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Aside from the fact that DocMoo and I will only be playing it on PS3, there are plenty of reasons to buy GTA IV for PS3 even though you are hearing all this garbage about DLC on the Xbox, and other rumors we’ll soon debunk! Its a one sided, PS3 biased view at why you should stick your nose up at Microsoft’s offering and hit it up with Sony…

Rumor 1: The GTA devs had issues with PS3

Originally it was said that the PS3 was delaying the launch (which may well be true) but that GTA would be buggier and generally a worse game on the PS3. In a recent 1UP interview with Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser, we hear the real story behind this [via 1UP] –

1UP: Let’s talk about the hardware issues. Back when GTA4 was delayed, PS3

technical hurdles were cited as a contributing factor. I take it those have been ironed out.

SH: I don’t know what anybody’s said on that stuff. I didn’t say anything, and I stay out of it…. Both machines are absolutely fantastic, but they both come with strengths and weaknesses.

He goes on to speak about the problems with the Xbox hard drive etc –

1UP: Plus, you’re not guaranteed a hard drive in every system.

SH: That’s a complicated one. I met with a bunch of the senior fellows from [Microsoft]. I said, that’s kind of complicated…. The

upshot of the technical challenges we’ve experienced on either the 360 or on the PS3 is [that] both companies stepped up to the plate and have supported us in a way that was beyond even my greedy expectations. They’ve been amazing. I think that the 360 is going to have to get ’round this issue we’re talking about. I can think of various ways they can do it. Hopefully, they’re going to adopt one of those in the next year or so, because it’s going to become more of an issue. If we’re filling up the disc right now, where are we going? It’s not like our games are going to get any smaller. I think that issue’s on the table with a bunch of games right now. I’m sure they’ll come through with an intelligent solution.

He goes on to settle the argument once and all, by preferring the way the PS3 renders the game –

Getting things running on the PS3 initially was challenging. I think it was challenging for a lot of companies, but it’s also a machine where, now that we’ve got comfortable with it — I don’t want to say we’ve cracked it, but we’ve got comfortable with it — we know we can make our games. We’re at a point now where the games pretty much look identical side by side. There’s a slight difference in the way they look. I think that’s to do with really low-level technical stuff that I’m not the guy to explain. The 360 games have a certain look to them; PS3 games have a certain look to them. I like the way [the PS3] renders.

Rumor 2: There will be more Xbox players

When the PS3 launched it was true to say that there would be more online opponents on Xbox Live than on the PS3 network - but that has changed, and is certainly not fair to say about GTA IV. Just yesterday Australian retailers confirmed that they have more PS3 presales than Xbox [via GameSpot] –

When Microsoft announced its multi-million deal with Rockstar for exclusive downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV, many predicted that this would provide a significant incentive for gamers to choose the 360 version of the game over the PlayStation 3 version. But Australian presale figures seem to be telling a different story, with major retailers contacted by GameSpot AU today saying the PS3 version was currently in the lead.

While we aren’t saying this means the PS3 will sell more globally, clearly there are a large amount of people wanting it on PS3 and there will be online players.

Fact 1: Your Xbox is more likely to Brick

Can you honestly imagine having your Xbox fail (mine has failed twice) once you get the game? Losing your save games, not being able to play (potentially for months) ? It would kill me.

Half the reason we only use our Xbox’s for headset chat is because of the frequent failures, disc read errors, bricking, RROD’s etc. You don’t want to be that person with a brand new GTA IV disc and no Xbox. Via Gizmodo –

Retailers, on the other hand, have just reported a failure rate of somewhere over 30%. That’s pretty ridonkulous.

More from Gizmodo on the PS3’s chance of failure –

Failure rates for all other consoles were not high enough for EB to consider revising their policies. Most other console systems have a failure rate of less than one percent, including the PlayStation 3.

Its a numbers game guys - would you rather have a <1% chance of not playing GTA this weekend or a 1/3rd chance of not playing it. [Yes we know we over sell these things, but you get the point]

Possibility 1: Less Loading Time

We’ve read in a few places (such as PSM) that the loading times (although there are apparantly not many) will be much better on PS3 - potentially just allowing for a much smoother ride… but we’re not sure about this…

Lets be honest though; the Bluray -vs- DVD size issue, the guaranteed hard drive -vs- no hard drive issue; chances are the PS3 runs better…

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