my love / hate relationship with R*

well last week i posted about my favorite developer Rockstar and why they are my favorite developer - GTAIV having a live, populated city, and their reaction letter to all the Manhunt 2 haters. THIS week they came out with 2 more news tidbits, one that makes me take pause and another that fills me with glee.

first, more GTAIV news.

one of the higher-ups at R* came out and said that the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTAIV will be "identical" but that if you want the "complete experience" you should buy the 360 version because it will be having exclusive downloadable "episodes" next year.

now, this is the content that MS paid R* $50 million for, of course they're going to say you need to buy the 360 version. what upsets me is the trend this might lead to - developers holding out on a "complete experience" just to sell it to us later in the form of downloadable content. i mean what's the reason these episodes can't make it to release? if they aren't done, why don't you push back the release date?

downloadable content should be extra stuff, not something to get the "complete experience." i'm shelling out $60 for a game, i expect the complete experience out of the box.

i'm also a little confused because i thought there was a story like a month or two ago where R* was praising the PS3 processing power, speaking specifically about GTAIV, and so i figured that it'd look/run better on the PS3.

i wanted to buy the PS3 version because i'm pissed at MS right now because my box broke after 6 months of ownership - has nothing to do with fanboyism. however, if both versions are indeed identical, i may go with the 360 version just so that i can have the option of maybe downloading the downloadable content if it's cool.

why R*, why?

and second, R* announced a new IP coming exclusively to the PS3. this is in addition to L.A. Noire (think Chinatown) which is already exclusive to the PS3 coming out next year. they touted the power of the PS3, the fact that you can count on every PS3 owner having a hard drive, and the capacity of the blu ray discs as being some of the reasons why they're going with PS3 - and maybe as a "we're sorry" to them as well for GTAIV.

i'm excited because my love for R* isn't only for GTA - i really enjoyed Bully (which i played and beat just a few months ago), the Midnight Club series, and Manhunt (for the idea if not the execution). oh, and L.A. Noire looks like it'll kick ass.

R* - i love you. i hate you.

- kawitchate