Take-Two has confirmed that the first installment of downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV has been pushed back to its first quarter of 2009.
In the company's call to investors today, CEO Ben Feder claimed that the delay was, in fact, completely by choice. "The reason we moved it is more about portfolio balance than anything else... the delay is not about development issues," he said.
"The 2009 release of this highly anticipated episode will provide better balance among top titles," he said.
We just put his words through our corporate PR translator and it told us Take-Two has already made a few hundred truckloads of money this year, so releasing the DLC next fiscal year makes a lot of sense.
Tellingly, the PlayStation 3 isn't mentioned.
UPDATE: The same PR translator has since alerted us that T2's Q1 09 begins in November, and ends in January. Woops.
Fine by me, so many good titles again coming up before Xmas. The DLC will be a nice filler if nothing else sparks my interest around the time it comes out.
Ill happily wait till Xmas to get the chance to play the next part of one of my top games of the last few years.
to Q1, fiscal 2009 - That's some time after March next year
I'll get you an Actionman instead....
Ahem,
"US, June 5, 2008 - Microsoft and Take-Two made headlines when they announced last year that they'd be joining forces to release Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content exclusively for the Xbox 360.
That content was supposed to arrive this fall, sometime between August and October. But GTA IV publisher Take-Two Interactive said in its quarterly financial statement today that the DLC has been pushed to the start of company's next fiscal year, which runs from November 2008 through January 2009.
The decision was made to "provide a better balance in Take-Two's release schedule," company officials said. Midnight Club: Los Angeles, another upcoming Rockstar Games title, is set for release on Sept. 9 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Take-Two and Rockstar are still mum about what exactly gamers can expect from the GTA IV downloadable content, although the company does officially refer to it as "episodic."
Anyway, back on topic...... I'm not that bothered. I'm still a long way off finishing GTA and still have other games I haven't touched yet - GOW, Condemned 2, Viva Pinata(!). Not to mention the games I might buy between now and then.
Will anyone give a crap about GTA DLC in the middle of 2009?
What GTA4 DLC?
Seriously though, I'd say that people who bought GTA4 for the 360, predominantly for DLC, will be more upset than MS.
For me, it still really depends on what it'll be. If it's just a collection of new cars, weapons etc, I probably wouldn't bother - regardless of when it's released.
If it's as big as some people are suggesting, then I can wait even longer than January 2009 - it's a fantastic game, why not?
Anyway, back on topic...... I'm not that bothered. I'm still a long way off finishing GTA and still have other games I haven't touched yet - GOW, Condemned 2, Viva Pinata(!). Not to mention the games I might buy between now and then.
I actually agree. Microsoft have failed to make the 360 appeal outside the hardcore gamer.
Anyway, back on topic...... I'm not that bothered. I'm still a long way off finishing GTA and still have other games I haven't touched yet - GOW, Condemned 2, Viva Pinata(!). Not to mention the games I might buy between now and then.
I actually agree. Microsoft have failed to make the 360 appeal outside the hardcore gamer.
You know, you are really, really annoying. Well done for agreeeing with some analyst. Go get yourself a chocolate watch.
Anyway, back on topic...... I'm not that bothered. I'm still a long way off finishing GTA and still have other games I haven't touched yet - GOW, Condemned 2, Viva Pinata(!). Not to mention the games I might buy between now and then.
I actually agree. Microsoft have failed to make the 360 appeal outside the hardcore gamer.
You know, you are really, really annoying. Well done for agreeeing with some analyst. Go get yourself a chocolate watch.
what bunch of money grabbing f**k faces. im sick of getting f**king ripped off with my xbox whether for dlc thats s**t(Halo 3) or my xbox breaking and then me having to pay to get it fixed when its clearly MS fault. Might just join the Sony whore machine.
Ha ha ha ha, GTA is the biggest let down ever. If you want to play a decent GTA get GTA 3 or vice city, its basicall GTA 4 but with a different story line and lesser graphics. Total and utter waste of my money.
Will anyone give a crap about GTA DLC in the middle of 2009?
What GTA4 DLC?
Seriously though, I'd say that people who bought GTA4 for the 360, predominantly for DLC, will be more upset than MS.
For me, it still really depends on what it'll be. If it's just a collection of new cars, weapons etc, I probably wouldn't bother - regardless of when it's released.
If it's as big as some people are suggesting, then I can wait even longer than January 2009 - it's a fantastic game, why not?
in a interview R* had explained the DLC will be just like the "friends" you bump into on the map but more lengthy missions nothin story related. so yer it'll have a bunch of extra missions but that doesnt get me that much exited about it. id be happier with more weapons or cars for multiplayer tbh, or even the option to use a rocket launcher as a passenger in a car or on a bike would do me, GTA race would get real intresting then!
Ha ha ha ha, GTA is the biggest let down ever. If you want to play a decent GTA get GTA 3 or vice city, its basicall GTA 4 but with a different story line and lesser graphics. Total and utter waste of my money.
Wow - you really should stop playing games if GTA4 was a disappointment....I know a lot of people have already beaten the game and see no point in replaying it, but to refer to it as a 'waste of money' - huh?
Now 'Rise of the Robots' - that was a waste of money!
I kind of agree with the comment though, i bought it, only played it for a couple of hours and then played and completed Haz instead (which I enjoyed) and am back on to completing Dark Sector, which I am enjoying very much. I just cannot get into GTA, i feel whilst not a complete waste of money, it was certainly a let down and certainly In my opinion not a 10/10 game
I'm sure loads of people will still buy it, but i just wouldn't be any where near as interested if i had an xbox by March! It's a bit like the cod4 map packs, they geniusly decided to release them at the same time GTA came out! That's nearly a whole year after GTA has released, i'm pretty sure they'll be losing a few customers from that.
Reading the comments im believeing people must be sick of the GTA formula.
We can all agree it is in fact a great game & a technical masterpiece. But it doesnt seem to be holding our attention & none of us seem to be enjoying it as much as we should.
"Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive revealed today that it has delayed the first piece of Grand Theft Auto IV DLC until the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, which runs from November 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009. "
This always happens. A game is resoundedly recognised a a trult great gaming experinece and what happens.
The ususal reaction from gamers who are too cool for school.
I thought that if people bought GTA IV on the 360 then they would be pretty hyped for the downloadbale content, I must be alone in waiting for the content with great anticipation, Sam Houser (I think0 was bigging it up and saying that R* wanted to market it almost like a standalone game, I dont think its going to be a couple of crappy non connected missions or extra cars, then again I could be completely wrong and we end up getting a new fast food joint other than Cluckin Bell.
Hmmm. I'd say that if a delay of somewhere between 1 and 4 months for some downloadable content is the best the PS3-tards have to gloat about this week, the XBots aren't doing too badly.
I almost feel sorry for them.
Dear CvG. Please would you fix it for me to stop printing all negative PlayStation related news, and only print bad things about the XBox 360.
There is currently a gross imbalance in the force, and the fanboy wars are getting boring again. Only you can fix this, dear CvG.
I'm at 11.2% of the game now and didn't touch it for near enough a week. I just can't get into it too samey samey. Not sure anything in the DLC will even make it more appealing to me so I will not care too much about it.
This 'DLC' is a bit of a laughing stock for Microsoft really, spending $50 million for what?
The sales of GTA5 have been 60/40 in favour of 360, but Sony will be laughing considering the installed base of 360 and the blanket marketing the 360 version received.
That advert for the 360 version with Niko walking towards the camera I have seen more regularly as a TV game advert than any other. I thought where is the PS3 ads?! I never saw one.
But this has just worked out fine for Sony, they just sat back, never used any marketing themselves and it seems willingly allowed MS to market the game for them with that Niko advert!
And now this DLC coming sometime next year. I think Microsoft has messed up with this one!
Will anyone give a crap about GTA DLC in the middle of 2009?
^^^ if you dont know how many months are in a year and how to divide that number into quarters, I suggest you go back to primary school maths lessons and boost your IQ upto -58.
Hmmm. I'd say that if a delay of somewhere between 1 and 4 months for some downloadable content is the best the PS3-tards have to gloat about this week, the XBots aren't doing too badly.
I almost feel sorry for them.
Dear CvG. Please would you fix it for me to stop printing all negative PlayStation related news, and only print bad things about the XBox 360.
There is currently a gross imbalance in the force, and the fanboy wars are getting boring again. Only you can fix this, dear CvG.
It is not just this delay that is funny. It is the effort Microsoft made with GTA5 with comparison to what Sony did and the relative indifference to sales.
How much money must have M$ paid to get that many 'Niko walking towards camera' adverts on TV? I have seen that GTA IV advert more than any game advert I can remember. Yet despite this it seems this was good advertisement for the PS3 version lol I you look at sales.
I think it's quite funny that people have gone from being all "OMG t3h 360 haz dlc n ur PS3 suxxorz!lololol112wtfbbq" to being "meh, I'm not so fussed about the DLC anyway".
It really depends exactly how much the expansion is going to add. If it adds a massive amount of content, new vehicles, new missions and new characters or an entire new island, it's hardly shocking that it's going to take some development time.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the content. I'm sure it won't just be a bunch of throwaway non connected missions, Microsoft wouldn't pay 50 mill for that sort of content.
Shame it's been put back, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. Plus it'll give me more time to play all the games coming out at the end of the year.
They claim it has been delayed to better fit their release schedule, but we all know what is really going on here. Delayed because they want to include pedestrian-sewage spraying functionality.
Just noticed something very strange, just been on xbox360fanboy site an they state on there that dlc will be released in november this year, yet here they say after march next year, very strange indeed e dodo if i do say so myself.
Just noticed something very strange, just been on xbox360fanboy site an they state on there that dlc will be released in november this year, yet here they say after march next year, very strange indeed e dodo if i do say so myself.
As I said"Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive revealed today that it has delayed the first piece of Grand Theft Auto IV DLC until the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, which runs from November 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009. "
Hmmm. I'd say that if a delay of somewhere between 1 and 4 months for some downloadable content is the best the PS3-tards have to gloat about this week, the XBots aren't doing too badly.
I almost feel sorry for them.
Dear CvG. Please would you fix it for me to stop printing all negative PlayStation related news, and only print bad things about the XBox 360.
There is currently a gross imbalance in the force, and the fanboy wars are getting boring again. Only you can fix this, dear CvG.
Hmmm. I'd say that if a delay of somewhere between 1 and 4 months for some downloadable content is the best the PS3-tards have to gloat about this week, the XBots aren't doing too badly.
I almost feel sorry for them.
Dear CvG. Please would you fix it for me to stop printing all negative PlayStation related news, and only print bad things about the XBox 360.
There is currently a gross imbalance in the force, and the fanboy wars are getting boring again. Only you can fix this, dear CvG.
Sadness personified.
True. However, kudos to him for dressing up a rampant fanboy comment as an anti-fanboy dig. Very post modern.
Will anyone give a crap about GTA DLC in the middle of 2009?
^^^ if you dont know how many months are in a year and how to divide that number into quarters, I suggest you go back to primary school maths lessons and boost your IQ upto -58.
That comment was quoted from C&VG story, dickwipe. Try and learn how to read before you go slagging somebody else's IQ.
Just noticed something very strange, just been on xbox360fanboy site an they state on there that dlc will be released in november this year, yet here they say after march next year, very strange indeed e dodo if i do say so myself.
As I said"Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive revealed today that it has delayed the first piece of Grand Theft Auto IV DLC until the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, which runs from November 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009. "
People seem incable ofactually reading this comment above. READ IT DAMN YOU ALL READ IT!
Makes alot of sense really. I'm sure MS don't want a multi-format game rising from the dead to challenge it's exclusives end of the year. Also, switching the release to that period will mean Rockstar's profits look more stable rather than a sudden jump and then back to rock bottom.
Given that most people have already played the bottom out of the game, and many more have just got bored of it, I'll be amazed if the dlc does much for Take Two's 2009 profits.
For starters, you're looking at it being 360-only, then reduce that by the amount of people who still own GTA4 by March 2009 (I personally trade in all but the very best games), then reduce that number by those who still have it and also have online access.
Then reduce that number by the amount of people who will even be prepared to pay for the dlc - which could cost anywhere between 800 and 2400 points depending on the level of content. 800 for a map pack with extra vehicles? Or 2400 like Oblivions' Shivering Isles offering practically a brand new game?
Given the overall media reception of GTA4 being favourable, I'm sure Take Two will think they have a gold mine on their hands. Whether this is case in reality is another matter...
As I said"Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive revealed today that it has delayed the first piece of Grand Theft Auto IV DLC until the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, which runs from November 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009. "
Lets make this simple for everyone shall we.
If the above comment is true and the Q1 fiscal year for Take-Two runs from Nov08 to Jan09 then the LATEST you will see this DLC is January 09. a total delay of no more than 2 months.
Hmmm. I'd say that if a delay of somewhere between 1 and 4 months for some downloadable content is the best the PS3-tards have to gloat about this week, the XBots aren't doing too badly.
I almost feel sorry for them.
Dear CvG. Please would you fix it for me to stop printing all negative PlayStation related news, and only print bad things about the XBox 360.
There is currently a gross imbalance in the force, and the fanboy wars are getting boring again. Only you can fix this, dear CvG.
Sadness personified.
True. However, kudos to him for dressing up a rampant fanboy comment as an anti-fanboy dig. Very post modern.
Hmmm. I'd almost go as far as agreeing with you, if a quick scan of this week's news stories in any way contradicted my statement.
You can't accuse somebody for being a fanboy for simply pointing out the truth. You need to wait for them to at least add their own opinions.
Will anyone give a crap about GTA DLC in the middle of 2009?
^^^ if you dont know how many months are in a year and how to divide that number into quarters, I suggest you go back to primary school maths lessons and boost your IQ upto -58.
That comment was quoted from C&VG story, dickwipe. Try and learn how to read before you go slagging somebody else's IQ.
Maps thats the key here and with out HDD as standard how can you achive that?Warhawke and COD4 both done very well with new maps so if GTA4 is only missions ect where will the new adventure ect be?
Gotta say I'm surprised how little I've played this game. I bought it within 3 days of release and I'm not even 25% through. I like the city but I think the problem is that no matter how real and alive it seems it'll never be comparable to playing against real people IMHO. Different cups of tea I know, but still I keep going back to Warhawk.
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
