Sony’s Scott Steinberg doesn’t think there’s any reason for his company to worry about not having access to the exclusive downloadable content that Xbox 360 owners will have. In his estimation, there’s more than enough game in your typical Grand Theft Auto title that there isn’t much of a need for DLC in GTA.
[Microsoft] spent the GNP of several small Latin American countries to get that [episodic content], and if you’ve ever played San Andreas…there’s a lot of game to Grand Theft Auto and there’s going to be a lot of game to Grand Theft Auto IV to the point where I think most people will have that Grand Theft Auto experience on the PS3, day and date, same core game shipping on the 360. Perhaps they’ll be shipping some episodic content in the fall, but there is a whole lot of product shipping on the PS3 in April and I personally don’t think there’s going to be a huge percentage of folks who jump into downloadable content for another price when they’re still playing through the core product. So while I do think having that brand on their system was a move for them which they felt they needed to make because they cut a big check for it, I think PlayStation fans know the Grand Theft Auto experience on the PS2 is how they grew up playing Grand Theft Auto, and when you combine GTA IV with MGS 4 and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, all the exclusive content that we’ve got going forward, I think that goes from tipping point to shoving point for consumers who are on the fence, wondering what platform should I buy. I think the clear exclusive message that we have is that the PS3 is where, not only do you get Grand Theft Auto, but you’ll get MGS, you’ll get Gran Turismo and these are also brands that have moved hardware units. It’s the elite of the elite products that actually enable hardware to be sold with software and we’ll have three of them.
While initially it seems like a fair enough answer, saying that there’s “enough” to a game to justify not having the option to expand (at least not with the content that 360 owners will be able to) just doesn’t seem like an adequate answer. Now, granted, what else is he really to say – he has to somehow put a spin on it, and he did his job. But there’s no two ways about it: PS3 owners are getting the short-end of the stick when it comes to GTA IV.
Steinberg also talks about how he doesn’t foresee any sort of Wiimote-style controller coming to the PS2, as they’re not in the business of making “knock offs,” which got a chuckle out of me after the whole “PS3 controller, now with motion control!” thing. You can read the full interview at GameDaily.
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