Book: Microsoft Turned Down Exclusive Grand Theft Auto for Xbox
- May 09, 2006 09:10 AM PST
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According to Dean Takahashi's new book The Xbox 360 Uncloaked, Microsoft once had a chance to make Grand Theft Auto an exclusive Xbox series...except for the fact that they turned Rockstar down.
Ever wonder why Sony was able to get such broad, sweeping exclusivity for the Grand Theft Auto titles? The answer is because Rockstar Games offered Microsoft an Xbox exclusivity deal first, and Microsoft turned them down.
Not such a smart move, it turns out, as Grand Theft Auto 3 went on to become a PlayStation 2 exclusive and make Sony hundreds of millions of dollars.
These and other top-secret revelations help make San Jose Mercury reporter Dean Takahashi's new book, The Xbox 360 Uncloaked, an excellent read for gaming fans. (Click here for a Gamepro.com exclusive excerpt!)
Among other juicy tidbits:
-Halo 2 was nearly rushed to market with sub-par quality in early 2004; Microsoft only okayed a delay to November 2004 after a top executive threatened to quit in protest.
-Microsoft is currently developing a handheld system designed to fight the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. The goal is for the handheld to be release halfway through the Xbox 360's lifespan -- probably another year or two at the minimum.
-The Xbox 360's backward compatibility functionality, which allows the Xbox 360 to play some old Xbox games, was hastily slapped into place at the last second by a group of veteran programmers nicknamed "the ninjas."
-Despite Microsoft's legal feuds with video card manufacturer nVidia, the company considered nVidia to be a top choice for the Xbox 360 anyway (the company ultimately chose ATi graphics technology).
Check back soon for more Xbox 360 breaking news, live from E3.
