PlayStation LifeStyle » GTA IV

Pachter: GTA Won’t Maintain Position as Biggest Mainstream Franchise

Zak Islam — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:44:18 +0000

Grand Theft Auto is arguably the biggest mainstream franchise in gaming, but with Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops outselling GTA IV and the franchise raking in billions, its position is in jeopardy. Analyst Michael Pachter believes that, with the Call of Duty series receiving such success (especially with a yearly installment), Rockstar’s GTA IP will lose its place as the biggest mainstream franchise in the market.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter confidently told IndustryGamers:

Call of Duty is bigger, and GTA will not maintain its position as the world’s biggest mainstream franchise.

Pachter then said:

Eventually, Call of Duty may suffer from fatigue, and GTA could keep chugging along, but it will be 8 years before we can make that call.

The yet to be announced Grand Theft Auto V is largely believed to see a release in 2012. Analysts predict that the game will launch in late 2012 at the very earliest, and it’s hard to argue with that as it’s difficult to see Rockstar releasing the game near Max Payne 3‘s scheduled March, 2012 launch.

Voice Actor Seemingly Confirms Grand Theft Auto V

Zak Islam — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:17:46 +0000

For the past few months the yet-to-be-announced Grand Theft Auto V has been hinted at several times in the form of tweets and job listings. Grand Theft Auto IV has, to date, sold more than an astonishing 20 million units alone, so it would only be common sense for Rockstar to be working on a successor to capitalize on the series’ phenomenal success yet again. Although the acclaimed developer has not spoken a word on the title, a tweet from a voice actor has seemingly confirmed the game’s existence.

American actor and comedian Gilbert Gottfried gave Grand Theft Auto fans delight when he recently tweeted:

just found out I’m voicing the lead in grand theft auto 5!

The tweet, however, has since been removed but was seen via the eagle-eyed folks over on The Noble Eskimo. Shortly after the tweet was taken down, the site proceeded to contact Rockstar North for any clarification on Gottfried’s involvement in the game. The developer failed to give any meaningful response; however, they did provide the with an image of a poster from a movie entitled Problem Child, a 1990 film which Gottfried played a part in.

It’s a well know fact that Grand Theft Auto V is being produced. It’s just a matter of how far along the game is in development and when Rockstar finally comes out and announces the game.

[Via]

Analyst: Grand Theft Auto V Will “Likely” Release Fiscal 2012

Zak Islam — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 21:52:36 +0000

Grand Theft Auto IV was the largest entertainment launch of its time (with the accolade now of course belonging to the Call of Duty series). To date, the game had sold a cumulative 15 million units worldwide, with the franchise being one of the largest in the gaming industry. So the question now begs: when is the next GTA going to see a release? 2012, according to Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey.

Hickey believes it’s “likely” publisher Take-Two will release the next iteration in the popular GTA franchise during its financial 2012, which begins from April 2012 until March 2013. Hickey added GTA V could potentially sell a total of 16 million copies and generate $750 million in sales. The analyst stated:

“The PS3 / 360 US installed base was 14 million in April ’08 when GTA IV was released. By the end of calendar year ’10, we are modeling for 41 million U.S. units, up 185 percent; providing a significantly larger addressable market.”

For April 2011 through to March 2011, T2 will see the highly anticipated releases of titles such as Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire, both of which will dramatically help the company’s earnings during that time, Hickey’s said.

Even though it hasn’t been officially announced, is there really a shadow of a doubt that a new GTA game has been in production for years? When do you expect Grand Theft Auto V to be released? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

[Via]

Mafia 2′s City Only a Third the Size of GTA IV’s

Dan Massi — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:44:07 +0000

Grand Theft Auto IV is hailed by many as the best open-world title on PS3 to date, releasing in April of 2008. The biggest highlight of the title, of course, was the setting – Liberty City – which boasted an incredible living, breathing world. However, one of the disappointments of GTA IV was the graphics, which fell a bit short for many gamers. This was because Liberty City was just, well, too big for its own good. With open-world competition increasing this year, including the release of Mafia II, graphics are being scrutinized more than ever. The size of the games world? Not so much.

Although the graphics in Mafia II clearly exceed Grand Theft Auto IV, the city in the title – Empire Bay – will be “less than a third” that of Liberty City. In the latest issue of Xbox World 360, the magazine stated that the smaller size contributed to the game’s visuals, which are apparently of “startling” proportions.

“Calling up a waypoint, it’s immediately noticeable that Mafia II doesn’t boast the biggest of maps – certainly not in comparison to GTA IV (we estimate that the game world must be less than a third of the size of Liberty City). Yet size doesn’t always matter and it’s obviously allowed 2K Czech to furnish Empire Bay with a startling level of polish that even genre masters Rockstar would grudgingly admire.”

Mafia II hits August 24th in North America, and shortly after with an August 27th release in PAL regions.

[Via]

GTA IV Brings 15 Million Gamers to Liberty City

Dan Massi — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:27:14 +0000

Along with being one of the best rated games of all time, Grand Theft Auto IV’s sales have been incredible as well. During Take-Two’s Q1 financial result call, the company revealed the total sales of GTA IV.

Grand Theft Auto IV has sold over 15 million copies, Take-Two announced today. The game released April 28th 2008, and has had two DLC episodes released. Speaking of which, both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony release this month for PS3. You can download each individually on PS3, or pick them up in the store in the complication disc GTA: Episodes from Liberty City. The DLC hits March 30th.

[Via]

Top 5 Most Difficult PS3 Trophies

Zak Islam — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:34:22 +0000

As a PS3 gamer, you can’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction when you see that trophy icon pop up in the corner of the screen and hear that little ‘ding.’ They are fun, enjoyable, time consuming and add more value to the title you’re playing. The hardest trophies are geared towards people who thrive on challenge (or for people who are against buying ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie Game’ for an easy platinum, just to up your trophy level).

For all you hardcore trophy hunters out there, PSLS brings you our list of the Top 5 Most Difficult PS3 Trophies to obtain.

WipEout HD: Beat Zico (Gold Trophy)

Equal or beat the lap time of 30.82 seconds on Anulpha Pass (Forward), Speed Lap, Venom using the Piranha.

This trophy, to some, is utterly ridiculous. One would need to race this track absolutely flawlessly to beat Zico.

Call Of Duty World At War: Hardened War Hero (Gold Trophy)

Complete the game on Hardened or Veteran difficulty. (Solo only)

For those who have tried this, you must have a lot of broken controllers. This trophy requires you to battle grenades with every step. (Trophy Guide)

Super Stardust HD: Late Boomer (Silver Trophy)

Bomber – Get 15 bombs

They must have made this trophy just to piss gamers off. This trophy literally takes over a few hundred tries, if you are lucky. Only attainable by using the bombs you are trying to get, just to get more bombs. (Trophy Guide)

Bioshock: I Chose the Impossible (Gold Trophy)

Complete the game on Survivor difficulty without using a Vita-chamber

You thought life was fair? Try this trophy. You have to complete the game without continuing. The game does allow you to reload saved games, but you have to be extremely skillful and persistent to get this trophy.

Fight Night Round 4: XXL (Gold Trophy)

Win the heavyweight championship belt in online world championship mode.

This should be a platinum on its own. This is probably impossible to reach, unless you have the rest of your life to play a boxing game. To win the Heavyweight championship belt online, you have to be first place in the world. Since there are around 100,000 boxers online and growing, its would be nearly impossible to achieve this trophy.

Which trophies do you believe are difficult and frustrating? Let us know in the comments section below!

Next Round of GTA IV DLC May Grace the PS3

Dan Massi — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:28:20 +0000

Although the two episodes of GTA IV are an Xbox 360 exclusive, PlayStation 3 owners may not be left out by Rockstar, as this newly arisen rumor suggests.

Sources close to Rockstar have revealed to PS3 Informer that Rockstar plans on bringing two new episodes of GTA IV, which will both come to PS3 and Xbox 360. Judging by the recently announced Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, we will probably see the two new episodes release in 2010.

This can also confirm earlier rumors of a Grand Theft Auto 4 episode titled “Blood and a Four Leaf Clover”, which would likely be about the McReary’s. Sources outside of Rockstar, such as analyst Todd Mitchell, have spoken on new downloadable episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV in fiscal year 2010.

Would you like to see GTA IV DLC for PS3? Or do you think it’s already too late, as PS3 owners have had their hands busy on inFAMOUS and other open world titles? Post your comments below.

[Source]

Clues Emerge on Next Grand Theft Auto

JohnDraisey — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:06:15 +0000

PSLS has obtained some new clues as to where the next GTA title will take place. Take this as a rumor, but there’s some suspicious happenings that have lead us to the following conclusion:

The next GTA will revisit San Andreas.

We also expect Niko Bellic to make a triumphant return. Though it’d be more realistic for the title to have a new main character, it’s not uncommon for GTA characters to reappear, such as Ken Rosenburg. The first piece of evidence is from the Rockstar Social Club, which has this photo of an airplane ticket stub.

If you look carefully, it has Niko Bellic’s name, and the flight is from Liberty City to San Andreas. If you’ve played through GTA IV, you may also remember a mission where Niko protects a drug shipment that’s on its way to San Andreas.

Rockstar has also released a game that may help with a current-gen reimagining of San Andreas, which is based on the state of California. Midnight Club: LA. With development costs so high, it would make sense for them to re-use at least some assets from their racing title in order to cut down on dev time.

E3 is just around the corner, so we’ll keep you up to date on any GTA news.
[Source]

GTA IV… To Support Trophies! Plus More Lists!

Phoenix8387 — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:21 +0000

Written by Phoenix8387

News just in from the folks over at PS3Trophies.org have just gotten a list of Trophies for GTA IV. Yes, you heard right. Seems all the previous talk of GTA IV getting Trophies was true. You can check out the list here. There are 51 Trophies, the obvious Platinum, 3 Gold, 5 Silver and 42 Bronze.

Looks like this GTA fan just might be going after that 100% completion a second time.

They have also gotten their hands on Trophy Lists for Blitz: The League II and Midnight Club: Los Angeles.

List of Gamestops having GTA IV “Midnight Launch”

Anthony Severino — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:48:52 +0000

Click on the link. Its in .PDF format.

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/landing/gtaiv/gta4midnight.pdf

I know I will be there… Will you?

Let us know your first night GTA IV plans by commenting below.