Microsoft slams GTA IV PS3 install time in PR mail

[Sedako]

Either way, Rockstar stated GTA4 without any DLC is supposed to offer around 100 hours of just missions if you aren't rushing through it. From Gamepro:

"If you're not in a rush and you answer the phone when it rings, it'll take about 100 hours to complete," said a spokesman when speaking to VideoGamer about the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 4.

"It's harder to distinguish between main and side missions - there are loads of both. But there are more main missions than side missions," they added.

GTA 4 will make heavy use of the phone to call in jobs, set up dates, arrange side missions, and access online multiplayer, reports VideoGamer. Additionally, Rockstar said there will be no demo for the game before its April 29 release on for Xbox 360 and PS3.

With all the other games being released for the PS3 and PC this year, that'll be far more than enough to satisfy me.

 

[VictimOfScience]

I have a 360 and a PS3 and I plan on getting this for the PS3. DLC I don't really care about. Mass Effect is one of my favorite games of recent years and I do not care about the DLC for it. I really hate this sort of thing. Just put the content in the game to begin with. Don't skimp on the title and then make us pay more for it later. Count me out. (Shivering Isles was one of the few exceptions imho.)

 

[Gray Fox]

Dude it's probably going to be a ****ing big DLC, plus most hl2.net people are on live.

 

[Geogaddi]

I have a 360 and a PS3 and I plan on getting this for the PS3. DLC I don't really care about. Mass Effect is one of my favorite games of recent years and I do not care about the DLC for it. I really hate this sort of thing. Just put the content in the game to begin with. Don't skimp on the title and then make us pay more for it later. Count me out. (Shivering Isles was one of the few exceptions imho.)

GTAIV is already a better value that anything out there, and the DLC is hours and hours of gameplay that probably wouldn't even FIT on a 9 gig disc.. Don't be a twat.

 

[Sedako]

GTAIV is already a better value that anything out there, and the DLC is hours and hours of gameplay that probably wouldn't even FIT on a 9 gig disc.. Don't be a twat.

He's giving his opinion about it. No need for the insult...

 

[Geogaddi]

He's giving his opinion about it. No need for the insult...

SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH


caps

 

[Sedako]

SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH


caps

Sorry, I prefer to give endless blowjobs to keep me occupied.

 

[Pesmerga]

opinions are like women

useless

 

[Gargantou]

If you all give me pie I'll give you all a PS3 and 360.

 

[Krynn72]

opinions are like women

useless

At least opinions can make decent sandwiches.

 

[Gargantou]

Opinions are like assholes, split and full of shit.

 

[AiM]

GTAIV is already a better value that anything out there, and the DLC is hours and hours of gameplay that probably wouldn't even FIT on a 9 gig disc.. Don't be a twat.

Correct me if I'm wrong but they manage to ship over 100 hours of gameplay on x amount of discs. But somehow they reached the marginal barrier and couldn't fit the remaining DLC content along with the game?

Let's face it, DLC content is really just another way to milk the consumers of their money through the 'nickle and dime' strategy. What used to come in larger expansion packs have essentially been cut up into smaller pieces and sold individually. Now while the cost appears low, in reality you're likely getting less value per dollar compared to the traditional expansion packs.

 

[VictimOfScience]

GTAIV is already a better value that anything out there, and the DLC is hours and hours of gameplay that probably wouldn't even FIT on a 9 gig disc.. Don't be a twat.

Wow. Not a fan of the attitude. :dozey:

And I basically agree with you in that GTA IV will be an absolute sh!t ton of value. I don't think I will need any more bang for my buck. I didn't need it with the 3 previous 3D GTAs so why would I now??

 

[Gargantou]

Plz stop all the fighting!!!

 

[WhiteZero]

Correct me if I'm wrong but they manage to ship over 100 hours of gameplay on x amount of discs. But somehow they reached the marginal barrier and couldn't fit the remaining DLC content along with the game?

Let's face it, DLC content is really just another way to milk the consumers of their money through the 'nickle and dime' strategy. What used to come in larger expansion packs have essentially been cut up into smaller pieces and sold individually. Now while the cost appears low, in reality you're likely getting less value per dollar compared to the traditional expansion packs.

o rly?
Care to produce some numbers to back that up? Ya know, actually going out and looking at the price of DLC content and comparing that to hard-copy expansions?
Really, DLC allows the developer to produce more interactive content at a faster pace and distribute it to their customers; which allows for more steady income, thats true, but not necessarily a mark-up on that income overall.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Correct me if I'm wrong but they manage to ship over 100 hours of gameplay on x amount of discs. But somehow they reached the marginal barrier and couldn't fit the remaining DLC content along with the game?

Huh? It's not like they've already made the DLC, this isn't EA we're talking about (yet). What would be the point of needlessly delaying the game to finish off additional content they weren't even going to release with it? The DLC will be something they bring out later on when it's done, that's the point of it.

I haven't heard anyone say it'd be on multiple discs either, and most American Xbox 360 games try to squeeze onto a single DVD (not much of an issue for Blu-Ray). Can you imagine what a nightmare switching discs would be on a streaming, open-world game like GTA?

Let's face it, DLC content is really just another way to milk the consumers of their money through the 'nickle and dime' strategy. What used to come in larger expansion packs have essentially been cut up into smaller pieces and sold individually. Now while the cost appears low, in reality you're likely getting less value per dollar compared to the traditional expansion packs.

Agreed for the most part, but perhaps you missed the preview someone linked earlier about the DLC being the equivalent of GTA III to Vice City in content? Not that we have any reason to believe that just yet, but MS did pay 50-****ing-million dollars for it, so it'd hardly be surprising.

 

[AiM]

o rly?
Care to produce some numbers to back that up? Ya know, actually going out and looking at the price of DLC content and comparing that to hard-copy expansions?
Really, DLC allows the developer to produce more interactive content at a faster pace and distribute it to their customers; which allows for more steady income, thats true, but not necessarily a mark-up on that income overall.

I'm generalizing here but sure, I'll throw out an example.

Compare Oblivion DLC content to a traditional expansion pack of say, Blizzard games.

Oblivion DLC content vs. Lord of Destruction, Frozen Throne or Brood War (take your pick).

-----

It's also simple economics that companies will have a mark up on DLC content. Why? Because it's almost inevitable that companies will eventually re-release all it's content in one single package that will cost less than DLC format. It also makes far more sense for them to have a mark up in DLC content since there's absolutely no reason not to.


To illustrate an example:

Assume it costs $2 for say, a new car in GTA4. Now assume Rockstar made 10 of these at $2 dollars each. As a standalone DLC, the price isn't absolutely outrageous since you're only paying $2 each time. However, when you look at the big picture; you're essentially paying $20 for 10 new cars. This wouldn't sell for shit if it was packaged as an expansion pack.

(note I'm too lazy to research for real life examples)

Huh? It's not like they've already made the DLC, this isn't EA we're talking about (yet). What would be the point of needlessly delaying the game to finish off additional content they weren't even going to release with it? The DLC will be something they bring out later on when it's done, that's the point of it.

I haven't heard anyone say it'd be on multiple discs either, and most American Xbox 360 games try to squeeze onto a single DVD (not much of an issue for Blu-Ray). Can you imagine what a nightmare switching discs would be on a streaming, open-world game like GTA?


Agreed for the most part, but perhaps you missed the preview someone linked earlier about the DLC being the equivalent of GTA III to Vice City in content? Not that we have any reason to believe that just yet, but MS did pay 50-****ing-million dollars for it, so it'd hardly be surprising.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think DLC format is inherently evil. What I want is reasonable content released at reasonable prices rather than using it as an excuse to 'nickle and dime' the consumers (Horse armor anyone?).

Forgot about the open world part, good point. I'm actually curious as to how Rockstar is handling it considering the disc space available since I assume they won't have to install onto the hard drive given their PR statement. Anyway, the point I was trying to make earlier was to address that, if Rockstar can manage to fit 100+ hours of gameplay onto a single disc, then it's not unreasonable for them to fit another 10+ hours if they wanted. Granted this is assuming they have the content right now, which they probably don't.

GTAIII to Vice City seems like hype to me. I mean, Vice City is an entirely different game altogether that took years to develop. They might as well rename DLC content into GTA5 if that's the case.

 

[VictimOfScience]

So people with a Core 360 unit can't access the DLC then since it is apparently so big? Can one save files such as this to an external HDD connected to the 360? (It doesn't matter to me since I have the 20 gig HDD, but for so many gamers who were laughing along with Microsoft, this may be a humiliating kick in the crotch.)

Oh, and Throne of Bhaal is officially the best expansion pack EVAR.

 

[Tyguy]

is there a listing of who is having a midnight madness?

 

[Laivasse]

Oh, and Throne of Bhaal is officially the best expansion pack EVAR.

Oh amen, bra'. It was almost like a little BG3. There was even a little introductory bit in the manual about how ToB sewed up the BG saga, and you could tell how proud the dev team were of it. That's as far from the whole nickel-and-dime, screw-the-customer game expansion philosophy as you can get.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Oh amen, bra'. It was almost like a little BG3. There was even a little introductory bit in the manual about how ToB sewed up the BG saga, and you could tell how proud the dev team were of it. That's as far from the whole nickel-and-dime, screw-the-customer game expansion philosophy as you can get.

Exactly. It was a labor of love for the devs as much as it was for the fans. It had to do with a love of the game and not a thing to do with any sort of payola. I really miss the good old days. ;(

 

[Geogaddi]

Wow. Not a fan of the attitude. :dozey:

And I basically agree with you in that GTA IV will be an absolute sh!t ton of value. I don't think I will need any more bang for my buck. I didn't need it with the 3 previous 3D GTAs so why would I now??

I'm a fan of my attitude. B*tch.




EDIT: In conclusion: Large, expansive DLC with new story content and hours of gameplay = good.

New guns, cars, and prostitute levels of service = bad (not that I wouldn't mind the option of purchasing an Alabama hotpocket)

 

[Bad^Hat]

GTAIII to Vice City seems like hype to me. I mean, Vice City is an entirely different game altogether that took years to develop. They might as well rename DLC content into GTA5 if that's the case.

Vice City took 9 months to develop.

Once they have the engine and core gameplay done, creating new content isn't even a scratch on making an entirely new game since alot of the resources are just re-used. Anyway, I agree that it's probably hype for the most part, but even just a new island and some extra weapons/vehicles/missions/etc would be awesome as long as the price was right.

I think DLC is great in theory because it lets the devs control the size of the content they want to release instead of having to create entire expansions and risk selling poorly. What isn't cool is the way a few of them (EA) are exploiting the whole thing to get the most possible revenue from the least possible effort, but hopefully that will fade in time as the medium matures. I just wish people would stop buying this shit when it's obviously a rip-off...

Edit - Also, from the interview I linked in the other thread -

How do you fit so much detail for such a large city onto a single disc?

Garbut:We have some very sophisticated compression algorithms that are working some black magic on the data. We're used to squeezing a lot onto a disk.

So yeah, single disc.

 

[smwScott]

Vice City didn't really take 9 months to develop, it took well over a year. They started work on it before GTA3 was done.

 

[Lucid]

Wait, you have to install games on your PS3?

Wtf?

 

[MFD00M]

Wait, you have to install games on your PS3?

Wtf?

I was also unaware.

 

[Sedako]

Wait, you have to install games on your PS3?

Wtf?

Only some games (6 or 7 last I checked), like DMC3 and GTA4, are mandatory installs. Most are optional installs that allow for a reduction in some load times. Apparently, the GTA4 install is also optional on the Xbox360. The reason for these mandatory installs on some of the PS3's games is because multi-platform developers often design a game to fit on the Xbox360's DVD first, and to save time, will dump the game's data directly onto Blu-ray. Due to Blu-ray reading data at a static speed (DVD is dynamic) and the size of Blu-ray disks, this procedure results in longer load times on the PS3. This is remedied by the mandatory patch on some of the games.