GTA 4 delayed until Q2, 2008.

[diskoboy]

Probably a good idea with Halo 3 coming out a few weeks before it's old release date.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/02/grand-theft-auto-iv-delayed-from-oct-to-fiscal-q2-08/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/02/take-2-grand-theft-auto-iv-delay-almost-strictly-technological/

Oh well, this fall is still a great time to be a gamer. And 2008 is starting to sound pretty good, too.

[AMG]

I'm surprised by this since everything seemed on course, but delays happen.

[Nesmaster]

That really, really sucks. But getting an unfinished, buggy game would suck even more. Especially a title like this.

Now, if Mercenaries 2 gets delayed into next year I'm going to break things.

[Promophile]

I love when big games like this are delayed, because it usually means that the developer puts polish above early profit.

[FAMOUS]

that sucks!, hopefully Mass Effect is as big as they say it is, so it can last me till gta4...

[swlovinist]

Mass Effect is going to be awsome and Halo 3 is no slouch either. By far the two I am looking forward to playing.

[heybtbm]

That really, really sucks. But getting an unfinished, buggy game would suck even more. Especially a title like this.

Now, if Mercenaries 2 gets delayed into next year I'm going to break things.

Tell me about it. Mercenaries 2 has essentially been in production since the summer of 2005 (it was the infamous "top secret project" Pandemic would refer to in interviews from time to time). Hopefully 2 years is enough time. It should be noted however...that there is no official release date yet. Late October was just suggested at E3...not confirmed.

GTA4 being delayed...is a positive IMO. More time to polish and refine the game is a good thing. The remainder of 2007 has too many A-list games coming out as it is. This will give me a chance to get my money's worth from Halo 3.

[Trebuken]

Ridiculous. They should know much soonere than this that would have to delay the game, espeacially with this length of a delay. Q2 -- that easily means six-eight+ months. That means Easter at the earliest, and guess what? That's the slow season for games, so clearly this has just become a christmas 2008 release, probably joining Killzone 2 and Unreal Tournament which will probably slip too. This is just insidious advertising...

[heybtbm]

Q2 -- that easily means six-eight+ months. That means Easter at the earliest, and guess what? That's the slow season for games, so clearly this has just become a christmas 2008 release.

Erm...no. Fiscal Q2 starts February 1st and goes to April 30th. GTA4 will be out sometime next spring. This is not going to be a Christmas 2008 release.

[diskoboy]

Erm...no. Fiscal Q2 starts February 1st and goes to April 30th. GTA4 will be out sometime next spring. This is not going to be a Christmas 2008 release.


Well, look at it this way... If it is spring 2008, that alone, will keep people on both systems occupied for a good portion of the summer drought.

[heybtbm]

Apparently, the main reason for the delay was the difficulty of developing the PS3 version. They are contractually obliged to release the 360 and PS3 versions simultaneously, so both versions ended up getting delayed. Interesting theory.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6176166.html

[Anthony1]

Apparently, the main reason for the delay was the difficulty of developing the PS3 version. They are contractually obliged to release the 360 and PS3 versions simultaneously, so both versions ended up getting delayed. Interesting theory.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6176166.html



I'm not suprised in the least by this. The developers were showing off the 360 version in all their demonstrations, which suggested that the 360 version was the more stable version, and was running better, and probably much further along. PS3 development is really being a major thorn in the sides to multiplatform developers, because it just doesn't seem like alot of these developers can come to grips with PS3 development on their first attempt. The usual result is that the 360 game is released on time, and the PS3 version is delayed several months. With GTA IV, from a contractual standpoint, this was impossible, so they couldn't do it. It's a damn shame that something like this is going to delay me from getting my hands on this game for what could be another 6 to 8 months past 10/16.

[Richter Belmount]

Hopefully hideo kojima is keeping his 07 promise for mgs4 atleast i can do without gta for a while.

[Lothars]

Apparently, the main reason for the delay was the difficulty of developing the PS3 version. They are contractually obliged to release the 360 and PS3 versions simultaneously, so both versions ended up getting delayed. Interesting theory.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6176166.html

See I disagree with this mainly because even other people that had seen the game saw it had intense framerate issues on the 360 as well, so it's entirely possible it sounded like it had alot of problems on both systems which is a good reason for the delay.

plus it's an Analyst, so I take there opinion with a grain of salt.

[jajaja]

Apparently, the main reason for the delay was the difficulty of developing the PS3 version. They are contractually obliged to release the 360 and PS3 versions simultaneously, so both versions ended up getting delayed. Interesting theory.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6176166.html

The first thing i thought of when i read about the delay was the Xbox 360 size limit. They did complain that 7GB (360 DVD size) was going to be an issue and they had to work on that. That made me think that they are trying to fit the game to 7GB and that takes more time than they had planned.


I'm not suprised in the least by this. The developers were showing off the 360 version in all their demonstrations, which suggested that the 360 version was the more stable version, and was running better, and probably much further along.

Has a PS3 version been shown? About a month ago some game journalist or something wrote that the 360 (pretty sure it was this version that was mentioned) didnt look too good and they hoped it would be fixed until its release date.

[Barbarianoutkast85]

This is the first GTA game I've been excited about since GTA3. I'm not sure why, but I want's it, my precious.

[Trebuken]

Erm...no. Fiscal Q2 starts February 1st and goes to April 30th. GTA4 will be out sometime next spring. This is not going to be a Christmas 2008 release.

Missed my point.

I am saying that they will not release the game in Q2 because they will not sell enough copies, and that the announced delay will slip again to Christmas to take advantage of the holiday selling. GTA 4 has the potential to be next years Halo in terms of sales; I do not see any other title in the pipeline that can equal either of these games in sales.

[heybtbm]

Missed my point.

I am saying that they will not release the game in Q2 because they will not sell enough copies, and that the announced delay will slip again to Christmas to take advantage of the holiday selling. GTA 4 has the potential to be next years Halo in terms of sales; I do not see any other title in the pipeline that can equal either of these games in sales.

If anything, a spring release will be an even better situation. Less A-list titles competing for your dollar. After reading a few articles about Take Two's rocky financial state, I'm sure they are going to release GTA4 the day it's ready. Waiting until fall makes no sense...it'll be available the whole time anyway. How would postponing the release a few months benefit the company?

[kainemaxwell]

There goes Sony's big Xmas seller.