This is another Michael Pachter soundbite so salt can be liberally pinched but if it is correct… wowzers! According the Grand Wizard Of Foresight, Microsoft paid Rockstar $75 million to take GTA IV from PS3 exclusive to multi-format.

“GTA IV was going to be a PS3 exclusive, but Microsoft paid Rockstar and Take-Two to make it a non-exclusive, and they paid them a lot,” said Pachter.

“The number I’ve heard, and I’m sure this is right, is $75m, and that probably includes the funding for the first DLC packs too. It’s more than the $50m that people talk about.”

Casting the spell ‘Gossipy Chit-Chat Fantabulosa’, Grand Wizard P continued his story and told that Sony asked Rockstar for something else exclusive and were told about a ‘Zombie game’. Unfortunately Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead arrived so the project was canned and they came up with the idea of The Agent.

This probably explains why ‘The Agent’ has been very low on the radar – work probably did not start on it until GTA IV was finished.

Source: Eurogamer

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2010/05/13/gta-iv-cost-ms-75-million/

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Opinions? Usual Pachter!?

Didn't Rockstar themselves said somewhere that it was gonna be a timed PS3 exclusive, but Ken Kutaragi said they didn't need it as a timed exclusive & his arrogance made them make it multiplat. (basically back in the day when everyone in the press was flaming kutaragi this news story came up).

Gah.. What is with people and calling the game 'The Agent' !??

It's just 'AGENT'

Sorry for the rant but it's the media and they can't get simple things like that right. Anyway I came in to see if Pachter actually had some sort of source of whether he was spouting crap. No way to tell because he could have heard that $75 million figure from anyone lol

GTA was never a PS exclusive.

Well, it sold more on 360, so a PS3 timed exclusive would've been a rather dumb idea.

This SHOULD pretty much cement the idea into Rockstar's heads that a PS3 exclusive GTA would be a very dumb move.

Thats chump change for MS, and more games going to the 360 was always a good thing. Exclusives that aren't first party are going to be harder and harder to come by in the future.

yea completely agreed. Smart move by MS (if true) and definitely Rock*. MS probably made back that money from royalties if it is true!

What a waste of money by MS. Should have been spent on aquiring studios to make first party xclusives instead.

If this is true, I wonder how that money shows up in their books. Some kind of operation expense?