Is the PS3 to Blame?

An analyst named Michael Pachter thinks Rockstar delayed GTA IV because they ran into problems developing the PLAYSTATION 3 version of the game. Since Rockstar agreed with Sony that neither console would get an advantage over the other, they can't release one version of the game while the other one is delayed.

We think the Rockstar team had trouble getting such a complex game running perfectly on the PS3, and only now realized how far away they actually still are from a final, shippable version of the game.

It's possible that Take2 and Sony signed a contractual agreement under which the two console makers get equal treatment, and a game being made for two different consoles has to come out on both on the same day. Of course, that also means that if the PS3 version slips, the Xbox 360 release has to be pushed back too.

So the game will arrive somewhere between February and April 2008, and although there's no official date yet, hopefully we won't have to wait much longer for the announcement.