Actually wasn't the $50 million just a loan?

Rockstar has to pay it back unless the $50 million isn't made up with DLC pricing.  

So I'm just going to go ahead and call you wrong

 so by that logic we can assume that the DLC is going to suck then? since it was free for microsoft.

I was about to do a serious response to this thread when Nintendo Zealot reminded me about the OP name-dropping Michael Pachter. Seriously man, you should know that doing that makes us LESS likely to consider what you are proposing.

I am not convinced by mrstickball's rebuttals that your assertion is incorrect, but I don't think you have come anywhere CLOSE to supporting it either.

Finally,

Actually how good the DLC will be depends on the deal Microsoft negotiated.  Given the $50 million would have been a very big deal for Take Two (and Microsoft is well aware of TT's cashflow problems), I'd say Microsoft would have pushed them for something very substantial.

I don't know, here in UK the 360 version has a RRP of £39.99 while the ps3 version has one of £44.99. Also, many retailers such as GAME are offering people who pre-order the game 500 live points. HMV is actually offering 1000 which is just crazy. I suspect Microsoft has made deals with these companies but the incentives for those people who have both consoles to buy the 360 version is just huge. That's not to say the ps3 will not benefit from GTA because it will but i don't think it will benefit "alot" more.

I think your reasonsing is for the PS3 console alone.

-Both consoles will offer the game on one disc so Blu-ray will not have an effect on the consumer.

-More reliable hardware may be an issue for some who have suffered the most from the RROD but for those with only the 360 then i think they will just get the 360 version. But there is definatley a belief among people that the ps3 is far superior than the 360 so those people will buy the ps3 for the game as this is the game they've been waiting for.

-The dualshock controller being more familar will have little to do with it because the controls for the new game will be totally different than previous games and the xbox controller is equally as good and will infact be more familar now for all those people who already have a 360 and are fans of previous GTA's.

- Free online, again may have an effect but this is becoming the Live v PSN debate again.

The ps3 will not move hardware for these reasons. If it does move a substantial amount of hardware then it is because alot of playstaion fans are still out there who have yet to buy a playstation 3 and have been waiting for this title before they do so.

The incentives are there for dual owners of consoles to get it for the 360 and for 360 owners who are unsure if they should swap their console for the ps3 to keep their 360. I think this is what Microsoft is worrying about. There was a risk of people jumping ship and hence all the deals they have made to ensure they kept this sensative gorup of gamers to buy the game on their system.

In my country when I used to work in a computer store the reps would sometimes offer incentives to the sales people directly to sell their product. If Microsoft were to say offer $10 per console + GTAIV sold or something to that effect to the sales people you could see them start to push the system VERY heavily. Cheap price + Equal graphics to the PS3 becomes the name of the game.

I'm not trying to defend either system but the 360 will see bigger increase in sales because here in the US a lot of people have a 360, and when the friends of these people go to buy the game they are going to buy the game and system their friends have to play with them. In europe the PS3 will outsell the 360 but by less of a margin because of the price difference.

mrstickball said: BCNR34 said: lol mrstickball you're such a fanboy, you honestly think the GTA4 is going to move more consoles for the 360 than the PS3 despite the fact there are already 11.4 million 360s in America and only 4.5 million PS3's? hilarious. also the PS2 didn't have nearly a 33% failure rate, plus you could easily fix it 90% of the time by cleaning the lense. Care to prove me wrong using actual analysis and not namecalling? The PS2 didn't have a 33% fail rate, but it was well above industry norms, and many knew about it. My point is that the quality of games overshadows the quality of hardware: the PS2 was the same way, as the 360.  The 360 having 7 million more consoles in the US is precicely the reason that the 360 will see a larger increase than the PS3's version of GTAIV: there are more users in the US that know of GTAIV on the 360, and word of mouth will help lull those users to the 360: Not only will they know it's on 360 since there are more 360 owners, the price, and other issues I noted, should make for a larger increase in the 360's userbase than the PS3s. Don't get me wrong: the PS3 might see a larger % increase in userbase, but the 360 will see the much larger LTD and YTD userbase from GTAIV, since it'd take 3 times as many consoles sold for the 360 to equal the same % movement for the Playstation 3. And as stated: Go look at Japanese multi-platform games. It's the same situation in the US, as the 360 enjoys a very large lead over the PS3, like the PS3 enjoys such a large lead in Japan.   Also, to cite Devil May Cry 4 in the US-of-A. A PS2 staple title, exclusive to the Playstation 2: Console Weekly Total 180,733 (+95%) 9,279,665 153,321 (+30%) 20,791,148 79,953 (+34%) 10,832,675 79,727 (+10%) 47,280,443 72,755 (+9%) 3,912,387 59,765 (-5%) 11,694,828 4,157 (-9%) 41,448,044 168 (-23%) 12,740,859 Notice the +34% to the X360, and only +9% to the PS3? Why is that? Why should the trending be so much different for GTAIV, expecially when we wonder about the likelyhood of a 360 price drop in the US? Don't get me wrong: if Sony drops the PS3's price $50, or $75 and MS doesn't on the 360, it could swing in the PS3's favor, using GTAIV as a Catalyist, but if the X360 drops price in the US, Sony is virtually doomed.

 You are comparing 360 faulty rate to PS2... big mistake.

You compare DMC4, where America has a much larger 360 install base than the PS3 and not to mention DMC cost less on 360 in EU than it did in the US. Did you really expect a system with one third of the install base and a higher price on the game to sell more? Be realistic.

Very biased comparisons.

Last I checked... common sense told me lower price and larger install base = higher sales.

When all is said and done, let us not just look at overall sales of the game... let us look at attach rate for this game on each console. 

I personally do not know which console I will buy it on yet, but I am leaning towards the PS3 as I could really care less for add-ons that won't even be out for about 5 months after the game is released. By that time PS3 players are enjoying MGS4 and 360 is still hanging on GTAIV. 

I think 360 needs this alot more than PS3 does.

Me I'm just waiting for the Microsoft commercials that come out and say "exlcuive content only for the 360" and dont' mention online or paying for it. That'd be the smart way to play it for the casuals.