Rockstar; why no GTA 4 for PC?

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xeenrecoil

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Im dissapointed to say the least.
It appears that Rockstar has no intentions of releasing GTA 4 for the PC.
IS the code for the X-Box 360 really so much different that they cannot code for both the X-Box 360, and the PC simultaniously using the same code?
If they can then whats going on?
Did Rockstar make a deal with Microsoft and Sony to make the game exclusive to only those two platforms, and if so wouldnt that limit their sales, considering all the loyal GTA PC gamers?
I know I am very unhappy considering GTA is one of my favorite game titles of all time.
Do they plan to port the game to PC at a later date, if so how long do we have to wait?
If they do not release it on PC then I guess my days of lawlessness, disorder and chaos are over, because Although I love gaming I refuse to buy a console, I am a PC guy through and through.
Sad are the days without GTA.

Sincerely
A disgruntled gamer.
 

accu

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pc will get gta4 like 1 or 2yrs after ps3 and xbox360 because they can sell more like this, if all 3 released the same period then its harder to sell because most people will download gta4 for pc. i know they can do that to ps3 or xbox360 but its a lot easier to download and play for pc.
 

cpburns

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How can you actually seriously say the GTA games are your "favorite game titles of all time" and not know anything about their release cycles?

No GTA game since GTA3 has been simultaneously released on console and PC platforms. It does NOT happen. They release the console version, and then a year or two later the PC version is released.

Seriously though, how can you call yourself a "big fan" and not know that?
 

xeenrecoil

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How can you actually seriously say the GTA games are your "favorite game titles of all time" and not know anything about their release cycles?

No GTA game since GTA3 has been simultaneously released on console and PC platforms. It does NOT happen. They release the console version, and then a year or two later the PC version is released.

Seriously though, how can you call yourself a "big fan" and not know that?


That was so snotty it doesnt deserve a response, go wipe your nose kidd its running.
 

xrodney

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One of reasons they never get my money because i dont want play 3 years old games.
 
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Why do you refuse to get a console? They have some of the best games out there. If you really love gaming, you should get one and see what you're missing. GTA 3 was released first on ps2 after all. Don't limit yourself to one platform. Pointless these days, especially with games like Halo 3, MGS 4 and the like soon to be released.
 

dj_taboo

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I would much rather buy an 8800GTS than a PS3 or 360 for GTA4.

edit: on the other hand, i'd rather buy a PS3 for Gran Turismo 5 and MGS4
 

thebratprince001

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the sad thing is console users think the gaming industry solely revolves around them. if you knew anything about the evolution of the graphics around video games the high quality gaming experience you have now is thanks to the pc. well the military and the pc industry. and acting like halo is a console game is stupid. it's a pc game same as quake and half life. the whole gaming industry for consoles is based on 3d modeling developed on and for pc. so if someone doesn't want to use a console you shouldn't act like they're a leper or stupid. the are staying loyal to the origins and their gaming preferences. frankly i find gameplay far superior on pc. i think consoles are for teenagers that stand in line like they have no life or no jobs just to get one a month or two before everyone else. console users should be kissing the pc industry's arse for the quality of games they get to play because of the pc.
 

Alex The PC Gamer

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Hey, I'm a gamer too but I have to go with my studies in finance and disagree.

Game devellopers are not creating games because games are fun to play... regardless or the platform. They create games to make money and make a good profit.

Hence, as most of you know, PC suffers from illegal downloads/cracked game and the consumers get the product for free...actually what I mean is the producer does not get monetary exchange from these pirated products. Solution? Consoles...which is less subject to piracy.

Yes, it use to be about the exclusive right to have a game to a console and use to be the battle of which console has better games but you'll notice a lot more cross-platform games in the last year. Because it is more profitable to sell on both consoles right now. You'll also notice a trend for PC games is massive multiplayer games because it is easier for publishers to avoid fraud if you have to login to a server to play under your license agreement.

So, from a business point of view, to make as much profit as possible, you almost have to go with consoles. On the other hand, there is still a huge market in PC gaming... so it is in the publishers' best interest to cross platforms and sell in multiple markets...unless Microsoft and/or Sony make an even better proposal of purchasing exclusive rights to their platform.

As much as people love to download "free" pirated games, it hurts the PC industry a lot...and this is one of the consequences. Buy your PC games and you shall find more publishers showing interest in PC games...perhaps even launching them at the same time as consoles but I doubt people will change overnight.

Nota: Fraud is one of the main problems but exclusive right is another big reason of course. Microsoft and/or Sony pay huge amounts of money to publishers to get their rights. They also get a share of each game being sold and is once again much more profitable than the equivalent of the PC industry.
 

bash007

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Alex the PC Gamer, saying that the PC is the platform with the most pirated games is not true.
Do you know that EVERY SINGLE GAME for the X360, Wii, Xbox, PS2, PSP, and DS is shared online (not to mention the older consoles)? Sometimes even pre-release? Do you know how many people download the games for said consoles?
I can tell you right now, the two platforms that suffer from piracy the most are the PS2 and the X360, and not the PC. It is so easy nowadays to get almost any console cracked, and it's even easier to figure out where to get the games for free.
So the argument that the PC is easier to pirate for is not true, IMO.
All games for all the current platforms (except the PS3 which hasn't been cracked... yet) are easily cracked, copied and shared.

 
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True the most pirated consoles are probably the PS2 and X360, but the PC suffers from piracy to a much greater extent. All you need to do to play a PC game is download it and a crack for it. With consoles, you have to actually modify the console to be able to play those downloaded games or get some sort of software that bypasses its booting process with one of its own. Easier to get a file that modifies an executable or modified executable, than a piece of hardware that modifies a system. With a downloaded console game, you'd have to transfer the game to a hard disk or some kind of removable media (dvd, cd, etc). With a downloaded pc game, all you have to do is mount the image, install it and get a crack. You can find every single pc game ever made (even dos games) online, just as you can find every single console game online, but then I mean take a look at Halo 3, as an example. Why did Microsoft make so damn money on it? If it was so convenient to "crack" the X360, more people would have done it and Halo 3 would have been pirated like mad and sales would have been much lower. I have read up on how to modify a X360 (one particular way) and while its not that difficult, it does take an extra piece of hardware you have to purchase to be able to do it. Of course, as you know, this is just my opinion.
 

Alex The PC Gamer

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I'll agree about console games being pirated increasingly in the last 2-3 years.

Piracy is a factor under many when publishers decide on which consoles to port the game to and is not limited to this particular factor. However, the PC platform is the most affected by piracy, unfortunately.

When publisher study the market, they have to please both the gamer and the purchaser as they are not always ONE.

Hence, would explain the hype of many big titles such as Halo and similar games where the publisher proves to the gamer that the game is extremely fun to play, but will target their selling advertising campaign to parents or adults that can usually better afford such product.
 

krisboro

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Do any of you actually have numbers to back up your assertions about PC vs Console piracy, or is it all just opinion and speculation? I think some of you guys are painting with a rather broad brush without the slightest bit of evidence to back your claims.

Just about everyone I knew had a chipped PS1 and were buying silvers (pirated games) for a couple of bucks a piece. Piracy has been going on since the days of C64 and tape drives. Even more so since the advent of disc drives, then CD/DVD drives. I don't see these gaming behemoths going out of business.

Incidentally, I buy all of my games, PC or otherwise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xfqkdh5Js4 - Priceless....
 

Alex The PC Gamer

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Numbers change every quarter. So I won't post numbers but I have researched the subject many times.

Krisboro, I'm glad you purchase you games. Publishers do not entirely look at piracy and which platform is more affected but it does carry a lot of weight in their decision matrix.

Publishers start by figuring out the demand for a prototype product (i.e. Rainbow Six 2). They have a few different ways to identify the demand for such products and then they weight the profit (costs - revenue = profit .....in general).

Now, there's a lot more to this. But piracy plays a big role in the "revenue" area. Other parts of "revenue" are Exclusive rights that Microsoft or Sony would pay for such products, etc.
 

wayne_m

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games that are worth my money get my money.

i saved up for a long time for a ps3 and HDTV and when i finally had enough there were no 60GB or 80GB versions available. Only the sad sad 40Gig was stocked on shelves.

so, upgrading my computer i discovered that for 200 dollars, my pc now played ALL the ported console games on my TV thru DVI.

After 2 weeks of installing and playing next-gen pc games on my new revamped pc, i found Toys R Us sold the 80GB version this whole time. But, each game for ps3 was over $50CAD and that was way too much to invest at the moment.

So now I click click and try games, but when i realized i enjoyed it I go out and purchase a registerable copy for myself. I love demos, and i'm very thankful for them as would normally spend 20 bucks a week renting stupid games that werent even worth the rental fee.

also, because of demos and video previews i can get WAAAY too hyped about a so-so game and invest lots before actually playing the full version.

(HL2, Just Cause, Crysis, Bioshock, Need for speed Pro Street)

Crazy hype that i've upgraded over and over for!
 


Or you could get a decent computer with a nice 24" monitor and see what you are missing. Most PC gamers will stay PC gamers, like myself. After I started building my own PC I saw the uselessness in consoles and saw a huge quality difference in games on the PC as compared to a console.

And yes all console gaming owes PCs big time considering it is PC gaming that continually pushes the envelope for hardware manufactuers to get better.

To the OP, don't worry. R* wont blow PCs off. They usually release the console version first and we will actually probably get it in about 6 months to a year not 1 year to 2 years.

I am excited about GTAIV too since I love Liberty City. Plus think of it this way. It gives R* time to tweak it and fix all the problems console games are stuck with cuz they can't do patches/updates. That is unless they buy a newer version of the same game thus paying more. Hehe.
 

Chazwuzzer

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Why would someone refuse to get a console?

Hmmmm.

1. A console is similar to my PC except that it is less powerful, less capable and non-upgradeable.

2. Console games are made for kids and 'tards. Sorry, but it is true. If a game is developed for the consoles that has some appeal for the more-intelligent PC gamer, then it will be released for the PC platform and that release, these days at least, is typically superior to the console release (better visuals, extra content, improved gameplay).

3. I don't like console controllers - they feel like they were designed for someone with a few extra chromosomes.

4. I prefer not to participate in the stupidification of the species.

Ultimately, I'm also just not part of the console culture, and trust me, viewed from the outside it looks fairly ridiculous (not rediculous, as a console fan might spell it). Unemployed teenage guys standing outside in the rain for days for the privilege of plunking down $600 (at a minimum) to their corporate overlords? And I don't get the games either - Super Mega Mario something (Wasn't he the guy from Donkey Kong?), Final Fantasy XXXVII, The latest childish "Gritty" FPS (Now with extra Grit!) and HALO3 - THE GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME AND YOU'D BETTER NOT DISAGREE WITH ME 'CAUSE ITS REALLY THE BEST EVER!

 

tsd16

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How many of you have NEVER pirated a piece of software? Be it office app, Windows, game, music? In my opinion, this is like a guy saying he never beat his meat. I freely admit, I was once a contributer to the problem(primarily due to financial reasons, still its no excuse and I think at the time I thought like anyone else that it really didnt matter) Anyway to the point, I am a software developer(looking back now, ironic i know) I still wouldnt even bother with the hassle of doing what it takes to pirate console games. Have you seen kids these days? They pop out with a cat 5 port in their forehead. I would say from 8 years old and up a kid is capable of doing whats necessary to pirate a PC game, this is the problem. I know you would like to think its not easier to pirate a PC game, but it is, especially since in my shadowed history all you have to do is search for the game via the file sharing program of your choice, click and wait, most come pre packaged with a crack. You can't really get much easier than that.

Anyway since it is so easy (I dont know how you could argue against it being easy, the actual cracking (work) is done for the user), any PC gamer with no money and no sense(I include my former self in this) is gonna download games. Then some may argue, well they wouldnt have bought the games anyway, in the literal sense that may be true, but dontcha think they would definitely be on their christmas/b-day list?

Now how many of you have pirated a (PS3, 360) title?
I had a chipped Ps1 and thats where it stopped, at that time it was easy enough to go to my local gameshop and they would mod it. Although my intent for the modding was to play japanese imports, I only later discovered its use in playing burned games.
 

crowlz

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I have heard a rumor of a PC release date somewhere around oct 08, If this is correct it would actually make it one of the shorter waits for a GTA game since the series went 3D.
 

physx7

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Which donkey kong?
 


The very old one where DK steals Peach and Mario goes to save her by jumping over barrels and such. But truth be told, Mario stems from much farther back than DK. He and Luigi were in a game where they had to move bricks around. It was a Pocket Watch game.

I will research it and see if I can find a definattive date which GTA IV will hit the PC. I am sure it will though. And probably will have extra content too.
 

physx7

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DK was the bad guy in those games. And I believe that Mario was called Jumpman in the original DK games. And the girls name was Lady\Pauline.
 

Heyyou27

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You sure do like the smell of your own farts, don't you? It's people like you who give us in the PC gaming population a bad name. Anyone who doesn't play their games on a PC must be retarded, right? God forbid people not wanting to spend hundreds more, and countless hours trying to get their game to run properly. While I personally don't mind tweaking games or upgrading hardware, I also enjoy playing games on the consoles as well. I hope you have fun with all of those great PC exclusives coming out this year...oh...well, there's always 2009 right?
 
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