Reports are emerging that, according to an earnings call with Take Two CFO Laine Goldstein, Microsoft has splashed out $50 million to get downloadable content exclusively on 360.
It's also emerged that he first batch of content for Grand Theft Auto IV will be released on 360 in March 2008.
"The first 25 million is for the first episodic content package that 's supposed to go out and that is in March of '08," Take Two CFO Laine Goldstein is reported to have said. "That's why it moved into current because it's in the next 12 months. The second 25 will be for the second episodic, the episode, and that will be later in fiscal '08."
Whichever way you look at it £50 million is an enormous amount of cash to splash out on episodic content, even if it is GTA. Also buried in Take Two's recent financial statement was no mention of GTA IV episodic content hitting PS3. Two and two equals five? Let's wait until E3 to find out more.
if this is true then it seems ms really are trying to buy their way to the top. Every week they are gaining a few more sony scalps with more exclusives. it would be a huge blow to sony if it was true.
It's not gonna be your usual downloadable content though so it's no wonder it's gonna be free. By the sounds of it it'll be more like the size of the Halflife episodic content.
Whichever way you look at it Sony are lagging behind through their own fault. I was intending to buy a PS3 but if all the exclusives go the way of the 360 then i might sit this generation of consoles out and invest in my pc.
$50 million is pocket change to a company like microsoft. A game like GTA4 will have massive attention surrounding it and if customers who have neither console (360 or ps3) see that the 360 version has more content they will be swayed to buy the 360.
ok they have payed for exclusive content and ok it doesnt say anything about any content for PS3, but....it didnt say MS have payed for them and them only ever to have exclusive content, so if MS can have exclusive content why cant Sony only difference is MS have payed $50million
I heard the two episodes of content are worth "10 hours of gameplay" or something like that... so I think it wil be more then just a couple of new mission or whatever
oh and btw you say Ł50 million in your article, its $ not Ł
oh and the reports are "emerging" from some gta fansites like this: thegtaplace.com
But yeah i cant believe MS paid so much for it though, is this the sort of money they pay for other exclsuive stuff?undefined
$50 million is pocket change to a company like microsoft. A game like GTA4 will have massive attention surrounding it and if customers who have neither console (360 or ps3) see that the 360 version has more content they will be swayed to buy the 360.
I'm not so sure. It'll be significant to some people, but when you look at the broader casual audience, the type that sees several million GTA games sold, few are even online, and fewer still are engaging in microstransactions. I'm guessing here, but I imagine few also actually complete a GTA game.
The 360 version won't have any more content on the disc. The idea here is that it would have a bit more content available online, later, and at a price. Given those factors, I'd say this would be relevant to only a small percentage of the audience.
I've no doubt MS will make a lot of noise about this, if it is the case. I would do if I'd spent $50m for it.
Seriously.. MS kills the game world more and more when they do things like this.. I don't want to buy GTA IV to the X-box 360 because it sucks major ass. I don't want my 360 to freeze in the middle of a mission, I'll stick to the PS3 version no matter what MS throws out for the 360..
$50 million is pocket change to a company like microsoft. A game like GTA4 will have massive attention surrounding it and if customers who have neither console (360 or ps3) see that the 360 version has more content they will be swayed to buy the 360.
Don't make me laugh
Hello...hav u guys completely forgotten about how different the actual game will be on each system before downloadable content?
Let me remind u...25Gb PS3 Bluray disks Compared to...4.7Gb Xbox 360 DVDs
Now, for those of you who don't understand...no one will be tempted to buy an Xbox 360 just because of downloadable content for GTA 4 i) PS3 will also hav downloadable content ii) The PS3 is by far a more powerful machine and the Bluray disks allow considerably large amounts of data to be stored and used in game. This results in 1. better graphics 2. more missions and 3. and increase of sales of the PS3 iii) PS3 loading times and draw distances will be better due to its ability to store temporary data to the hard drive... the list goes on...
few are even online, and fewer still are engaging in microstransactions
I'm sorry... what? Over 11 million 360's sold. Over 6 million Xbox Live users. And over 70% use the Marketplace.
How is that 'few'? Few would be a million, maybe 2 at most. The MAJORITY of 360 owners are online.
Oh and yes, no one will deny that 'not' putting a hard drive will ALL 360's to allow all games to cache levels/textures etc was a dumb idea. But you DO have to wonder about the intelligence of those that have a 360 without one. lol
Thats the MS we all know and hate .....trying to buy with its dirty money the success .
And their money will let us PS3 users without downloadable content ?
This is just the sort of news that reinforces me supporting Sony against Microsoft and their project to monopoly .Once MS were at the top it would be impossible to defy them as they are the ones with the deeper pockets .
In any case the downloadable content is for 6 months after the game appearing .If it looks or sounds better on the PS3 because the things Rockstar mentioned (hard drive ,BR discs etc ) then I doubt many people will buy instead the X360 .Plus ,Playstation has been always about having tons of games more than having them exclusively or anything like that .
In any case ,I expect Take Two to do "a Konami " and after receiving the cash finding some way to sooner or later put downloadable content on the PS3 too .
$50 million is pocket change to a company like microsoft. A game like GTA4 will have massive attention surrounding it and if customers who have neither console (360 or ps3) see that the 360 version has more content they will be swayed to buy the 360.
Don't make me laugh
Hello...hav u guys completely forgotten about how different the actual game will be on each system before downloadable content?
Let me remind u...25Gb PS3 Bluray disks Compared to...4.7Gb Xbox 360 DVDs
Now, for those of you who don't understand...no one will be tempted to buy an Xbox 360 just because of downloadable content for GTA 4 i) PS3 will also hav downloadable content ii) The PS3 is by far a more powerful machine and the Bluray disks allow considerably large amounts of data to be stored and used in game. This results in 1. better graphics 2. more missions and 3. and increase of sales of the PS3 iii) PS3 loading times and draw distances will be better due to its ability to store temporary data to the hard drive... the list goes on...
XBOX 360 IS OLD TECHNOLOGY...PS3 IS THE FUTURE
They are both becoming "old technology"!
As long as console components stay ring fenced,the pc will always be the dominant force ,with it's ever advancing technology.
How is crysis possible ,without the use of bluray disc ?
$50 million is pocket change to a company like microsoft. A game like GTA4 will have massive attention surrounding it and if customers who have neither console (360 or ps3) see that the 360 version has more content they will be swayed to buy the 360.
Don't make me laugh
Hello...hav u guys completely forgotten about how different the actual game will be on each system before downloadable content?
Let me remind u...25Gb PS3 Bluray disks Compared to...4.7Gb Xbox 360 DVDs
Now, for those of you who don't understand...no one will be tempted to buy an Xbox 360 just because of downloadable content for GTA 4 i) PS3 will also hav downloadable content ii) The PS3 is by far a more powerful machine and the Bluray disks allow considerably large amounts of data to be stored and used in game. This results in 1. better graphics 2. more missions and 3. and increase of sales of the PS3 iii) PS3 loading times and draw distances will be better due to its ability to store temporary data to the hard drive... the list goes on...
XBOX 360 IS OLD TECHNOLOGY...PS3 IS THE FUTURE
Yet another PS3 owner trying to validate the Ł400+ they wasted on a console which may as well just be a Blu-Ray player... Let me ask you, if the 360 version is inferior to the PS3 counterpart in anyway, then why on earth are Rockstar show casing the 360 version all the time? We have yet to see an actual footage from the PS3 version so make of that what you will. As for the content, i think its a great idea. Alot of people will buy a 360 this year so they can play GTA 4 and Halo 3. Not all of them may be tempted to get LIVE but the added temptation of more content for GTA 4 may just push them to subscribe to LIVE, which is where MS are looking to make most of their profit from. Will PS3 get any content? Unlikley considering MS have paid that much for 360 exclusive content.
"We're not talking about an extra car or character here," Moore said when describing the "epic" episodic packs. He then joked about Rockstar keeping even him in the dark about the content packs, but emphasized that the packs would be lengthy.
A press release issued during the conference said only that the packs would add "hours of entirely new gameplay" to GTA4. No additional details on the downloadable packs were released,but industry sources have said they will be along the lines of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories in terms of length.
the size of liberty city stories!!!!....get prepared to pay a lot and make sure you have the bigger hard drive by the time these downloads come....if the UK have the HDD by then
Microsoft can only win the console war by spending stupid amounts of money. Bit like Chelsea football club. They may be top for a short while, but the more skillful team will always come back to kick their bottom eventually.
Microsoft bought Rare from Nintendo and what the hell did they release that was worth the money? Jack. Whatever these GTA add-ons are, they won't be worth the money. PS3 owners will just be glad to get GTA in October and won't be fussed about add-ons.
I know a lot of people who are getting a PS3 for xmas so I think things will drastically improve for Sony this winter. I mean, the PS2 did well enough without Halo, didn't it?
sounds to me like microsoft arw orried about their brand, having to spend on getting exclusives. I have both a PS3 and 360, and the only way the 360 is better is the games available, and that is sony's fault. If rockstar and take 2 are planning to whore themselves to the highest bidder than i fear for the future of gaming, and not sure i want to involved in an industry where peter moore and bill gates can buy success.
PS3 is the future, and i'm sorry but it's not expensive even if it was to last 5 years which is being cruel it's less than 100 quid a year, which is what 3/4 replacement 360s???
i am sick of all the people claiming PS3 is done for, look at what is coming out, and LA Noire is looking like a PS3 exclusive, without Sony buying themselves sucess. Phil Harrison, keep kicking Peter Moore's Ass
$50 million is pocket change to a company like microsoft. A game like GTA4 will have massive attention surrounding it and if customers who have neither console (360 or ps3) see that the 360 version has more content they will be swayed to buy the 360.
Don't make me laugh
Hello...hav u guys completely forgotten about how different the actual game will be on each system before downloadable content?
Let me remind u...25Gb PS3 Bluray disks Compared to...4.7Gb Xbox 360 DVDs
Now, for those of you who don't understand...no one will be tempted to buy an Xbox 360 just because of downloadable content for GTA 4 i) PS3 will also hav downloadable content ii) The PS3 is by far a more powerful machine and the Bluray disks allow considerably large amounts of data to be stored and used in game. This results in 1. better graphics 2. more missions and 3. and increase of sales of the PS3 iii) PS3 loading times and draw distances will be better due to its ability to store temporary data to the hard drive... the list goes on...
XBOX 360 IS OLD TECHNOLOGY...PS3 IS THE FUTURE
There you go. The opinion of someone who can't spell "have" or "you". The PS3 isn't "far more powerful" both macines are pretty close in terms of power. The extra storage space on the BluRay drive is only useful if you actually programme more stuff to fill the extra space. I get the feeeling that there will be little difference in the GTA on either machine bar differing extra content.
I have both a PS3 and 360, and the only way the 360 is better is the games available
Is that not the entire point of a games console? The fact you can play decent games on it. Who cares if the PS3 can make a nicer cheese and ham toastie??
I have both a PS3 and 360, and the only way the 360 is better is the games available
Is that not the entire point of a games console? The fact you can play decent games on it. Who cares if the PS3 can make a nicer cheese and ham toastie??
With all due respect. You sir; are a buffoon.
Another important point in one console is that it actually works and doesnt do nasty things as the three red lights and scratching discs .Or making you pay for the online play that everybody else gives you for free .Or the retrocompatibility that allows you to play games back to 13 years back(1994 ) in the days of the original Playstation .Or the capacity to share those PS1 games and all the content of your hard drive with the PSP .Etc etc .....
The PS3 may not be much more powerful that the X360 (although more and more developers as Free Radical ,Konami ,EA ,Ninja Theory ,Ninja Team etc are saying otherwise ) but it is a far better machine overall and the quality of its components and building makes the X360 look as something definitely crap in its making and reliability .And thats also something users should know .
By the way ,480 dollars of the Elite plus the Live fees for two years equal the Ps3 price .And the PS3 still would have a lot of features the X360 wouldnt .Think about it and dont be so quick calling people buffoon .
you cant buy success, but its an advantage. the only advantage ps3 has is a better console. sony need to get thier buisness sense hats on to beat xbox.
ps3 should make original games to realy show of its hardware, I mean a sixaxis and much more power hasnt realy been used to its full effect yet, but when it does, microsofts dirty money will wither away....
Anyone that thinks PS3 games will look better because the discs are bigger are just silly. You have to first account for Xbox360 and PS3 both having the SAME ammount of RAM 512MB. The ammount of ram limits how many textures you can have accessed at the same time, so you could have a 200GB disc and you would still see the same exact graphics on your screen.
As for real world applications, PS3 actually has less available RAM because of it's bloated OS, effectively making less than the 360 available for actual games. When you look at textures on multiplatform games on both systems... a keen eye might realize most textures on PS3 are more blurry. It's because the textures have to be cut-up to fit into the limited RAM. If Sony had any brains they would've added MORE RAM to their system to make use of their blu-ray discs... having the same ammount as 360 is idiotic.
Hey, but you'll have pretty neat looking 1080p HD-FMV, lossless Audio (which you probably won't notice unless you're set-up is 1k+). woooow, that sure is worth it, eh?
You've got to be kidding me. These are companies in a market place competing for market share.
How any of you really care to defend any of them? Not Sony, not Microsoft, not Nintendo deserve to be defended by anyone the way you all pander to one company as if they were your god and you were the virgin Mary except things hadn't quite happened down there yet.
You're a bunch of saps. Microsoft rightly believe GTA will be a huge seller and are trying to ensure they get the biggest boost from it.
OMFG! Microsoft are bastards@!
Only wait? They chose to spend $50 mill and it affects none of you who are whining about it if you chose not to buy a 360. So why whine about it?
Gamers have seriously fallen in intelligence over the years if you're all the faithful representation of a community.
From the preview I saw before, I thought that the 360 version of GTA4 was gonna be on HD DVD anyway, which is only a little smaller than a standard single layer Blu-ray. And if you can't fit what you need on a 15Gb disc, your code optimisers need shot.
How is crysis possible ,without the use of bluray disc ?
Exactly,it's not needed !
You have no idea how many DVDs Crysis will be on do you? It might come on three for all you know. You can pretty much guarantee it will be bigger the 10gigs when uncompressed on your hard drive.
The ammount of ram limits how many textures you can have accessed at the same time, so you could have a 200GB disc and you would still see the same exact graphics on your screen.
The reason Gears of war looks so good is because it uses texture streaming. A bigger disk means more textures to stream.
What I hate the most about this news isn't that MS is paying for it, or that PS3 might not get it. It's more the fact that they have decided way way before the game is even out that they aren't going to include the full game and are trying to rip-off gamers... I bet money that most of the episodic content will already be on the disc and you'll just be paying to unlock it. LAME
Judging by the replies above there are a lot of PSŁ owners who are having serious problems justifying their ridiculous outlay of cold hard cash.
OMG!!1! Teh PSŁ is teh bestest sella Xmas 2007!!!1!!!one!
Of course it is, now get back in your box and carry on playing your inferior 360 ports and "Halo Beaters".
And as to the PC gamers, I can buy a 360 for the cost of the latest graphics card (just one that is, not an SLI setup). Of course an Bugatti Veyron will be faster than an Audi RS6/BMW M3/Ford Mondeo ST220 but who can afford one of them?
If you've got stupid money to waste why not just buy that PSŁ, it plays Blu-Ray dontchaknow.
The ammount of ram limits how many textures you can have accessed at the same time, so you could have a 200GB disc and you would still see the same exact graphics on your screen.
The reason Gears of war looks so good is because it uses texture streaming. A bigger disk means more textures to stream.
More textures to stream... but you still can only fit so much into RAM at a time to display on the screen. At the moment some PS3 games are getting lower res textures and are weighing in at double and triple the disc-space of the exact same 360 game... and this is likely because they're using the space for more streaming, it's certainly isn't because of higher res textures. there aren't anymore textures going into RAM, it's exactly the opposite. Like I said, for Blu-ray for games to make that big of a visual impact, they should've added more RAM.
Another point which most people don't realize is that making more art takes time, they think because PS3 discs are Xgb, that the developers are going to use all that space. Developers are struggling to fill up dvd's with meaningful content, and with development costs rising... thinking that they'll fill it up for no reason (see above), not likely to happen.
Why should MS get targeted for buying off R* for extra content. I may be wrong but is that not what Sony did last gen and I bet you they paid alot more than $50 million for it.
Just like to point out that I am a very happy PS3 owner. Could not care less about future downloads. Am happy playing Resistance online (mega), motorstorm online (mega), VF5 (mega), Oblivion (mega). Had machine since release and still play the aformentioned games as much now as back in march.
If the 360 is so good then why don't you spend more time playing that than slagging off PS3. Speaks for itself really, does it not?
Still, looking forward to GTA regardless of downloads. Xmas will be great no matter which console you own. Who cares what happens next year?
p.s. I think it would be great if Microsoft and sony allowed online users to play each other. That would mean less words and more action! Imagine the battles!
You've got to be kidding me. These are companies in a market place competing for market share.
How any of you really care to defend any of them? Not Sony, not Microsoft, not Nintendo deserve to be defended by anyone the way you all pander to one company as if they were your god and you were the virgin Mary except things hadn't quite happened down there yet.
You're a bunch of saps. Microsoft rightly believe GTA will be a huge seller and are trying to ensure they get the biggest boost from it.
OMFG! Microsoft are bastards@!
Only wait? They chose to spend $50 mill and it affects none of you who are whining about it if you chose not to buy a 360. So why whine about it?
Gamers have seriously fallen in intelligence over the years if you're all the faithful representation of a community.
Agreed. The fact of the matter is that all of these companies are corporate bastards, I'm old enough to remember the stick Nintendo used to get for being brutal gits in their business practices. It's all about which company does enough to keep it's customers happy. I'm happy with my 360 (which seems to be one of the few that hasn't died yet) but I don't for a second think MS are being nice to me because they are good people. When Sony stop their current approach of blaming everyone else for their failures and start to impress everyone they will get a drastic improvement of sales in return.
Like others posting here I have a 360 and a Ps3. Guess which one gets played the most? The 360. Its got the best games, the most games, Xbox live, achievements and so much more.
Only two games I have bought so far for my PS3 Motorstorm and RfoM that come up to scratch.
If M$ want to pay all that money who cares, I will look at both versions and then decide which is the best game. As someone said its all about the games, not which side you support. I am lucky, I have both, but at the moment and as far as I can see Xbox 360 has it.
Home when it comes may start to change things but it will still take time to install anywhere near what 360 has. My guess is another year for PS3 in the states before Home starts offering decent functionality (from launch), so goodness knows how long it will be before we see anything in Europe. At least we will start to see a couple of decent games for PS3 come Christmas.
I'd like to know what all these brilliant games are for the 360. I had a 360 until a couple of months ago until it unfortunately died. But even when it was alive I was always underwhelmed by the games being released. Gears of war was (in my opinion so don't throw a mare) over-hyped pap. The gameplay was poor compared to classics like Goldeneye and Halo. Then came dead rising which was fun until the constant loading began to grate. Even new games like colin mcrae dirt and forza 2 are underwhelming to play, offering nothing new.
Maybe it's just me but I am sick of hearing people sing the praises of 360 when, in gameplay terms, it offered me nothing to get excited about. Rare disappointed as well. I only bought the machine because it promised so much. But I certainly won't be buying another. Not even for Halo 3. It is not the be-all and end-all of games. A lack of Halo did'nt do PS2 consoles sales any harm did it?
At the same time I am not saying that 360 is crap. It's just that people are different. Accept it.
The fist console to include a Hard Drive as standard, the first console to have a High Density optical storage as standard and the original Dual shock won an emmy for innovation are a few examples.
The xbox360 isnt bad but gets overhyped to the max.
My original coments about Microsoft were based on the speculation that PS3 will loose out on content due to Microsoft paying $50 mill to have it exclusively. If this isn't the case then fine, but if it is, then the consumer will be the one loosing out.
The Cube had 2 sticks one grey the other yellow. The N64 had one stick and was the first console to get analogue to the masses. Sony then copied the idea and stuck on an extra stick in the process. Nintendo then introduced the rumble pak and Sony had to bring out a brand new pad.........ohh the inovation.
Yet another PS3 owner trying to validate the Ł400+ they wasted on a console which may as well just be a Blu-Ray player...
Oh dear...yet another Xbox 360 owner wishing that they had not "wasted" their money on a 360 and waited for the PS3 instead. Either that or you are too jealous because you cannot afford one...
You also mentioned Xbox Live...have you ever considered how MS can afford to pay $50 million? Because of the Ł40 a year subscriptions
And I am in no way against MS, just to inform you. Infact, Irecently purchased a new PC and I am now exploring the amazing world of PC games. What fr@ser said was true...they are both becoming old technology.
And replying to canis77...
Not all of us have time to spellcheck our long messages. You must have been a teacher's pet otherwise you would not have bothered to waste you're energy in pointing that out. And to prove your point wrong about the difference in machines...go and ask your technology teacher about THE CELL PROCESSOR
In reply to agentxnofx
"When you look at textures on multiplatform games on both systems... a keen eye might realize most textures on PS3 are more blurry."
...You obviously haven't played Oblivion on both systems then...
In reply to Dajmin
"From the preview I saw before, I thought that the 360 version of GTA4 was gonna be on HD DVD anyway, which is only a little smaller than a standard single layer Blu-ray."
No games on 360 will be on HD DVD, simply because not all 360 owners have the add on.
I am not trying to start a "console war", as I have already stated that I like MS. I would just rather that the clueless Xbox 360 owners would get their facts right.
"When you look at textures on multiplatform games on both systems... a keen eye might realize most textures on PS3 are more blurry."
...You obviously haven't played Oblivion on both systems then...
When I said that I was referring to games that are released at the same time. The PS3 version was released how long after the Xbox360 version? They worked on that game the entire time and upgraded the shaders/graphics and optimized it more.
Try, for the sake of being relevant.. a game that was released about the same time.
You're argument is akin to saying, "Hey, look GTA3 looks better on my Xbox than it does on my PS2... (released like almost two years later)."
Yeah but the Xbox was more powerful than the PS2...it could handle and process the more complex data
There are also more reasons for the game being released later on the PS3...the cosole was released one and a half years after the 360 and it needs to be changed and reworked in order to play on the PS3.
"When you look at textures on multiplatform games on both systems... a keen eye might realize most textures on PS3 are more blurry."
...You obviously haven't played Oblivion on both systems then...
When I said that I was referring to games that are released at the same time. The PS3 version was released how long after the Xbox360 version? They worked on that game the entire time and upgraded the shaders/graphics and optimized it more.
Try, for the sake of being relevant.. a game that was released about the same time.
You're argument is akin to saying, "Hey, look GTA3 looks better on my Xbox than it does on my PS2... (released like almost two years later)."
Actually those games (like COD3) get their ports moved from one to another instead of having the developers working on both consoles. PC is better, but I prefer the PS because im not such a keen gamer and I pass 75% of my time on PCs due to my job.
I own a PS3, and im going to upgrade my PC next summer (just for Crysis and a HL3???)... A new GX card (lastest possible - mine is 7300GT), a new PSU and more RAM (have got a 2GB) my Processor is a 3.4 Dual Core CPU.
You've got to be kidding me. These are companies in a market place competing for market share.
How any of you really care to defend any of them? Not Sony, not Microsoft, not Nintendo deserve to be defended by anyone the way you all pander to one company as if they were your god and you were the virgin Mary except things hadn't quite happened down there yet.
You're a bunch of saps. Microsoft rightly believe GTA will be a huge seller and are trying to ensure they get the biggest boost from it.
OMFG! Microsoft are bastards@!
Only wait? They chose to spend $50 mill and it affects none of you who are whining about it if you chose not to buy a 360. So why whine about it?
Gamers have seriously fallen in intelligence over the years if you're all the faithful representation of a community.
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