A Christmas without GTA IV

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Author: Dave Rudden
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What does the GTA IV delay mean for the holiday season pack?

Hi, Best Buy? When does Mario Galaxy come out?

If you haven't heard yet, Grand Theft Auto IV, one of 2007's most anticipated titles has been delayed in a big way--Rockstar has revealed that the game will be shipping in the second quarter of 2008.

In all likelyhood, we probably won't be seeing GTA IV until next fall, as Rockstar's opus has always launched in the fall as a linchpin holiday title. When coupled with the ratings limbo that Manhunt has fallen into, Rockstar's holiday prospects have shrunk to new-gen ports of last-year's Bully (coming to the Wii and Xbox 360) and Table Tennis (Wii).

It's plain to see how Rockstar's fate has fallen in the last few months, but how will it affect the industry? Surprisingly, not terribly. Unlike previous years, during which a new GTA title was the centerpiece of the holiday season, GTA IV was crammed in amongst one of the most crowded holiday release schedules ever. Between Halo 3, Heavenly Sword, Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, and Rock Band, the holiday season is set to be fruitful for both the PS3 and 360, so neither should be too shaken up with the game's disappearance.

Microsoft, in particular loses bigtime with this announcement. An October-due GTA would, even in the act of stepping on Halo's heels, drive Xbox Live Marketplace with the new, MS-exculsive downloadable content at the beginning of next year. With a spring release, the game itself has to go up against some serious Sony-exclusive threats, like Metal Gear Solid with the content likely coming in the fall, when Killzone 2 should be nearing completion.

Who's the big winner here? Obviously, Nintendo. The Wii's momentum has shown no signs of slowing, and with GTA taken out of the picture, many new-gen console sales that would have been swayed by Rockstar's blockbuster will likely gravitate towards the many Wii-exclusives like Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3.

While it's safe to say that GTA IV doesn't have the same clout of it's predecessors, its release was still one of the biggest, if not the biggest of the year. With that game out of the picture, the holiday season has changed in a major way.

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FETALJUICE

Posted at: 08/02/07 at 8:29 PM PST

Certainly does suck that GTA4 got delayed. I was really looking forward to this game. I'm sure Rockstar has a good reason for delaying it.

LMG

Posted at: 08/03/07 at 1:10 PM PST

Hey this is a jammed packed year, a lot of heavy hitting titles. I honestly saw this coming, ESP kicks ass. I think its nice, it gives you time to beat those other games and then get your Grand theft on.

Posted at: 08/03/07 at 1:25 PM PST

This is good news, Rockstar will probably capitalize off an empty summer with this and it will give me time to actually play the game. Great news.

Blackbolt

Posted at: 08/04/07 at 8:01 AM PST

Hahahahaha.... I love some of the captions you are able to create! They are hilarious!

I don't see how Nintendo would benefit since GTA IV was never coming to the Wii. Most likely Wii owners were still going to purchase Galaxy, Corruption, and Brawl anyway. Games you mentioned for the 360 and PS3 definitely benefit like Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, etc. due to an extra $60 now free, PS3 and 360 owners can put that money towards another purchase.

It definitely lightens up the wallet for the holiday season. Which I think is a good thing, but it is a bummer to wait. Let's hope Rockstar can use the extra to time really fine polish what looks to an already very polished game.