GTA IV released - Gamers report problems on PS3, Xbox 360
By Dave Parrack
The day has finally arrived, and people around the world have been able to finally pick up their copies of Grand Theft Auto 4, one of the most eagerly anticipated games ever. Unfortunately, despite almost perfect review scores across the board, not all is right with the game, with many people reporting problems playing it on their Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.
GTA 4 has been cited around the Internet as a new standard for video games, with most reviewers giving it 100% scores across the board. The game has even been said to be a system seller, with Michael Pachter believing it will help sell 1 million Xbox 360s, and 2 million PS3s.
But reports are flowing in this morning from various sources over problems being encountered with the game on both consoles.
Some PS3 users are moaning that they aren’t able to install their copies of the game to their hard drive. Even a factory reset isn’t fixing the problem. Others are saying that after getting the game up and running, it freezes or crashes on a cut scene, and the only way to bypass the problem is to turn the console off mid-game.
It was first thought that only 60GB launch consoles were experiencing the problems, but it is now affecting non-launch 60GB models, as well as 20GB SKUs.
Xbox 360 owners are also reporting issues, though the problem seems to be less severe on the Microsoft console.
The official forums for each console, as well as the GTA forums, and various gaming website forums are full of threads detailing the issues.
Rockstar, the makers of the game, have so far remained silent on the issue, though some sort of statement will surely have to be released soon to placate the thousands of gamers bitterly disappointed by not being able to play the game this morning, especially after rushing out to get a piece of the action.
The GTA IV sales battle may now be on, but it seems a bigger battle, that of actually being able to play the game without it crashing on you, is only just beginning.
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Tips N4G
April 29th, 2008
So what are the details for 360 freezing. I have heard numerious facts about PS3 but the problem does not seem to be that big of a problem on the 360 as they only say it freezes and that the cases are minimal. I suspect those 360 that are freezing have bad disk drives. I use to get freezeing on my old console but my replacement is great and I don’t have those issues anymore. I sent it back for the disk drive not RROD. I have never seen it.
April 29th, 2008
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/29/gta-iv-plagued-bugs
DIRECT QUOTE
“There are similar reports that a few Xbox 360 consoles have RROD’d when playing GTA IV, but this is hardly unexpected news…”
there… if you can find PS3 bashing articles.. then I can find 360 bashing articles…
again… not a fanboy.. just evening the scores
April 29th, 2008
darkwhite - when you have to quote the Inquirer you KNOW you’re in bad shape. lol. so far, the ps3 seems to have the problem. ooo…teh cell…
April 29th, 2008
Kevin,
Every source I’ve seen says both the 360 and PS3 are having the same problem, with a slight majority of cases being on the old 60gb PS3s. How you interpret that as “the PS3 has the problem” is baffling.
Then again, at this point, I’m pretty convinced you’re not being serious.
-Arvis
April 29th, 2008
wow..it just occurred to me; gta was supposed to be a system seller for the ps3. this won’t bode well for those waiting to buy a ps3 for this. what’s the point if it doesn’t work. not good for sony.
April 29th, 2008
sony will get it sorted keep your pants on kevin. a simple patch etc will fix it. its just teething problems
April 29th, 2008
of course with this release, Jack Thompson will find a million things wrong with it….
April 29th, 2008
I picked the 360 version up yesterday morning, took the day off work, and played it for 10 hours straight (with a lunch break included). Fantastic game and I did not receive any sort of issue. I have a launch 360. My machine has never had a RROD, thus I am on my first 360.
You guys can fight about the game as much as you want, i’m going back to Liberty City (New York) to bash me some hookers!
April 29th, 2008
I have played it on my launch 60gb ps3 for 9 hours straight with 1 slight freeze in a cut scene but only for a second. Great game!
April 29th, 2008
I cant play online. everything on my network is good to go but the game wont let me play online. PS3 version Im getting pissed. Has anyone heard anything?
April 30th, 2008
Ah Kevin it’s doing it for the 360 as well… derr.
It takes one negative comment for the PS3 (even thought the same was said the 360) for you to come out of hiding to throw a pathetic jab with little substance….once again.
April 30th, 2008
Oh, nearly forgot… DAVE PARRACK
April 30th, 2008
Spideydog, the reports of this happening for the 360 is noway near as widespread as the PS3. I guess we have the better version after all!
I am looking forward to your inane insults.
April 30th, 2008
just put my copy of gta into my 360, five minutes later it tells me disc unreadable and now it won’t play at all, plus i’ve just had the console back from the repair centre new dvd player installed. but it will play every other game what a waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 30th, 2008
Oh, how could I forget winner…. and how have you come to the conclusion that is it FAR MORE widespread on PS3 than 360….. Give me a link to somewhere that is not 360 fanbois are us. All of the sudden, you have one report and claiming that the 360 version is better… grow up idiot
April 30th, 2008
And yes, i get my inane insult! Lucky me! Can you not conduct yourself without throwing insults around? For shame….
I don’t need ’sources’ as such, just google PS3/GTA freeze and count all the reports, and then type in 360/GTA freeze and count the reports.
360 wins again!
April 30th, 2008
OH NO!! I am PWNED BY KEVIN!! Even though I have all three systems… DEAR GOD!!!
http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080429154611AAtOiFn
“does anyone elses gta4 freeze up on them. i have a 360 and it freezes like every 2 minutes, anyway to fix this…..”
If you can find a more “credible” source than the Inquirer then I would gladly look at it…
Isnt it weird that RIGHT after the reviewers claimed that the PS3 had “slightly better” graphics that SUDDENLY people are complaining about the bugs in the PS3 version.. and why only the 60 gb ps3s? why not the 80 gb or the 40 gb?? there is NO major difference between them that would… so why arent the other ps3s freezing up???
Till I get more credible examples… this will be the same as the “COD 4 turns your PS3 into a brick” scare…
And look at it this way.. IGN and gamespot.. and all the other reviewers.. they played the ENTIRE game (more than 20 hours) and yet. theirs havent frozen up or crashed… this is too much of a statistical anomaly…
April 30th, 2008
That could have been written by a PS3 fanboy.
Hell, i am pointing the finger of shame at you, Mr ‘I am not a fanboy but 360 sucks’ darkwhitehair! haha just kidding, you’re alright, at times.
April 30th, 2008
winner loses again… and again… and yet again
Oh no a -ve story about the 360…. must be a fanboy writing the article. Only favourable articles to the 360, aren’t written by fanboys eh, winner.
So your conclusion that the 360 version is better is gained from “just google PS3/GTA freeze and count all the reports, and then type in 360/GTA freeze and count the reports”…… thats your science.
You have done it, you’ve finally convinced everyone…………………… that your a fool.
You like to use the “Can you not conduct yourself without throwing insults around” and yet you are the one who has insulting everone that dares say anything bad about your wonderful xbox.
Yet again you open your mouth only to put your foot straight into it.
April 30th, 2008
Oh yea! When the 360 has issues its the ps3 fanboys who are faking it.
But the ps3’s problems are real cuz the 360 fanboys are saints. They wouldn’t write fake messages in the forums or anything like that will they?
Face it. Only a handful of people are complaining. So far no professional reviewer or any news websites found the problem. They are just quoting messages in forums posted by “fans”. And the whole thing sounds so stupid. What does the 60gb version have that the others don’t.
I know all of you 360 fanboys pretend to be engineers in your own living room but even you can’t tell me a 60gb hard disk causes freezing but 40 or 80gb hard discs won’t. Not even all 60gb ps3 owners are experiencing it. This is just plain idiotic
April 30th, 2008
Darkwhitehair
I was talking about freezing not RROD. I saw that already on the net.
April 30th, 2008
spideydog with yet another spiteful insult! Why are you so angry anyway?
Show me where I insulted someone, and please don’t use the post I sent to darkwhitehair earlier, that was in jest.
Call me a fool as much as you like, but fact of the matter is that this issue is much more widespread on the PS3 than the 360. There are plenty of ’sources’ that say this, I just can’t be bothered getting them. I am sure you are big enough to go and find them yourself.
DAVE PARRACK!
April 30th, 2008
Not a single credible impartial report of “problems” on EITHER console! So why don’t you all just stop pissing on each other and go PLAY! Sheesh.
April 30th, 2008
You love making bold statements but don’t like backing them up do you… “go look for yourself” is your standard response. Well I have and found that it is not much more widespread as you like to say and they are both “apparently” having about the same amount of trouble. As DavidB said, there is’nt any credible impartial reports documenting the problems anyways, so it’s all rumour and gossip as far as I’m concerned.
April 30th, 2008
@ winner…
also the 360 games are cheaper… like $7 cus theyre pirated 
I never implied that the 360 sucks.. EVER… I happen to love my 360… but I have to play it 1 hour at a time (cus of over heating.. had to change my motherboard) I love it cus I dont have to wait for Mass Effect to come out on PC in order to play it.. unlike arvis
As I see it.. when someone makes a stupid claim about a console.. they are insulting the integrity of that console… if the PS3 fanboys made any silly comments then I would lladly rip them one… hehe but right now./.. we are all trying to defend ourselves from the 360 fanboy assault…
May 1st, 2008
Bold statements? Saying that there are many more reports of it happening on PS3 on the internet is a bold statement now? Wow, you are so bitter….
DWH, that previous post I addressed to you was a tongue in cheek joke. But in saying that, how come I have never seen you ripping into Ivan_PSP’s posts? That dude is whacked.
May 1st, 2008
I know it was in jest.. but I cant let CAD or kevin make a big deal out of it…
I havent read Ivan_PSPs post.. maybe I ignored it or I didnt pay attention… if you have any link then I would gladly look at it…
And I think The Future of Sega is a more “disturbed” PS3 fanboy then ANYONE Ive EVER met… like ANYONE!!!
May 1st, 2008
Ah yes, Future Of Sega smokes some good shit also.
May 1st, 2008
Ah… it is a bold statement. Your opinion is based on “two google searches” So I’d say that it’s a pretty bold statement.
Me bitter…lol , righto.
May 1st, 2008
dwh - i’m not the one making a big deal out of the ps3 choking on gta. it’s the ps3 gamers themselves who are making a stink. they should. $600 is a lot of money. every reputable tech site is reporting this. there’s too many gamers to ignore. i get it; it’s not a prob until it happens to you.
May 1st, 2008
DWH
Do you not know that the 360 RROD is a thing of the past. If you got a older box let it break. You got 3 year warrenty. With that in mind just let it break, there is nothing to be afraid of. Your better off getting rid of the older 360 to get one that is reliable. Since I got my replacement 360 it has been great. No more heating up. I swear I could have cooked an egg on my previous 360 but that is all over with now. Just play it and don’t worry about it.
May 1st, 2008
spideydog - the difference is gta was MADE FOR the ps3 and supposed to be a SYSTEM SELLER. how much of a seller will it be when it freezes the very system it’s supposed to be selling? not much. the reports of the 360 freezing are very, very few and not substantiated, as reported on the ‘net. however ther ARE validated reports of the ps3 freezing, with r* saying they have no idea how to fix it. an online patch is not good news for those gamers w/o the ‘net.
May 1st, 2008
Oh and HA HA to all you PS3 people who have freezing issues. It’s probably because your pushing your machine to hard trying to produce good graphics. You know I had to say it DWH.
May 1st, 2008
kevin…
you wouldnt buy the PS3 if you didnt have the ‘net.. how else would you get the firmware upgrades???
Again I seriously doubt that this report is true… another reason is that the first coupla “reports” said that the “affected gamers” called Rockstar and they told them to uninstall and re install… but later Rockstar officially commented that they do not have a solution.. see the problem???
Anyways… itll be a cold day in hell before I believe ANYTHING you say.. but if Im wrong.. then Im wrong.. and I hope that rockstar comes up with a solution… but this is a statistical anomaly.. I still cant get over that fact….
CAD…. what part of “I play pirated games on my 360″ dont you get??? Let me make this mopre clear… I bought a 360 from the store… and it had a mod-chip installed… so I could play cheaper pirated games… this means that when I got my RROD.. I couldnt take it to MS… I had to get another motherboard from another broken 360… thats why I have to play my 360 1 hour at a time… but its cheap… and I like it…
I seriously doubt your comments CAD (I know you nade them in jest) I think this is a worldwide conspiracy… created by the Japanese Sony officials… so that they can torture teh american gamers… to cause more confusion.. and take over the world… XD
atleast that makes more sense than “The Future of Sega’s” comments… hehe
May 1st, 2008
dwh - admit it; it’ll be a cold day before you believe ANY fact. you sony fanboys love living in fantasy. MOST ps3 owners are NOT online, leaving them NO recourse to having a game that crashes their $600 toy. the last count from sony was around 3 million online users. the fact you admit to buying pirated games just lost the remaing 1% of respectability you may have had. thanks for taking the hard earned money from developers and putting into criminals. the ps3 fanboys must be so very proud of y ou.
May 1st, 2008
well I am proud of it.. I see no point in buying original games which cost as much as my rent… thats why I buy only original PS3 games which are truely exclusive… if the ps3 was modded I would be buying their pirated games too…
dont go all high and mighty.. first you complain the PS3 being too expensive.. (although the people who paid extra money for a bigger hdd and wifi and hd dvd in their 360 paid more than the total cost of a ps3)
and now you accuse me of not paying enough?? I have no need for YOUR respect… I dont care about what people think.. specially people who make stupid assumptions and then try to change subjects so they dont look like an idiot…
If you have any problems with my method of gaming… then SUE ME or better yet report me… lets see what you can do XD
but in a coupla months Im gonna move.. so then I can get more orginal PS3 games and original PC games….
Ill believe facts… when Rockstar releases a patch for it or when they explain why only the 60 gb are having problems… I get my 60 gb copy in a coupla days.,.. then I can see for myself… till then.. Im gonna go mess around in my totally cheap and totally illegal copy of GTA 4… the 360 version
not my fault if the next-gen doesnt have proper protection system…
May 1st, 2008
my PS3 copy of Assassins lagged in a coupla places… thats how I knew the story of “assassins has bugs” was true.. but after a nice firmware update.. everything was okay…
having the internet has nothing to do with playing on the PSN… you are more likely to have the net because of the firmware updates… and you dont have to register OR keep playing on PSN to get that firmware update… so your “argument” of “what if PS3 owners dont have the net” isnt very strong….
May 1st, 2008
dwh-i have an idea. since you’re online with your ps3, why not go online with your modded 360. you can get a free trial card just about anywhere. if you don’t think what you’re doing is wrong, you’ll do it. the reality is; pirate ANYTHING feeds a worldwide blackmarket that has far reaching affects way beyond gaming. i think it’s selfish to call yourself a supporter of gaming then steal from the guys making the games. spin it anyway you want but sony has only stated around 3 million are connected online with their ps3, leaving THE VAST MAJORITY w/o the net, and a glitchy copy of gta. i think you lost the last shred of cred when you said you already had a pirated copy of gta for the 360 in your country. noobs… lmao.
May 1st, 2008
hmm what part of “I dont have a LIVE server in my country” dont you get?? and Im not connected to the PSN… I just download the firmware.. if my net speed was that fast you think I would be wasting my time here??
Dont try to change the subject and take away the attention from the REAL news…
If you think im not areal gamer.. then fine.. you can think whatever you want… I KNOW you think A LOT!!!
but most of the thoughts or assumptions arent accurate are they???
Are you seriously stupid kevin?? you dont think MS would find out about my modded 360 and pirated game if I connected to LIvE???
Also the mod chip is in the same place where the LIve componenet used to be.. so I cant connect…
are we done playing 20 questions now??
May 1st, 2008
dwh - i thought live was peer to peer, removing the need for dedicated servers…interesting.. maybe you just know more than the rest of us. uh…”live component”? wth are you babbling about. where EXACTLY is the “live component” located on the board where you soddered your mod chip? you should have stopped a while back. now you’re just looking more and more like a lying criminal. congrats.
May 1st, 2008
hey I dont know what they did with the mod chip.. i told you.. I went into the store and bought a modded one… they said I cant log into LIVE.. so I didnt bother trying (cus of slow net… how many times do I have to tell you??)
I didnt know LIVE was P2P… I thought you needed a server… hmm.. but anyways… my pirated games wont work.. I didnt get that “Free LIVE trial” card.. so I dont bother…
seriously are you done interrogating me???
you are gonna use the “You are criminal and I am a US citizen who pisses honor” arguement???
It wont work.. unless they make cheaper games.. I have no option but to buy the pirated ones and buy only select exclusive originals… like Assassins GTA 4 and MGS 4 and GOW!!! oh how I have longed for you kratos…
May 1st, 2008
Kevin,
“the 360 issues reported are very, very few and not substantiated”……hahahahahaha how I laugh ….
And the PS3 ones are? Name your sources Kev and don’t give me the google search dribble either.
You really do look with one eye don’t you. Pretty hard to see through an eye patch with “360″ on it, eh!
May 1st, 2008
Spideydog just loves his sources. Google search is a very clear indication as to what machine is getting the most reports of the freezing, as much as you doubt that.
And yes, you are bitter, at least DWH has a sense of humor. You’re just angry 24/7.
And I also find it ironic that you are telling Kevin that he is a one eyed supporter, when you are clearly one also.
May 1st, 2008
DWH just out of curiosity, what country are you from anyway? I’m an Aussie and we have a watered down version of Xbox Live compared to the movie/tv show downloads that the Americans and British have.
May 2nd, 2008
M8 I like both systems. Perhaps go back and read my other posts, in other threads as well. I have given favourable comments on both. You and Kevin on the other hand are 100 % negative everything not 360.
I’m bitter because I call you a fool…lol
And sorry, as long as your “evidence” is google,…. your posts are opinion nothing more…You are trying to tell us that every match you get on google is going to be a “substantiated” claim.
You can call me bitter and angry all you want, but they are lame comebacks for someone that doesn’t like people expressing an opinion different to yours.
OMG your an aussie, you have brought shame to us all
May 2nd, 2008
No dude, you bring shame to us all, not me. And they’re not comebacks, they’re observations, and accurate ones too. So you can continue calling me a fool as much as you want, it doesn’t deter the fact that you are a bitter young person who should lighten up a little.
May 2nd, 2008
XD
Im sorry to hear you’ll be getting the censored version of GTA4…
but if you had a PS3 you couldve imported a copy from USA, UK, China, Japan, India, France, Africa… and any other parts of the world (excluding NZ)
I feel sorry for you.. I hope they introduce the R 18 rating soon.. otherwise its aussie gamers would be pissed…
May 2nd, 2008
DWH
Sorry for not getting my facts straight but I’m busy here at work and I only check these thing here and there and I don’t have time to read through all the stupidness. know that you have made yourself very clear I understand. Your a Theif and I take away all credit I gave you before.
May 2nd, 2008
DWH
You don’t have to be sorry. No one who writes comments here actually has a life. (You can point to me and say “Hey ur writing a comment”, but I only write one or two in a week).
Anyway, if these guys were really so crazy about their consoles, they wouldn’t be here bragging about how much profit Microsoft is making. They would be enjoying their free time playing on whichever console(s) they own. Instead they are here battling it out. Fighting a war that no one will win.
What a bunch of losers.(And that goes to all fanboys)
May 2nd, 2008
OH NO!!! I have lost CADs respect.. oh what shall I DO?? I will try to forget it by playing my totally cheap and illegal copy of GTA 4 (360 version)
not my fault if MS didnt place decent copy protection…
you know why?? cus they use DVDs…
you know why I cant get my hands on a PS3 pirated game?? they use Blu ray… (But I only have a few Ps3 originals)
dont act all high and mighty CAD… Piracy is the least of the worlds problems… there world hunger… outsourcing of “Western Jobs”… inflation… pointless wars…. stupid-greedy world leaders… if you want to bring up piracy.. then you have to address the other issues as well… you want to???
dear hammy… nice to see you again…
I was seriously sorry… I wasnt trying to make fun of the ausies… and I happen to love all three of my consoles… for very different reasons….
May 2nd, 2008
dwh - piracy it tied to everything from the slave trade to the drug trade. please learn, then type.
May 2nd, 2008
ps..i meant SEX slave trade…not “slave trade”…
May 3rd, 2008
ohh… now I understand… so me playing a pirated 360 game is the same as buying drugs or hiring a foreign hooker…. thanks for clearing that up…
and guess what?? 360 fanboys are tied to everything from Pedophiles to “no brains” trade.. see I can make eqaully stupid claims as you…
Look.. I play pirated games… so what?? what are you going to do about it??? If MS had enough sense to put better copy protection on their “nex gen” dvds.. then I wouldve been playing Halo 2 and Bioshock and Mass Effect and Gears of war on the PC (pirated again)…
not my fault that a SOFTWARE company cant make proper SOFTWARE protection….
May 7th, 2008
to all 360 fagboys… your just looking for a reason to make ps3 look bad by one small freeze since the release day of the system. lets remember that day one of 360 launch it had problems and still going.. so don’t blame your pathetic choice in nex- gen console on everyone else. sony makes amazing hardware and it shows in everything they make not just the ps3.. maybe MS should learn from pros or just stick to windows!!!
i bought my 60gb ps3 and no probs yet… and i don’t have to buy additional hardware for my system!! so after you paid about $179 for an hd stand alone player how much do you think you’ll have to pay for a blu-ray player if MS releases one for the 360????? plus that online sub. you have to pay every month. MS is just money hungry and idiots of 360 will keep wasting their money on a console that will sooner or later get the ring of death!! maybe some wouldn’t have to play illegal copies of games if they wasn’t feeding the already rich! i bought the ALL- in ONE system maybe you should do the same. and many of my friends have the 360 and one took his back and got the ps3 and told me the graphics are better. 360 fans just take a few mins. of your time and look at all the little details in the background while playing the ps3. thats something xbox can’t do on a limitted dvd disc… they’re stuck…. while sony can still expand… MS just feel short in tryin to make something close to nex-gen.
May 8th, 2008
YEAH!!!
you tell him.. “the war”
May 9th, 2008
You guys stop that and try to think about tell what it could be.
I´ve got a friend who had his 360 screwed and wont play any games (it says is dirty blabla)
A drive replace could resolve it?
May 10th, 2008
I got my game on Wednesday. I have been playing it without a hitch since then, however today, while my friends and I were playing online, I suddenly got a Disc Unreadable error. I could still hear them, and they me, but my character just stood still.
So then I rebooted and tried to rejoin them. I got back in for about five minutes, and it happened again. I rebooted a third time, and it hasn’t gotten past the opening pictures since. I took the disc out of the console to check it, it is SPOTLESS.
I plan on trying my friend’s disc tomorrow to see if it is the Xbox or the disc.
By the way, COD4, Oblivion, Burnout Paradise, Halo 3, and Halo 2 all work perfectly on it. No problems at all.