Posts Tagged ‘Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars’
By: Jon Christensen on November 4th, 2009 am30 11:44 am
Today, Apple has announced that their App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch has exceeded over 100,000 applications. That number obviously makes both units the largest selection of applications for any platform, and there isn’t a sign of slowdown either. “The App Store has forever changed the mobile gaming industry and continues to improve,” said Travis Boatman, VP of EA Mobile. “With a global reach of over 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users, the App Store has allowed us to develop high quality EA games that have been a huge success with customers.”
It’s hard to argue that Apple won’t be a serious gaming machine in the next year or two. Sure, hardcore gamers argue that both devices will never achieve that goal, Mainly because they hate the control scheme on the unit, but the numbers are starting to prove otherwise. Even companies like Rockstar Games, who are releasing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Apple’s phone and Touch, sees the potential of the portable units. Having them release a flagship title like GTA on the iPhone and iPod, makes me believe they’ll be doing even more with the device. If it proves to be successful, expect to see even more companies jump onboard with Apple and developed well-known franchises, that even the hardcore gamer would download.
Today, Apple has announced that their App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch has exceeded over 100,000 applications. That number obviously makes both units the largest selection of applications for any platform, and there isn’t a sign of slowdown either. “The App Store has forever changed the mobile gaming industry and continues to improve,” said Travis Boatman, VP of EA Mobile. “With a global reach of over 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users, the App Store has allowed us to develop high quality EA games that have been a huge success with customers.”
It’s hard to argue that Apple won’t be a serious gaming machine in the next year or two. Sure, hardcore gamers argue that both devices will never achieve that goal, Mainly because they hate the control scheme on the unit, but the numbers are starting to prove otherwise. Even companies like Rockstar Games, who are releasing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Apple’s phone and touch units, sees the potential of the portable units. Having them release a flagship title like GTA on the iPhone and iPod, makes me believe they’ll be doing even more with the devices. If it proves to be successful, expect to see even more companies jump onboard with Apple and developed well-known franchises, that even the hardcore gamer would download.
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By: Jon Christensen on August 31st, 2009 am31 10:03 am
We already know that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS was met with fantastic reviews, but the majority of DS owners didn’t purchase the game. Later, the publisher, Rockstar Games, announced it was headed to the PSP. Although I don’t think the dismal sales initially forced Rockstar to port the title over to Sony’s handheld, but it certainly didn’t discourage them either.
If you thought the decision to port the game over to the PSP was big, then you’re gonna surprised by the company’s new revelation. Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is going to be ported over to
Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch. The game is expected to be available in the App Store starting this fall which is around the same time the PSP version ships, but an exact date has yet to be revealed.
This is huge for Apple because they have been trying to convince gamers that their platform can be a real gaming system. We already know how big of a franchise GTA is and having it available for a device that so far, isn’t perceived as a serious gaming machine — is a win situation for Apple. Not only that, considering Rockstar doesn’t have to box and ship actual software for the iPhone; they just have to throw up a digital copy in the App Store, which means its not very costly to port and definitely worth the risk.
source: venturebeat
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By: Jon Christensen on June 22nd, 2009 am30 9:11 am
Rockstar Games has just announced that the Sony PSP will be receiving the highly-praised Nintendo DS game ‘Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.’ The publisher confirmed the once exclusive DS title will be a port of the original game, when it heads to Sony’s portable system.
Chinatown Wars will be available to PSP owners starting this fall. When it is released, not only will there be a UMD version shipped into stores, but it is going to be available as a digital download for PSP Go customers the same day.
The reason for Rockstar to port the sandbox game is probably attributed to the less-than-expected sales of the DS version. When Chinatown Wars was released on the DS, many people, including Rockstar, were thinking the title was going to make huge numbers because of the brand name and the lack of ‘mature’ games on the system. Although, when it was finally released in March for the portable system, which sold roughly 30 million units, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars only moved 89,000.
Rockstar is hoping they can bank on Chinatown Wars on the PSP because of the systems history of mature content being successful.
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By: Jon Christensen on May 26th, 2009 pm31 1:55 pm
Take-Two-Interactive and Rockstar have both announced their second downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV, exclusively for Xbox Live. The next chapter in Liberty City is going to be called ‘Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony.’ Yes, you read right.
Gay Tony, also known as Anthony Prince, is a nightclub entrepreneur in the original Grand Theft Auto IV. Prince is known for living life lavishly, despite it being revealed later that he is actually broke.
Gamers will take control of Gay Tony’s part-time assistant Luis Lopez, who is described as a “part-time hoodlum“. Players will be pitted against and make choices of who is loyal and who is just a competitor in the nightclub world.
“Liberty City is the most vibrant game world we’ve created yet. The episodic structure has allowed us to interweave stories, gameplay and atmosphere in a whole new way,” said Sam Houser, of Rockstar in a press release. “The team at Rockstar North have yet again surpassed themselves, and made something that is both epic and very innovative. This episode’s focus on high-end night life contrasts with the biker gangs portrayed in The Lost and Damned, whilst giving us a lot of new gameplay possibilities.”
Rockstar games expects the DLC to hit Xbox Live this fall, and will cost 1600 Microsoft Points. It was also revealed the game will be available in retail stores for $39.99 and will packed with the other DLC The Lost and Damned. If players don’t own GTA IV, it will also still work.
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By: Jon Christensen on May 18th, 2009 pm31 3:51 pm
According to NPD sales data that was just released, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has sold 74,000 for the month of April. In March, which was the first month that the DS title was released, GTA only sold 89,000 units in the US, and was considered a disappointment by many.
Some could argue that since the sales have remain steady for the month, it is a good sign for the sandbox-action title. However, there are a few glaring problems with this theory and some people might not want to jump to conclusion just yet. First, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars launched in in mid-march March, which means the title took only 14 days for the game to reach its 89,000 figure. Combine that with April sales, Chinatown Wars only sold roughly 163,000 copies in about a month-and-a-half. Many analyst thought if the game didn’t meet 200,000 units moved for the first month alone, it would be a disappointment, which was also said by EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich, and was pointed out by gamasutra.
It should be noted that Best Buy had a sale which started in April, that marked down GTA: Chinatown Wars to $20 from the original price of $35. That alone could also contribute to the numbers being a tad inflated for the month of April.
It’ll be interesting to see what the official numbers will be for May. I’m guessing it will not be anything to celebrate about.
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By: Jon Christensen on April 16th, 2009 pm30 10:49 pm
You can file this post under the ‘not good news‘ label for both Rockstar and Nintendo. According to the NPD, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS sold only 89,000 units during the month of March. In case you couldn’t figure it out, that’s an extremely low number, considering Nintendo’s handheld has moved almost 30 million units. Mathematically, that number equals less than 1% of DS owners who actually own GTA Chinatown Wars, to be more specific it’s around 0.3%.
Even with the strong reviews and the sandbox game ended up getting some of the best scores on the unit, people failed to even take notice. Let us not forget that we’re talking about Grand Theft Auto here, which is already a household name. This is bad news all around and for various reasons. First, the chances of us seeing a ’sequel’ to Chinatown Wars is much slimmer, than it was before. Which is a huge disappointment, because the game is truly awesome. But more importantly, the possibility of seeing more ‘Mature’ rated games on the DS is pretty much determined now. Most companies are going to look at releasing a M-title as a huge gamble, a gamble they will most likely loose.
Not only could this affect the DS, but the Wii as well. A few months back, Rockstar mentioned how strong sales for GTA on the DS, could influence their decision to come out with a Grand Theft Auto on the Wii. If you’re still hoping to see that, stop. Because if this was going to determine their conclusion — consider it not happening.
At the same time, this could force most publishers not even think about developing a Mature title on the Wii. With the sales for both House of the Dead and Madworld falling flat, why would anyone even contemplate wasting money on releasing a game for adults? Right now, if we want to see Mature rated content on the Wii or DS, we might have to see Nintendo publish one and maybe Wii owners will buy into the idea. If companies see that, they could follow suit. Honestly though, you don’t even need to wish for something like that to happen, because that’s not gonna go down anytime soon, if ever.
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By: Jon Christensen on March 16th, 2009 pm31 1:29 pm
The reviews are finally out for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and so far, they are excellent. As now, every major site has yet to give the game below an A/90%. The biggest praises of the game, seems to be the size of the city and how they fit the entire town of Liberty City into a small DS cartridge. The critics also agree the art-style worked perfectly, especially with the DS’s limitations.
1UP: A – “Altogether, Chinatown Wars is what I expected — it takes an understandable few steps back from GTA4, but also takes a couple forward (a touch screen can do that). It’s a well-honed “core” GTA on the handheld, not merely a one-to-one clone of its console parents.”
GamePro: 5/5 – “This is Grand Theft Auto the way you love it: all of the innovation, charm and thrills from its past installations neatly tied together in a creative package worthy of any DS owner.”
CVG: 9.2 - “92% of the time Chinatown Wars is a brilliant, inventive top-down GTA experience, which is why it comes most highly recommended to any over-18 (but probably under 65) DS owner.”
IGN (UK): 9.2 – “Working in perfect harmony with the DS’s unique capabilities, it’s no less than a fully featured GTA – a standalone entry that not only holds its own amongst its esteemed company but acts as a celebration of all that has come before it.”
IGN (USA): 9.5 – “GTA: Chinatown Wars is easily one of the best Nintendo DS games on the platform.”
Eurogamer: 10 – “On balance though, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a triumph, not just in terms of bringing a difficult game to a new platform intact, but because it actually improves it in the process, and demonstrates a mastery of DS form and function.”
What are all these reviews saying? That’s an easy question. Basically, if you are over the age of 18 and own a DS — you better be getting this game, because it looks like a masterpiece.
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By: Jon Christensen on March 13th, 2009 pm31 8:51 pm
Rockstar Games have released another trailer for their highly-anticipated sandbox game for the DS, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. In this new clip, we get to see how Rockstar used the touchscreen to utilize the drug dealing feature. Well, it looks fun at first, we still think some of these mini-games could get annoying for gamers because of repetitiveness. We shall see in a few days, when the game is finally released exclusively for the Nintendo DS.
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By: Jon Christensen on March 6th, 2009 pm31 7:28 pm
Another video has appeared online featuring gameplay for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS. The clip, which we embedded above, contains some of the hacking mini games include with the title, as well as what its like to snipe in the game.
While I really love the idea of Rockstar taken advantage of the touchscreen, I really hope we don’t have to overuse that element. Sure it’s cool to put together a sniper rifle and kind of badass at the same time– but do we really have to built it every time we want to use it? I hope not because that could get repetitive rather quickly.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars ships to stores on March 17th.
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By: Jon Christensen on February 26th, 2009 pm28 7:36 pm
It has been seven months since Nintendo announced Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS at the last E3. Since that time, we have all been waiting patiently for an official trailer. Heck, the game was even playable at Comic-Con New York a little while ago, and Gamestop released a quick commercial showing a snippet of gameplay. Even after all that, no trailer was revealed.
That was until today, because the first trailer featuring actual gameplay has been released to the internets. How does it look, you might ask? Well, we recommend you be the judge of that, but to us — we’re pretty excited!
The trailer shows some driving elements and what also looks like one of the many mini-games included in the game. The one shown in the clip, demonstrates how to hot-wire a vehicle without a key. We like the idea, but we hope stuff like that doesn’t get repetitive as we continue to play through the sandbox game.
Graphically, we are impressed. The visuals look very colorful and alive, but at the same time has the gritty feel of Liberty City. We are also think the game looks to run incredibly smooth, which is important in any title.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be available in stores on March 17, 2009.
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By: Jon Christensen on February 23rd, 2009 pm28 4:42 pm
While I was watching Conan O’brien, I caught a commercial for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Gamestop. Unfortunately, I had no way to capture the video and had to wait until the clip was online somewhere.
Up top is the same video I saw during the ‘Late Show.’ While there is only a few seconds of actual gameplay, it’s the first time for most of you actually get to see it running and hopefully makes you want the DS title — it certainly does for me!
During the advertisement, it was also confirmed that if you pre-order the game at Gamestop, they will give you a code to access $10,000 for “all the best weapons.”
Grand Theft Chinatown Wars will be in stores on March 17, 2009
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By: Jon Christensen on February 4th, 2009 pm28 3:11 pm
The more I hear about it, the more I wished I made a better attempt to head to New York City and attend their Comic-Con event. This years show is definitely having a huge video game presence. For instance, SEGA is debuting in playable form their much hype gory title Madword for the Nintendo Wii.
Now, we get word that Rockstar Games have decided to let the public try out Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS at the same event. If you are one of the lucky people going to Comic-Con NYC, then make sure you head to booth#1563 and you will be one of the first people in the world to try out the anticipated portable sandbox game.
On a side not, it should be worth mentioning that we think Rockstar could release some sort of trailer before the event. Not that we have any sources because it is pure speculation at this point, but generally publishers would want to show some kind of footage before the public gets to play it. Comic-Con starts on February 6, 2009 — which means in the next day or so, we should hopefully see a trailer.
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By: Jon Christensen on January 8th, 2009 am31 4:51 am
Some new screens for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars have emerged online. The pictures are showing more emphases on the driving aspect of the game. Graphically, the DS sandbox game looks great, but we do notice one minor detail that bothers us. The scale size of the cars don’t match the people walking. Either the car is to small, or the people in this Liberty City are giants.
Something like this could bother me while cruising around the city. GTA relies heavily on it feeling like a real breathing city. This incarnation looks a little more cartoony than the others since the series debuted on the PS2.
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By: Jon Christensen on December 23rd, 2008 pm31 8:19 pm
There isn’t a question in the handheld world, the Sony PSP is by far a more powerful system than the Nintendo DS. In terms of power, the PSP is pretty darn close to the PlayStation 2, while the DS reminds us more of a Nintendo 64. However, that didn’t stop Rockstar developing a Grand Theft Auto game for the DS.
Since Chinatown wars was announced at E3 in July, many people including us were wondering how big would Liberty City be. Rockstar has finally answered our question and we are pleasantly surprised. According to Studio president Gordon Hall, he said the DS version of GTA “is far bigger,” when compared to the PSP version.
When it comes to the actual gameplay, he’s also promising the game will be in a league of its own adding, “more odd jobs, deeper missions, and more moments of over-the-top action [compared to the PSP].” It’s defiantly good to hear also, Grand Theft Auto relies on having a large breathing city and knowing that isn’t going to be a problem on the DS; kills any doubts we had about the game.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is due out in the spring of next year.
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By: Jon Christensen on December 22nd, 2008 pm31 9:58 pm
Take-Two is looking like they could be serious about possibly bringing Grand Theft Auto over to the Wii. While speaking with MTV, Take-Two’s CEO Ben Feder revealed that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS is not only bringing the GTA universe to the most popular gaming device on the market, but also analyze if a M-rated can in fact sell on a Nintendo platform.
“Frankly, even the M-rated content that we think is much more appropriate for the PS3 or 360, we have to look at the Wii as a viable platform across all our labels. You just have to because you can’t ignore the installed base. You just can’t. We’re going to do a lot of learning with GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS in terms of bringing that kind of content to a Nintendo platform.”
I really don’t see a reason for Grand Theft Auto not selling well on the DS. The handheld has over 85 million units sold and it’s still climbing. Because of the success of the system, the demographics are pretty broad. It ranges from pre-teen girls to 30 something year-old men. The same can’t be said about the Wii. Just the number of systems alone sold is a little less than half. On top of that, the people who own a Wii are quite different than those who own a PS3 or Xbox 360. At the same time, I would actually say gamers who own a Nintendo DS would be in my opinion; ‘more of a hardcore gamer.’ While Wii owners tend to be more casual. Now I know hardcore gamers still have a Wii in their possession, but I’m talking about the overall picture here.
I want to clarify that I’m not saying Grand Theft Auto wouldn’t move copies on the Wii. The name alone is up there with any other popular brand in pop-culture. However, comparing the Wii and DS isn’t the best idea for a company to choose whatever or not it should be available for one and not the other.
Now here’s the bigger question; If Rockstar decides GTA should be developed for the Wii — will they create an entirely new game or will they just port and older game?
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