Grand Theft Auto Coming to iPhone This Fall

August 31, 2009 8:58 AM

The well-known Grand Theft Auto franchise will be making the leap to iPhone and iPod Touch this fall with a port of Rockstar Leed's Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

Publisher and studio owner Take-Two Interactive made the announcement this morning. A firm release date and a price point for the downloadable game were not provided.

Released for the Nintendo DS earlier this year and coming to PSP on October 20, the top-down open-world title sees players stealing cars and dealing drugs, among other nefarious acts, all in the name of family.

Chris Faylor

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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manlyman

 reply
August 31, 2009 9:03 AM

I wonder if Rockstar can pull off good touch controls. There is no way I can see them being happy with releasing this if its not working well. Also, what are they going to charge for it? There hasn't been a game cost more than $10, other than scams.
- Demius
  
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  August 31, 2009 9:20 AM
  
  i am going to be very interested to see what they charge for this... Multi-platform game that sells for $30 on other platforms, if it goes for $10 on this and people STILL say "OMG EXPENSIVE!" I'd be pretty disappointed :( Its an amazing game and worth paying for if it is released at the upper price point on the iPod / iPhone
  - Schnapple
    
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    August 31, 2009 9:36 AM
    
    You mean like CivRev which is on the iPhone in a version roughly analogous to the DS version only with higher resolution graphics and is asking for $5 (down from $10 which was OMG EXPENSIVE!") versus the $30 DS version?
    - ease one
      
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      August 31, 2009 9:56 AM
      
      Because there are games sold for $1 most people expect all games to be $1 or less
      - Schnapple
        
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        August 31, 2009 10:05 AM
        
        I don't think it's that so much as it's the fact that any game is going to be compared to other games and their prices.
        
        So for example, the Serious Sam games were $20 and pretty damned complete so when a game like PREY comes out and delivers a short SP experience and costs $50-$60, or HL2:EP1 costs $20 and has about six hours of gameplay, it doesn't appear to compare favorably.
        
        The fact that Peggle cost me $1 and has given me countless hours of gameplay means if your game is going to cost $10 it had better be something special. And I think CivRev fits that bill.
        
        But the other thing is that the App Store gives almost dangerous control over price segmentation. Sure, it's cool that you can instantly see the results of ratcheting the price up or down but when consumers figure out that any game worth having will be $1 at some point they're not quick to buy things above that.
        
        Demius
        
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        August 31, 2009 10:48 AM
        
        The only reason peggle was $1 for that stretch was because of an experiment from PopCap.. the normal price of Peggle was something like 4.99 or 5.99 (i forget) but PopCap wanted to see how much the discounts help or hurt their product.. so put it up for a $1 weekend and it flew off the shelves... so to speak.
        
        That is a shame really... because people will not buy a game on the app store until it goes on sale (i know I'm one of them) because developers have to deal with the lower priced $1 apps. Its one reason why i don't believe the app store is a good place for huge titles. Prove me wrong Rockstar, i know if anyone can, you and ID would be the companies to do it. (and at least, Doom Resurrection did at least make its money back at the high price point so that is good news)
        
        davidc02
        
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        August 31, 2009 11:32 AM
        
        I did not enjoy Doom... I was extremely happy with Need for Speed though...
        
        I recommend MX Mayhem, it's one of the best games I've played on the iPhone... Real Tennis is pretty cool also.
        
        ease one
        
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        August 31, 2009 1:10 PM
        
        I think that is what I said but in less words.
        
        Schnapple
        
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        September 1, 2009 4:44 AM
        
        I like words
        
        matrixneo42
        
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        September 1, 2009 6:56 AM
        
        I expect a $1 game to not last too long or not have as much production value as $3 or $5 games or more. I'd pay up to $30 for a game or app if it was really tight and I could try a lite version first.
        
        I have paid for a $20 app (beat maker) and $10 games.
        
        As a starting iphone developer, I'd like to see prices standardize out a little bit. For instance, I hope we never see the doom games as low as $1, unless it's some surprise deal for a day they run on the anniversary of doom. And I hope we don't see something like iBeer for $10 either.
        
        It'd be interesting if Apple tried to control this aspect too (when an app gets submitted they would tell you the price range you could sell it in)... not that it'd be a good thing necessarily. But it might.