Grand Theft Auto game coming to iPhone
GTA is coming to your iPhone.
(Credit: Rockstar Games)Rockstar Games, the developers behind the Grand Theft Auto series, announced on Monday that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be coming to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch this fall.
The developer also announced that Beaterator, an app that allows users to create "world-class beats and songs," will also be made available on the App Store. Like the Chinatown Wars title, Beaterater is slated for availability this fall for an undisclosed price.
Chinatown Wars gives gamers control over Huang Lee, a member of the Triad crime syndicate, who travels to Liberty City to investigate his father's death. iPhone and iPod Touch owners will be able to control Lee as he travels through the streets of Liberty City.
Chinatown Wars is currently available on the Nintendo DS. It's coming to the Sony PlayStation Portable in October. According to Rockstar, it made perfect sense for the handheld title to make its way to Apple's mobile devices.
But since it has been ported from traditional handheld game devices, I asked Rockstar if iPhone owners will see much of a difference between the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP versions and the iPhone version.
Rockstar said there will be some textures that will look low-res, compared to the PSP version, but other than that, the game is exactly the same.
That comes as a surprise, considering that the typical content featured in a Grand Theft Auto game has clashed with Apple's policies against adult-theme material finding its way to into the App Store. Apple denied access to Eucalyptus, an e-book reader application, because it allowed users to find and read the Kama Sutra. Apple even denied access to Ninjawords, a dictionary app, because it contained vulgar words.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars promises a typical GTA experience, complete with the sexual content and vulgar words that have made it such a controversial franchise. Rockstar told me that it had no trouble with Apple's App Store policies and that the game will be made available as is.
Rockstar also said that controlling the on-screen character will be slightly different than what gamers are used to with other handhelds. According to the company, the game will display an on-screen analog stick that users will be able to control with their thumb. The developer wouldn't reveal any more information about the game.
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Amen
Amen
too bad we can't see how the sales will be compared to the DS ($30) and PSP ($40) versions
They have touchscreen analog sticks in bugdom, and brothers in arms, and a few more
Revised... http://www.icontrolpad.com/
Touch screen controls are never as good as their tactile counterparts when it comes to things like analog movement, or buttons. Even in games like assassins creed and brothers in arms, a d-pad would do wonders.
With Apple making it, however, every gaming company could be confident in knowing that they have a standardized controller, and a standardized button mapping, that all iPhone/Touch users would have access to. If the controller came from a third party, users wouldn't know whether to buy that one, or some other third party controller that would inevitably come out.
Another problem for third parties would be Apple's product pipeline. Whenever a new iPhone or iPod Touch came out, gamers would have to wait 3 to 6 months for the updated controllers. For that problem to minimize, the third party would have to reach critical mass, too, in order to become a strategic partner of Apple and gain early access to hardware specs.
Kishore
http://www.washbas.in
Referring to the post, Apple does not block mature content, they merely rate it. There were some delays this spring because parental controls were to be introduced and Apple badgered several app developers that their apps should be rated 18+, which prolonged the approval process. Thus Eucalyptus became an 18+ app which cannot be downloaded by kids. No app was denied from the AppStore.
Grand Theft Auto has long thrived on supposedly being raunchy and mature and will be happy to carry the 18+ badge on the AppStore as it did on the Nintendo DS and Sony Playstations. In some way, CNet is kickstarting Rockstar's new marketing campaign by focussing on this non-issue.
- by phenders September 13, 2009 7:55 PM PDT
- There is already a GTA like game on the iPhone called GangStar and it is 3rd person 3D like the PS2 and HD versions, not old school birds eye like Chinatown wars.
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(29 Comments)For $7, it is a great steal if you like GTA and like playing on the iPhone and iTouch.