Absent from today’s announcement about the big new Grand Theft Auto V update releasing next week was any mention of the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, with Rockstar saying the new features are only coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
To find out why this update is skipping PS3/360, Mashable spoke with Rockstar North Design Director Imran Sarwar, who explained that feature updates for the last-gen consoles are being left behind due to memory constraints:
The Freemode Events update will be the first to come to PS4, Xbox One, and PC only. We managed to pack in two years worth of free updates onto the older platforms, but after the release of Heists we started to run into some very real memory constraints. We knew moving forward that the game’s online performance could be in jeopardy if we continued to pile in new content. But after some creative programming, we were able to deliver the two-part Ill-Gotten Gains update.
Moving forward, we knew that we could not make any more meaningful updates without putting the stability of the entire game at risk. By focusing on the opportunity with these newer platforms, it will allow us to do some exciting stuff in the future, and the Freemode Events update is just the beginning.
While this comment doesn’t mean Rockstar will stop updates (such as bug fixes) altogether, don’t expect to receive any new features if you own GTAV on PS3 or Xbox 360.
Over on their website explaining installation requirements on PS3/360, Rockstar says, “Grand Theft Auto V is the largest and most ambitious game we have yet created, and takes full advantage of every ounce of processing power available in the current generation of consoles. “
[Source: Mashable, Rockstar Games]
