’s going to be a lot of game to Grand Theft Auto IV to the point where I think most people will have that Grand Theft Auto experience on the PS3, day and date, same core game shipping on the 360.”
“Perhaps they’ll be shipping some episodic content in the fall, but there is a whole lot of product shipping on the PS3 in April and I personally don’t think there’s going to be a huge percentage of folks who jump into downloadable content for another price when they’re still playing through the core product.”
The message is clear: You don’t need to buy the extra content for Grand Theft Auto 4 as the game is already big enough as it is!
I tend to agree with Steinberg on this, as having played San Andreas for months on end without getting bored, I can’t see the need for any extra episodes.
Having said that, I still think fans will lap it up, and not necessarily wait until they’ve completed the core game either.
You only have to look at Guitar Hero and Rock Band to realise that gamers like having extra content even before they’ve wrung the worth out of the main game: It’s all about variety and if you’re willing to pay for it, the Xbox 360 will offer more of that for this latest instalment of Grand Theft Auto.
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April 1st, 2008
I don’t know about this issue, you see, I would like to pose a question to anyone who may read this and has palyed the other GTA games:
Have you 100 percent completed them all and then after that wanted more story? Or did you just feel like running around doing whatever you felt like?(the very core of what a GTA game is)
I’m willing to bet that about 90 percent of all GTA players, play the game to explore and do whatever they want. Out of all my friends growing up, not one of us had 100 percent completed any of the games, we were all just content with running around doing whatever, and that’s what GTA is (am I right?)
You always hear people say that hardcore GTA players will buy the extra content, but really, what is a hardcore GTA player>? GTA is not known for it’s fantasic stories that you just want more of, it is known for it’s everlasting appeal to anyone who can just pick up and play. If the DLC was another island to explore then I would snatch that up in a second, but 2 extra stories? Is there something I’m missing? where’s the appeal other than a few kb’s of script to tell a story?
But I digress, I could be wrong, if GTA4 has a trully enthralling story then perhaps I will want those 2 stories, but as it stands now, both versions that ship day and date are complete in my eyes, as far as GTA goes.
April 1st, 2008
sour grapes. if sony had exclusive d/l content they’d be bragging they had the “best version” because of it. could sony be more pathetic?
April 1st, 2008
Nothing is known about the content yet except that it will be 360 exclusive. It could be anything. Sony is assuming that it won’t add to the core game experience, and it very well could.
If you’re a GTA fan and you haven’t decided on a console yet, the promise of exclusive content for the 360 is a big motivator, whether you are “hardcore” or not.
April 1st, 2008
agree with Moustachio
what is on the disc (rumoured to be > 100 hrs of play time) will be more than the vast majority of gamers will even come close to finishing story-wise.
and if you aren’t gonna finish the core game (like most won’t), ya ain’t gonna be clammoring for dlc.
the point is moot
April 1st, 2008
Hey, i just remembered; first sony says, “the next gen doesn’t start until WE say so” and now they’re saying “a game has enough content if WE say so”. I really don’t think sony could be more arrogant if they tried. Deserving of the last place finish they’re in.
April 1st, 2008
hey Kevin…gtfo go troll somewhere else, M’kay?
April 1st, 2008
The only GTA game I ever finished was San Andreas and that was because I wanted to actually see what happens… answer: not much.
I’ve got a PS3 which I bought for MGS4 and GT5 so the extra content on 360 is certainly not enough to make me want to buy one even though I could probably afford to.
April 1st, 2008
I don’t care at all but I will buy the extra stuff if I get bored with GTA IV…HAHAHA what am I saying getting bored with gta is IMPOSSIBLE!!
April 1st, 2008
well sony is right gta games are too long to finish complete.and with metal gear and haze after that .i dont have time to download stuff.better save money for other good games.i will buy gta 4 for ps3 coz i dont want my 360 over heating by turning it on for a long time.
April 1st, 2008
ps3 version for sure.will not buy 360 version coz that disc makes weird sound whenever i turn it on for more than one hour.plus i want that extra content on home for gta.sweet.
April 1st, 2008
simple, microsoft xbox has theee best online experience ever, the idea of having a high score of sorts with your “gamer score” is the one thing that pisses me off when i play playstation, i always think, man i would sure play this game more thru if i had a “gamer score”, i might sound stupid to some of you that “dont get it” and the rest of you know what im talking about, and with that being said, the game GTA 4 for xbox 360 will be beaten, by many people, and for the 1 reason alone, the gamerscore, and when they reach the end of the game, they will be craving more content to play since they played out the original, they will buy this content, now with sony playstation, you wont have the gamerscore to compete against, so core ps people will be more than happy with their version of gta, on 1 hand i want to buy the xbox version, but on the other hand, the thing i love most about gta is the fun factor of being able to pick it up and do whatever, if i was forced to play thru it for a gamerscore, i think i would be less likely to play it for the long haul, so for this reason, i will be purchasing the playstation version (note the only playstation game i will be buying and not renting(thus far))
April 2nd, 2008
@Hindean, gamerscore? Isn’t that the thing that merely serves as a measuring stick for your “e-penis” you know, those people that are insecure about themselves rely on “gamerscore” to help them get through their day to day life? Oh yes that thing, well I’m fairly secure about myself in most all ways, so gamerscore, I get, but what I don’t get is why so many people are insecure about a ficticious “e-penis” And for what? to go online and say, “mehh, my g-score is teh pwnzers, all will tremble at the might of my e-penis” I mean, that sums it up right?
April 2nd, 2008
moustachio - i for one will get the 360 version - not because the DLC - i couldnt care less bout it. - BUT the Gamerscore has revolutionised gaming in general - if not then why is SOny so quick to come up withtheir own version? exactly..
NO ONE i know brags bout their gamerscore NO ONE - their not merely fopr bragging it is also incentive to play a games through a second time - i was always in SONYs corner when it comes to consoles - i waited till the PS3 was out till i got one - and honest to god after 2 hours playing Resistance and Motorstorm i took it straight back and grabbed a 360. -
uNLIKE ON ps3 i can look at all games i played so far, what i did and didnt do on those games and i actually have something to show for it -
yeh you might get something for your troubles on PS3 and HOME (when it is out?) but HOME is nothing but a glorified version of Second Life - and if your into Second Life - get a first life…
PS3 - has already lost by not releasing with any quality titles - and dont even suggest Uncharted - that didnt come out on release.
April 2nd, 2008
If you think about it, a large number of people buying this game will be casual gamers (may not even be aware of the whole console war concept), and who may not even use online play or be bothered about DLC. Even though the DLC may sway the hardcore’s, I feel there are so many casual games who will be buying the game that the DLC will not have much impact on sales. Just a thought. And since GTA has become synomonous on Playstation, I still think it has the edge.
April 2nd, 2008
Moustachio - the fact you don’t understand gamerscores proves you’ve spent no time with xbox live yet pretend to know so much about it. gamerscores are another layer of gameplay added to games. hey, with your logic why try for a high score in ANY game? stop being a tool because MS has a better incentives for gaming than sony. e-penis (altho not sure what that is exactly, but know i don’t want to know) has nothing to do with it. GS also helps identify more seasoned gamers at a glance aside from the classes one can join, ie; Pro, Casual, etc… you mock it yet sony is still trying to get a similar model in place involving a virtual trophy room. convincing others to come to your trophy room to listen to yourself brag is a bit more difficult than simply glancing at someone’s gamerscore. don’t hate ms for thinking of this; hate sony for not.
April 2nd, 2008
Wow kevin my comment went right over your head huh? you really wrote all that without fully understanding what I wrote? WOW, just wow, you’ll get a life someday, perhaps it will be the same day you aquire an adequete amount of grammar skills to put forth for people to read, At which time I would guess that I will understand half of the things you write.
If you don’t understand the term “e-penis” then you clearly have several years worth of knowledge to aquire, please do not comment until you fully understand the dynamics of human debates and disscussions, because as of right now, your commets lead anyone reading them to form the following conclusions:
You are an xbot
You have the education of a 10 year old
You use selective reasoning and illogical statements to back up your faux arguements.
FYI kevin: I do own an xbox 360, but I do not use Live, because I refuse to pay for something I already have (internet)
Gamerscore is nothing more than an “e-penis” measuring stick and I care not for that but for the good games (ie; Bioshock, Mass Effect)
I don’t care for Home or these “Trophys” you speak of and if and when they get released, I will not take part in them. But thanks for making several broad assumptions about who I am and what I like, you truly make yourself out to be a tool.
How can you say that you don’t understand the term “e-penis” and then proclaim that it has nothing do with the issue, perhaps if you did understand you would see that not only does it pertain to the issue, but that it IS the issue at hand.
I know you think I’m a Sony fanboy, but your wrong. Do I favour the PS3 over my 360? you bet I do and for damn good reasons, but that does not make me a fanboy. Just because I love apples, doesn’t mean I hate oranges.
Lastly, we didn’t bicker in the post about gaming violence, I didn’t call you out in this piece, so why have you called me out here?
April 2nd, 2008
@ shannon, don’t miscontru me for a fanboy for it would be a mistake, I’m a gamer and that’s it, but I’m also the anti fanboy, that’s why I’m here to refute the over vocal ignorance of fanboys, that’s all, but you have shown yourself to be a true fanboy/girl whatever with your last two comments, no qaulity games? You have to be stupid to think that, and what do you mean Uncharted didn’t come out on release, that makes no sense, just like all you fanjerks, you make no sense.
One last thing, I like movies too, perhaps you could make “moviescores” to show how many movies I’ve watched? Seems about as pointless as gamerscores to me, a game is meant to be played, a game is also meant to be art, the second Microsoft said to all devs: “games must have achievements” the downhill slide from art to money making scheme began, you seem to be stuck in that rut, I’d throw you a rope, but your clouded fanboy/girl mind wouldn’t even see it.
If Picasso had someone behind him while he was painting saying: you have to put this and this in there, then it wouldn’t be art would it? same applies for games. Acheivements should be voluntary and not mandatory.
April 2nd, 2008
And shannon, why are you talking about the release of the PS3, it’s not 2006 it’s 2008, I don’t buy consoles based off of what they released with, that just doesn’t make sense, But hey your logic looks fun, I’ll try on that fanhat of yours for a second:
Xbox 360 already lost because it didn’t release with any qaulity titles-and don’t even mention Gears of War-that title did not come out on release.
There you see how stupid you are?
April 2nd, 2008
It does not matter what you haters have to say. If it was on PS3 you would be singing a different tune. Downloadable content is huge and gamer scores are a big deal for some and the achievements give you something to accomplish instead of just driving around running over people and shooting them, picking up hookers and whatever juvinel things you want to do. It has already been proven since the original Xbox that DLC is a big deal and that people will buy it to expand their game. I see it all the time and people including my self will buy it up. GOW, Halo 2 & 3, Mass Effect, COD4, and the list goes on have benifited from it and the fans Love it. No matter what you want to say the developers said that if you want the COMPLETE GTA experience it will be on the 360 PERIOD. At least it’s not a Proloug and then the full game a year later, what a joke! But really Sony has no right saying that Microsoft spent the GDP of some small SA countries when they are guilty of spending the GDP the size of europe on sucuring Bluray as the format after they paid Target, WB, Disney, Blockbuster, and everyone involved in the Movie Bizz. Shame on you Sony.
April 2nd, 2008
I also believe that thoes poeple that complain about gamerscores had really bad grades in school, have no motivation, are lazy and thrudge through life and have no motivation to be a leader because they don’t like challenges and are just regular people in socity that will never make a difference. Poeple who care about gamerscores like to advance and achieve goals. Their worth is much more.
April 2nd, 2008
mou- i only call you out when you’re talking out of your ass. which is about 99% of the time. it’s funny you say gamerscores don’t matter THEN say it does only in games that matter to you. you contradicted yourself in one sentence, then talk about other’s grammar? rich. gamerscore isn’t about bragging rights or epenis (which you seem to very, very fond of), but rather identification at a glance. I’ve never heard anyone on ‘live brag about their gamerscore. Know why? b/c it’s an internal challenge, not meant to compare “epenis” since gamerscores are collected by many different games and most people don’t have the exact same library, making it pointless to try to compare to anyone else. there…i’ve typed as slow as i could in hopes you can keep up and see just how silly your idea of “epenis” is.
April 2nd, 2008
ps…achievements on live can be voluntary as you can turn off your notifications. good gawd, mou, you really know nothing of ‘live or achievements do you…?
April 2nd, 2008
as I said kevin, I don’t use live, so if you’d like to continue to state the obvious be my guest.
And where did I contradict myself, I said I like Bioshock and Mass Effect as GAMES NOWHERE DID I MENTION GAMERSCORE AND ACHEIVMENTS IN THAT SENTENCE, YOUR REALLY STARTING TO PISS ME OFF.
April 2nd, 2008
AND KEVIN if it was voluntary devs wouldn’t have to put them in games (guess that one went over your head too huh?)
Just because you can turn off notifications doesn’t mean you are turning them off.
April 2nd, 2008
@CDA, funny you should say that, because the people that do care about gamerscores most likely failed at school and see gamerscores as something they can actually get good at.
Also, if people that don’t care for gamerscores(ie: me) are lazy or whatever, then what are you? someone with no life, because you must have no life to spend all your time replaying games to get that extra point on there.
The more obvious statement is thus: people who don’t care for gamerscores have lives and don’t waste their time playing crappy games over and over just to get that extra point(S)
If I play a game more than once it’s because the game was good and drawed me back into it (Ie: Bioshock, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword) not because I felt compelled to do this or that, that’s for people with no lives, such as yourself.
April 2nd, 2008
@ Moustachio
You must be an idiot!
April 2nd, 2008
got any proof there CDA, or are you just crying because I pwned you?
April 2nd, 2008
mou-why do you complain about what the developers are beging “forced” to put in there when EVERY one of them have only praised the addition of achievements as an added level of gameplay? so, the developers like them, the gamers love them, yet you feel compelled to complain. i think i misunderstood what you were saying about gs vs. only having the games to play. your generalizations and insults about gamers who lilke gamerscores really only underscore your own ignorance while confirming your opinion is moot. Again, why do you feel compelled to speak against the development community when you are clearly no developer yourself? i’m going to have to agree with CDA on this one…you truly must be….
April 2nd, 2008
GTA:5 wont be on 360,is gona be bigggg and only blue-ray can handle it.
April 2nd, 2008
KEVIN,get a life u FUC*ING GIT.
April 2nd, 2008
OMEN - thanks for proving ps3 zealouts are juvenile idiots incapable of offering any facts in their arguments. it’s funny you tell me to get a life when you created an entire different post just to tell me to get one. pathetic. lmao
April 3rd, 2008
kevin, why don’t you just put that shovel down, you’re already at 6 feet under and I’m sick of trying to explain simple logic to you.
And on thing, so my generalizations about g-scores undermine my opinion? really? maybe you didn’t notice that my comment was a direct contradiction to CDA’s comment, so if my opinion is not valid, then neither is his by your standards,
Aslo, you should look up the def. of the word “moot”
Little tip: an opinion can not be moot
April 3rd, 2008
@ Moustachio
I could have said so much more, but why should I? Anyone can read right through your non-sense.
April 3rd, 2008
@ CDA, was I talking to you asshat? NO so fuck off.
April 8th, 2008
Well, I wouldn’t mind the DLC on my PS3, but who says it won’t happen 6 months later as an addon…
I took the DLC into consideration when i purcchased my ps3 (over a 360) and it’s something I think I can live with
April 10th, 2008
I have an xbox360 so i am obviously going to say that sony are talking complete sh1te,and they are. whatever the download is, be it some weapons, missions or even another lc borough it’s only going to be good for gamers. It’s like when hd-dvd died last month and microsoft said we’re not bothered. and we ain’t giving xbox360 owners a blu-ray add on because it’s not the future of home movies. Well the evidence simply does not support microsofts claim. I will not pay up to 5 pound to rent a single movie even if it is in hd. i’d sooner pay more to own a disc and watch it whenever i wish. Give us the blu-ray drive you corporate freaks! Think of the money you’ll make i thought that’s what you were in the business for!
April 15th, 2008
I have both a PS3 and an XBOX 360 and this made my decision on which one I am going to buy. I’d rather have the option of more content no matter what. As for if it pays off for Microsoft or not, who knows and who cares but as a consumer I want more options, period.
April 28th, 2008
OMG……
Get a life people.
It’s a Game! Buy the one for the console you like. Simple!!!!
If Sony purchased DLC the discussion would be the same, just the Xbox wankers trying to feel better about there purchase and the PS3 idiots trying to feel better about there purchase.
(PS: i am a PS3 idiot
END of story – PS3 owners save money by not paying to play online. XBOX owner spend more money to play online and then spend more money to play more. We all win in a way!
Just buy the game and have fun guys!
Dan.
April 28th, 2008
Die shitbox3shitty die, die MUAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!