http://gametrailers.com/viewnews.php?id=4951
Sony involved in GTA4 delay?
"We think it is likely that the Rockstar team had difficulty in building an exceptionally complicated game for the PS3, and failed to recognize how far away from completion the game truly was until recently," Pachter said in a statement.
"We think it is also likely that Take-Two had a contractual commitment to Sony that it would not favor competitor Microsoft by launching the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV prior to launching the PS3 version, and believe that any delay of the PS3 version necessitated a delay of the Xbox 360 version," he added.
The analyst also criticized the timing of the delay being that the game was originally slated for release only 10 weeks from now. As reported yesterday, GTA4 is now expected in April 2008 at the earliest.
Pachter's opinions come at a time when several third-party developers, benchmark tests, and even Sony's own admittance that the PS3 is harder than the Xbox 360 when it comes to developing games given the former's propriety hardware.
I forget if someone posted this already. Maybe in the Xbox forum topic. I actually agree with this guy for once. Edit: Take two stock WILL apparently take a hard hit by this. I would be pissed if I were a shareholder.
More in depth:
Analyst questions Rockstar's capability
No doubt making himself popular with Sony, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has stated that he believes the complexity of development for the PS3 platform has resulted in the delay of Grand Theft Auto IV from October 2007 until Q2 2008.
Pachter believes publisher Rockstar have a contractual obligation to Sony, which means the Xbox 360 cannot get GTA IV before the PS3, hence why both versions of the title have been delayed despite the development issues primarily surrounding the PS3.
"We think it is likely that the Rockstar team had difficulty in building an exceptionally complicated game for the PS3, and failed to recognise how far away from completion the game truly was until recently," Pachter states.
"We think it is also likely that Take-Two had a contractual commitment to Sony that it would not favour competitor Microsoft by launching the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV prior to launching the PS3 version, and believe that any delay of the PS3 version necessitated a delay of the Xbox 360 version."
Pachter hints that Take-Two shareholders are unlikely to be greatly pleased by this delay, hinting that procedural issues at the firm may be partly to blame for this slippage.
"While the delay of GTA IV was clearly not the fault of new management, we believe that it should have been better understood several months ago, and should have been communicated to investors much earlier than today," Pachter comments.
"The company has begun an initiative to improve the green light process for new projects, but given the delays of Manhunt and GTA, its process for monitoring projects under development appears to be a failure."
http://play.tm/story/12237