Grand Theft Auto 4 Delayed (Updated)

Rockstar North's highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, X360) has been delayed into 2008, publisher Take-Two revealed in a financial update. The company cited the necessity of additional development time as the cause of the postponement. Previously planned for release on October 16, 2007, Grand Theft Auto IV will now arrive in the second quarter of the company's 2008 fiscal year, which spans from February to April. Numerous outlets, Shacknews included, reported that the game ran at a sluggish framerate after witnessing a live demonstration. For more on Grand Theft Auto IV, check out our E3 impressions. "Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms," explained Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick. "We owe it to the game's millions of fans, to our dedicated development team, and to our shareholders to make sure that Grand Theft Auto IV is a groundbreaking gaming experience that takes maximum advantage of next generation technology." "The game is huge and is pushing the hardware platforms to their absolute limits," commented Rockstar founder Sam Houser, who also noted that Grand Theft Auto IV represents the realization of the developer's dreams for the series. "The top engineers from Sony and Microsoft are working closely with the team in Edinburgh right now, helping us to fully leverage the power of both platforms."