GTA IV Release Date Set!

 

iv24 Well, the game that was supposed to serve as the PS3's leading AAA title last holiday season, has finally been given a new official release date.  Take Two Interactive has announced that Grand Theft Auto 4 (so named because it is the 6th game in the series... makes perfect sense) will be released on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 -- unless, of course, nutjob attorney Jack Thompson can successfully get the title pulled from shelves. 

It has been revealed that the latest installment in one of the least wholesome videogame series' ever conceived will seek to push the boundaries even further by allowing you get your character intoxicated and then attempt to drive in an inebriated state.  Of course, there will be plenty of opportunities for other fun pastimes such as carjacking, killing, briefly "entertaining" young women on street corners, etc. 

Even worse, though, for your relationship with your better half, Rockstar has changed the "gametime" in the new game.  In previous Grand Theft Auto games, one "real world" minute equaled one "game" hour.  Even at that pace, many an otherwise good boyfriend were unable to be found for hundreds of hours after the release of each game.  In the new game, it takes two "real world" minutes to equal one "game" hour... so May could be a slow month for any business involving "real world" activities.  But that's okay... a substantial portion of the workforce won't show up anyway.

If you haven't yet picked up a PS3 to play GTA IV on when it arrives, you may need to make a tough decision very soon.  If you were wanting the higher end 80GB model (with PS2 backwards compatibility and SA-CD playback) you may need to get one very soon.  Best Buy has dropped the system and it appears that it may be disappearing from all retailers soon.  It is unclear if a new higher-end model with backwards compatibility will be emerging to replace the 80GB.  If so, 120GB would be likely.  It's also possible that Sony has gotten a purely software-based backwards compatibility solution working now and they will release an update for the 40GB model to allow at least partial compatibility with PS2 games.  But that is purely speculation on my part.  Backwards compatibility has always been a Sony trademark... and I just can't see them dropping it completely from their line-up.  But I'd HATE to be in the position of someone wanting to buy a high-end PS3 right now, without having any real idea as to what Sony's plan is.

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