GTA Series to GC and Xbox?

[IntvGene]

This is taken from Yahoo news article:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibd/20030425/bs_ibd_ibd/2003_4_25_tech

Here are some highlights:

'Take-Two's Rockstar unit is working on 10 new games, only two of which have been announced, Lapin says. They are "Manhunt," an action game akin to the movie "The Fugitive" and "The Warriors," a gang drama based on the 1979 movie. "Manhunt" is set for release in October and "The Warriors" and a "Max Payne" sequel are due out in the first half of 2005.'

'The last two "Grand Theft Auto" games have provided an immersive story with multiple coinciding missions. The next one is due out in 2004. A month later, "Grand Theft Auto 3" and "Vice City" finish exclusive run on Sony's PlayStation 2 and will be available for Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube. "And they will sell, like, a jillion copies," Pachter said.'

Is this for real, or what? I thought that the deal that Sony signed lasted a little longer. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

[Drexel923]

IGN wrote an article on this here:
http://cube.ign.com/articles/399/399944p1.html

They basically said everything that the yahoo article said, and they also contacted Rockstar about the subject. Right now it looks like only rumors, however I wouldn't be suprised if it happens. By that time those two games will most likely stop selling on the PS2 so why not try and milk a few extra bucks off people who only have cube or xbox. What I'd like to see is if they will release future installments on all three systems, instead of a sort time exclusive (like splinter cell on xbox). I think it would be the smartest thing to do.

[zmeston]

IGN wrote an article on this here:
http://cube.ign.com/articles/399/399944p1.html

They basically said everything that the yahoo article said, and they also contacted Rockstar about the subject. Right now it looks like only rumors, however I wouldn't be suprised if it happens. By that time those two games will most likely stop selling on the PS2 so why not try and milk a few extra bucks off people who only have cube or xbox. What I'd like to see is if they will release future installments on all three systems, instead of a sort time exclusive (like splinter cell on xbox). I think it would be the smartest thing to do.

Sony has paid Rockstar lots and LOTS of money (exact figure unknown, but in the tens of millions, at minimum) to keep new GTAs exclusive to the PS2 for, if we use this article as a guideline, a minimum of two and a half years. Future installments will absolutely NOT ship simultaneously on all three systems. The PS2 market is larger than the Xbox and GCN markets combined, and Rockstar will not jeopardize their long-term relationship with Sony for mild short-term gains. Rockstar has already done the smartest thing by hopping into bed with Sony.

I originally thought the deal made GTA3/VC/? exclusive to the PS2 for the lifetime of the system, so I'm surprised by this rumor. Indeed, Rockstar could make more money and squeeze more juice out of GTA3/VC by dropping the PS2 versions to Greatest Hits prices, if and when they stop selling at full MSRP(which doesn't look to happen for another year, at the very least).

It'll be interesting to see in what ways they soup up the GCN/Xbox versions, if/when they happen. Prog-scan for both versions and custom soundtracks for the Xbox version are no-brainers, but I would think they'd need to add at least a little more content to avoid the appearance of shameless milking.

-- Z.