Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

GTA IV Trailer Released, Slows Sites

Posted by Zonk on from the grand-theft-trailer dept.

Mr_Congeniality writes "The much-anticipated trailer for the next chapter in the Grand Theft Auto series has been released. Rockstar's servers, including the one that hosts Rockstar's homepage, was completely overloaded with traffic last night as a result. Users desperately flocking to other websites like GTANet and GTA4.net, but even these websites were overloaded by the interest level. If these sites are still slow, try GameTrailers or GameVideos as an alternative. For analysis of the video, CVG has ten things you may have missed, while 1up's editors offer their opinions on what they saw."

127 comments

  1. They should have... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just posted it on YouTube to begin with.

    1. Re:They should have... by 4D6963 · · Score: 1

      Just posted it on YouTube to begin with.

      So the whole world could have been just amazed by the new shiny real-time graphics of the game on a 300p or so video at 250 kb/s or so. Not like they needed to put it themselves on YouTube anyways, soon as they would release the video you could be sure that you'd have dozens of fans to try to be the first one to post it on YouTube.

      --
      You just got troll'd!
  2. was completely overloaded with traffic last night by djupedal · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes / No ~ I am willing to help test Slashdot's New Server Overloading System.

  3. Hopefully... by Mizled · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hopefully this game will be similar to Vice City and not like San Andreas...being a thug/gangsta riding a bicycle just isn't my style.

    --
    Bite my shiny metal ass.
    1. Re:Hopefully... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Regardless of what people thought of Vice City or San Andreas, both of them had style and feeling of hardcore hipness.

      This new trailer is almost completely devoid of character. It's should be called GTA Meh.

    2. Re:Hopefully... by sandmaninator · · Score: 1

      You are just lazy. ;-)

    3. Re:Hopefully... by PygmySurfer · · Score: 1

      "Claude" in GTA 3 was pretty much devoid of character, as well... I enjoyed GTA 3 more than Vice City and San Andreas.

    4. Re:Hopefully... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh sure, judge an 80 hour game based on the first 5 minutes of it. I can tell what YOUR opinion is worth.....

    5. Re:Hopefully... by Spacejock · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I completed GTA3 and Vice City, but have yet to get far in San Andreas. Vice City was stylish, with a seedy underbelly, and there was a lot of unexpected humour. San Andreas was just seedy, and the foul language was the last straw.

      I still load VC up from time to time, but SA has been consigned to the shelves.

      --
      Hal Spacejock: Science Fiction with Nuts
    6. Re:Hopefully... by Floritard · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You ride a bicycle for only about the first hour of a game that is anywhere from 50 to 100+ hours long, depending on how much you can appreciate a game that is larger than any that came before it and manages to blend seemlessly numerous gameplay genres like few companies have ever accomplished. Do you avoid Mario games because you don't appreciate the Italian-american experience? No wait you liked playing Vice City. I had some real tolerant friends that didn't like the "thug" aspects of San Andreas either. Nice that rascists have new terms to hide behind, kinda like "urban" in movies. It's fine to not like a game if it's shit, but to denigrate a technologically and artistically superior game in favor of it's awesome but decidely inferior prequels all for something as petty as the racial background of the player character (always a degenerate criminal in these games anyway) is strange. It's make believe anyway and personally I'd play a Barbie game if the gameplay was solid. And be forewarned, it looks like you have to play a ruskie in GTA IV. Boohoo...

    7. Re:Hopefully... by Xtravar · · Score: 1

      It's not even that. San Andreas was just SO expansive that it got boring. It was just too open-ended and lacked focus.

      Exercising in the gym to look better, buying sunglasses to raise 'charisma', picking up your girlfriend(s) for dates, ... it wanted to be an RPG or the Sims.

      Shit, I just want to kill someone and steal their car.

      --
      Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.
    8. Re:Hopefully... by Mizled · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Your trolling but sure...I'll bite...atleast you didn't do "Anonymous Post"

      Your calling me a racist cause I didn't like being a thug/gangsta in a game? Come on! What race am I being racist against? Mexicans (Latinos), African Americans, Whites? Please tell, as far as I know more than one race can be considered "thug or gangsta".

      My opinion on a game is nothing but that *my opinion*. I can't believe your getting this worked up over this. Jeez dude go outside.

      The hip-hop gangsta style isn't my thing so therefore I didn't enjoy the game. Miami Vice appealed to me more.

      --
      Bite my shiny metal ass.
    9. Re:Hopefully... by Mizled · · Score: 1

      Correction...Vice City* Why did I say Miami Vice? >_>

      --
      Bite my shiny metal ass.
    10. Re:Hopefully... by Doc+Lazarus · · Score: 1

      I dug the whole '80s style of both Vice City games as well, but San Andreas I liked just as much. If anything, the whole 'thug life' thing only lasted for the first fifth of the game, leaving you to see other locations before coming back. There's something for everybody in that game, and the control scheme is just about perfect.

    11. Re:Hopefully... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you obviously didn't play past the first 30 minutes of the game.

    12. Re:Hopefully... by Jeppe+Salvesen · · Score: 1

      well, duh - you don't need to progress in the game, then!

      --

      Stop the brainwash

    13. Re:Hopefully... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You needed to play the game more. The whole thug, nigga-this, nigga-that, thing stops once you get out of San Andreas itself.

      My main complaint is that perhaps it's *too* big. There's a lot of empty scenery in SA, whereas VC had just about the right size.

    14. Re:Hopefully... by Floritard · · Score: 1
      I'm honestly not trolling. I know people who won't play San Andreas b/c they say they don't like the "thug" aspect. I know what they were referring to when they said it, but if what you mean by "thug" is just a garden variety criminal of any color then my question to you is why were you even playing a GTA game in the first place? They all start out that way -- bottom feeding criminal to eventual crime boss. What is it about the early 90's, southern California setting that makes this game less acceptable than its previous incarnations.

      Come on! What race am I being racist against? Mexicans (Latinos), African Americans, Whites? Please tell, as far as I know more than one race can be considered "thug or gangsta".
      Were there white thugs in the early 90's? I seem to recall a term that suspiciously fell by the wayside at some point. That term was "wigger." C'mon it wouldn't make any sense to make the character white or latino anyway. Those architypes were really only explored in pop culture later, after the setting in which the game takes place. These games are all about pop culture and the defining pop culture that San Andreas is targetting is west coast rap -- NWA and the like in the early 90's. Perhaps I was a bit aggressive in my first post and you can call it trolling if you like, but it honestly fascinates me that this one game of the three, a game much wider in scope and an overall more rewarding experience from purely a gameplay perspective, nonetheless illicits such a negative reaction from some people, especially those who enjoyed the earlier GTAs.
    15. Re:Hopefully... by Chibi-Hikaru · · Score: 1

      While I'm not who you are replying to, yes I have no interest in playing GTA:SA because I have no desire at all to pretend to be a black gansta. I have no "appreciation" for that culture.

      --
      http://www.cafepress.com/hikarudesigns/ http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=hikaru
    16. Re:Hopefully... by Xtravar · · Score: 1

      But I want to beat the game 100% without doing all the hundreds of minigames. :(

      --
      Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.
    17. Re:Hopefully... by Mizled · · Score: 1

      When I was refering to the word "thug" I was refering to ghetto living..talk like dis cuz it's cool yo cuz dis how I be...ghetto yo. Bitch I bust a cap in you wit my 45. Dressing like you came straight out of a 50 cent video or right out of jail after being convicted of robbery.

      The above posters are right I played 30min of the game and quit playing. I don't like to listen to people talk like that and then the missions were riding around on a bike doing graffiti.

      Yes, In Vice City Tommy Vercetti was a bottom dweller, low life like most of the GTA series are based upon but something about Vice City kept me interested. The missions? The scenery? The character dialogue? Who knows. It was more of my play-style than the little bit of SA I played. As a whole yes GTA games are great, I just took a liking to Vice City the most. It appealed to me the most.

      Maybe I should have played SA more but the first few missions were a turn off for me.

      --
      Bite my shiny metal ass.
    18. Re:Hopefully... by Floritard · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I particularly enjoyed the desert missions just outside of las venturas in the last third of the game. I actually wished there was more of them, the desert was my favorite setting. If you keep playing, you leave the las angeles-ish ghetto and go on to a san fransisco-ish and las vegas-ish city each with a very particulary feel to them. Then there's the desert surrounding vegas and the coutry surrounding the other cities. You actually become a sort of fish out of water at that point and converse with a diverse cast of pot-heads, gov spies, and various types really. The only real thugs were your peers in your hood, and it is there where the story is anchored but the game is so much bigger than that. You should really play it through.

    19. Re:Hopefully... by AdmiralWeirdbeard · · Score: 1

      I stopped playing san andreas because it was retarded. If i wanted to play the sims, I'd have done so. Though i guess it was more like, The Sims: Thuglife. Dont get me wrong, I'm not adverse to the character-building style of gameplay. I've dumped years down RPG's.
      It just has no business in a game like GTA. We're talking about a game franchise where murder and wholesale destruction are standing orders. Why the fuck would I want little "touches of reality?" Reality and charging through hordes of pedestrians with a chainsaw are mutually exclusive imho. And thats why san andreas blows.

      --
      Come read my stupid blagablog. Rants and Giggles
    20. Re:Hopefully... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go back and give it a little more time. I was of the same opinion and really couldn't get into the whole gansta theme of the game. I had done the exact same thing, played a few missions and then shelfed the game. I'm not really sure what gave me the push to give it another go but I'm glad I did. I few more missions in and I was hooked. So much to see and do, some really amusing missions and some really entertaining characters. The "Sims" aspect of the game was really lame though and hope it's been ditched in GTA4.

    21. Re:Hopefully... by Petrushka · · Score: 1

      Glad it's not just me.

    22. Re:Hopefully... by G-funk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      HAHAHAHAHA! Only an American could complain about foul language in a game where the aim is to drive around killing people, and for all intents and purposes, you play eazy e.

      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
    23. Re:Hopefully... by Floritard · · Score: 1

      I have played a lot of games. A whole lot, on all kinds of consoles past and present. I don't like RPG games myself, don't like the Sims. I like action games. SA is one of the best ever in that regard. And I can't really think of any other games that managed to maintain their wow factor throughout a 50+ hour experience. I really can't think of any games where every now and then it dawns on me that I haven't actually progressed anywhere story-wise in the last 45 minutes but yet realize I've been having loads of fun nonetheless. Quite the contrary, most games I play I get bored even while progressing. The damn game is near perfect. It constantly has you going I wonder if I can... Yep I sure can! Most gameworlds are full of diminishing expectations as you realize that less and less of your surroundings are actually interactive in realistic ways. Considering the hardware it was released on, I have to say that SA pushed that as far as one could. I'm really surprised there are people that don't dig this game. If you've only played for an hour or two then go back and give it another go. No other game will surprise you with how much it has to offer. Anyway I'm obviously stoked for IV.

  4. From the website... by Mizled · · Score: 2, Informative

    Platform: PlayStation®3, Xbox 360(TM)

    Where's the PC game release on this one? The GTA series was originally for the PC. Oh well.

    --
    Bite my shiny metal ass.
    1. Re:From the website... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Same as it was for all the 3d versions of GTA, about 6-8 months behind the console versions.

    2. Re:From the website... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can play videogames on a PC? I thought people just used those for work and internets.

  5. GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    What a total letdown. This is not what gamers were looking forward to in a next gen GTA game.

    Last gen it was excusable since the GTA was stuck with Renderware. But now that Rockstar has written their own engine GTA IV should be running on a real next gen engine. Not the crap they just showed in that trailer.

    Thanks to the crappy 360 hardware:

    * No standard harddrive
    * Smaller than standard DVD disc size
    * Weak graphics hardware

    Rockstar has gone pure lowest common denominator in order support the 360.

    What a joke.

    At the very least Rockstar should have come out with a real next gen version of GTA for the PC and PS3 and then come out with a downgraded 360 version.

    1. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 2, Funny
      On that note, I think we should also take the opportunity to blame Microsoft for global warming, the African AIDS epidemic, and JFK's assassination.

      Tool.

    2. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "On that note, I think we should also take the opportunity to blame Microsoft for global warming, the African AIDS epidemic, and JFK's assassination."

      No, just their shitty hardware.

      25 gig BluRay vs 7.5 gig DVD - Over three times the storage for the PS3. And the PC version can use tens of gigs of hard drive space and come on multiple discs that are uncompressed at install time. But thanks to the idiotic Core pack that isn't an option since it has no hard drive.

      How would you like your 360 games downgraded to fit on 650 meg CDs? Now you know how PS3 and PC owners feel...

    3. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 3, Insightful
      "25 gig BluRay vs 7.5 gig DVD - Over three times the storage for the PS3."

      So what exactly do you want them to stick on the BluRay disc? I'm sure that they can stick multiple copies of the game on the disc to compensate for the slow loading time (like Bethesda did with Oblivion).

      If you're in the mood for hours of FMV's, then I'm sure FFXIII will satisfy your needs.

      The bottom line is - developers don't know *what* to do with all that disc space. Blaming MS for that is idiotic.

    4. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by oliverthered · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I've seen games that take more than 10GB to install, I'm sure it's not beyond the imagination of the developers what could be put on the extra 15gb.

      and yes the XBOX360 is crap, especially when compared to a PC or even the PS3, fortunately GTA 3/ SA for the PC had better graphics etc... than the console versions so hopefully the same will be true for this version.

      --
      thank God the internet isn't a human right.
    5. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > The bottom line is - developers don't know *what* to do with all that disc space.

      Yep, that's why GTA IV will coming out on a single floppy disc...

      Anything more is just stupid and wasteful.
      Developers shouldn't be allowed to be so lazy.
      And anyways 'some really good compression' should make the game fit.

      Did I get the 360 gimped storage format talking points right? Did I miss any?

    6. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by CaseM · · Score: 1

      You're obviously trolling, but I would throw back the same retort for last generation - the XBox versions of games were contanstly gimped due to the PS2 being the lead development platform for most games.

    7. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "the XBox versions of games were contanstly gimped due to the PS2"

      You're obviously clueless.

      The PS2 and Xbox both had exactly the same storage sizes - dual layer DVDs. And mind boggling side note, the 360 actually has LESS storage than both the PS2 and Xbox.

      The PS2 and Xbox both push roughly the same number of polys. The Xbox pulls ahead for multi-pass tris and the PS2 pulls ahead for untextured/single pass tris.

      Feel free to grab a PS2 devkit and an Xbox devkit and demonstrate otherwise. There would be quite a few console developers shocked to hear it.

      The gulf between the PS3 and the Xbox 360 is as large as the gulf between the Xbox 360 and the Wii...

    8. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think not ignoring 80% of their target console audience in 360 owners isn't pandering to lowest common denominator, its smart marketing. God knows Rockstar needs that now. But its good to see that fanboy trolls are going to be nice and busy with all this non-exclusivity flying around.

    9. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Look, just because 3rd party support is eroding and previously exclusive titles are going multi-platform (or becoming 360 exclusives), doesn't mean the PS3 was a poor investment, right?

    10. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Coraon · · Score: 1

      dont forget the rise of the occult...I know at leist a few whackos that believe that

      --
      -Ours is the wisdom of Solomon, the magic of Merlyn, the fall of Icaris.
    11. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Das+Modell · · Score: 1

      Suppose I want to play Gears of War, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Dead Rising or Lost Planet? How will I do that with my PC?

    12. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      Awwww, how cute!

      After 6-7 billion dollars wasted and six years in the console, the Retards From Redmond are selling at a worse rate compared to the first Xbox and one of their shitty little fanboys is bragging about getting a handful of ports!

      Oh god! What a fucking miserable little cocksucker. The Xbox brand really is targeted at the latently homo fratboy demo and their gay bald space marine fantasies.

      Congrats faggot, your shitty console has ruined GTA for the rest of the gaming world.

    13. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Das+Modell · · Score: 1

      This may come as a shock to you, but you can't have Crysis level graphics with the amount of game space and detail in GTA IV. But then again, even if it would have Crysis graphics, you would still complain.

    14. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gears of War - Shiny normal map hell and shitty low rez environments - crappy 4v4 multiplayer
      Mass Effect - Just what the gaming world needs more of those retarded UE3 shiny normal mapped characters
      Halo 3 - Oh joy, shiny green metal! That was so cool...five years ago. 16 player p2p networking for 50 bucks a year. Next!
      Dead Rising - you kill zombies, ok that was fun for five minutes
      Lost Planet - yawn, would have been a budget bin title - last gen

      No wonder the 360 is dead everywhere but the US.

    15. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 2, Funny

      You're almost there. Go ahead, do it. Invoke Godwin's Law ftw.

    16. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      Crysis???

      You have to be joking. You mean that engine where they have to fill the screen with foliage to cover up their very average engine?

      Foliage is a great way to impress dimwitted fanboys like you. This shitty 360 level GTA engine could really use some foliage to cover up the pathetic geometry we are seeing.

    17. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by crabbz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So what exactly do you want them to stick on the BluRay disc?

      how about radio stations that never repeat? :-)

    18. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "So what exactly do you want them to stick on the BluRay disc? I'm sure that they can stick multiple copies of the game on the disc to compensate for the slow loading time (like Bethesda did with Oblivion)."

      Uh, no they didn't...

      "The bottom line is - developers don't know *what* to do with all that disc space."

      Right...it just so happens that a fan of the Xbox 360 believes we have finally entered a MAGICAL ERA OF STORAGE that just so happens to be the same amount his systems is built with...

      Rejoice gamers! The need for more and more storage has finally come to an end!

    19. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure you can imagine games that large, but developers dare not make PS3 games that big lest they render their games uninstallable on 20GB PS3s. BluRay is so slow that you have to copy everything to the hard disk or load times will be unbearable.

    20. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by flitty · · Score: 1

      "I'm sure it's not beyond the imagination of the developers what could be put on the extra 15gb." Another game and a half perhaps? Maybe EA should start attaching last years Madden with this years... just because they have 15 more gigs to fill

      --
      Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
    21. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by JFMulder · · Score: 1

      If Oblivion and Crackdown could fit on standard DVD's, I don't see why GTA 4 should be any different.

      As for the lowest common denominator, you are aware that the PS2 WAS the lowest common denominator performance wise last generation, are you?

    22. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *shrug* Xbox owners dealt with it last gen when the ps2 was the lowest common denominator for GTA games. Maybe one of these months the ps3 will outsell the 360 and you'll have an installed base capable of holding 3rd party exclusives.

    23. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would rather load up my own MP3 play list from my PC over my 360. I got about a weeks (or more) worth of music.

    24. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      I really just feel sorry for you. Either you have a deep love for a faltering console and it's destroying your mood, or you work for Sony and they've given you the impossible task of going to Slashdot and acting like an asshole to gain support for them. Either way, you're in a shitty situation. Sorry brother.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
    25. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Dev59 · · Score: 1

      Be fair here: Crackdown isn't that big and Oblivion pushed the absolute limit of what could be fit on a DVD. You notice how low-res the textures are in Oblivion? They didn't have room for anything better. There's your disc limitation right there.

      It's the same with Mass Effect - Bioware came out and said they just barely managed to squeeze the game onto a single DVD and that they stretched their compression methods beyond what they even thought they could do to accomplish that.

      The crazy troll may be pretty far off-base but more storage on a disc is a good thing.

    26. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're an extremely bad troll. I have 360 and PS3 dev kits in my shop right now, and we retired our PS2 and XBOX kits a while back. The gulf between the 360 and PS3 is probably about the size of a (broken) toothpick. Nice job trying though.

    27. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PS2 -> 4 or 8 gig DVD
      Xbox -> 4 or 8 gig DVD

      1:1 ratio for storage

      PS3 -> 25 or 50 gig BluRay
      Xbox 360 4 or 7.5 gig DVD

      3:1 or 6:1 size advantage for the PS3 over the Xbox 360

      What is amazing is the fact that there is about a gig less storage on the Xbox 360 compared to last gen. There's never been a console that actually had less storage than a previous gen.

    28. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by EGSonikku · · Score: 2, Funny

      If 360 is 'dead' with 10 million+ units sold what does that make the PS3? A first trimester abortion? Mommy and Daddy used a condom?

      --
      - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
    29. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by oliverthered · · Score: 1

      Simple,
      Don't buy an XBox 360, if enough people didn't buy the XBox 360 the games would be available on the pc, with better graphics, sound etc.....

      --
      thank God the internet isn't a human right.
    30. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by EGSonikku · · Score: 1

      You are a sad, mistaken man. if Anything, it's the PS3 thats gimped, as you say. Ask any developer about the graphics chips in each. On a good day the break about even.

      And unlike you, I know what i'm talking about and don't have an agenda:

      http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/8417/00001ae5.j pg

      --
      - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
    31. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by oliverthered · · Score: 1

      I've got enough music to keep me going for months without a single repeat, I'd like to see the XBox 360 do that.

      --
      thank God the internet isn't a human right.
    32. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by oliverthered · · Score: 2, Informative


      How fast can you read/write data on a Blu-ray disc?

      According to the Blu-ray Disc specification, 1x speed is defined as 36Mbps. However, as BD-ROM movies will require a 54Mbps data transfer rate the minimum speed we're expecting to see is 2x (72Mbps). Blu-ray also has the potential for much higher speeds, as a result of the larger numerical aperture (NA) adopted by Blu-ray Disc. The large NA value effectively means that Blu-ray will require less recording power and lower disc rotation speed than DVD and HD-DVD to achieve the same data transfer rate. While the media itself limited the recording speed in the past, the only limiting factor for Blu-ray is the capacity of the hardware. If we assume a maximum disc rotation speed of 10,000 RPM, then 12x at the outer diameter should be possible (about 400Mbps). This is why the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) already has plans to raise the speed to 8x (288Mbps) or more in the future.

      The Blueray drive in the PS3 is faster than the DVD drive in the XBox360 so load times should be faster.

      --
      thank God the internet isn't a human right.
    33. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me guess...

      Typical small to medium crappy x86 developer.

      Lots of Visual Studio, x86 reference, and various Windows or DirectX books on the shelves.

      You guys whine on net message boards about how 'teh PS2/PS3 is hard teh program' cuz all that directx code you've scrapped together from NVidia/ATI's sites and various leaks from companies like Valve won't run on the PS3 and you don't have a fucking clue how to handle a piece of modern graphics hardware like the PS3

      Love making thing 'shiny' with 'teh shaders'

      It sucks that as the x86 game market continues to die all the worthless x86/directx cutnpaste monkeys are fleeing to console development.

    34. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by iainl · · Score: 1

      Oops for you.

      I've just checked. Oblivion takes up 6.4Gb of the DVD's 8Gb capacity. There's actually another gig and a half left for textures, if they really wanted them.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    35. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You notice how low-res the textures are in Oblivion? They didn't have room for anything better. There's your disc limitation right there.

      So move to procedural textures. Or, better yet, shaded polygons. Why put a texture of a belt on a character when you can just model the belt?

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    36. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Carbonite · · Score: 1

      No, if fewer XBox 360s were sold it would only mean that companies would be less likely to release games for the 360. It's not a zero sum game. Fewer 360 games does not imply more PC games. In any case, companies already have 10 million+ 360s to market their games to.

      --
      ich muß mehr Kuhglocke haben
    37. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oops for you.

      The 360's DVD can only use 7Gb of data...

      And then there are issues with dual layer DVDs that degrade performance for free roaming games where it is ideal to keep everything/as much as possible on one layer for performance reasons.

      One of the reasons the PS3 is so much faster at loading and has none of the messy pop-in issues that plagues the 360 version of the game.

      25Gb BluRay discs are just one layer and the entire 25Gbs can be used for random access for a free roaming game with no performance penalty. Welcome to next gen.

    38. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by nuzak · · Score: 1

      > And unlike you, I know what i'm talking about and don't have an agenda:

      Judging by that picture, I'm guessing you don't have a wife either.

      (it's a joke son, you're supposed to laugh)

      --
      Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
    39. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Das+Modell · · Score: 1

      Well, clearly I should refrain from playing those games because Mr. Anonymous Coward on Slashdot disapproves of them.

    40. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Das+Modell · · Score: 1

      And my point is proven.

    41. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      Aww, how cute. A fanboy playing the old ship vs sold game!

      Dimwit, when even fanboy sites like vgcharts's own inflated numbers don't add up to 10 million...

      And with Microsoft downgrading their shipment targets for mid-2007 to just 12 million...

      Flooding the channel to make press releases for dimwitted little fanboys like you only works for one quarter.

      The local Frys STILL has 400 dollar 360s from the GIGANTIC December shipment.

    42. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      I bet your little fanboy heart just goes a piterpater with those Crysis 'real life vs teh Crysis' screenshots!

      Or those 'amazing' engine demos!

      I bet you are one of those people still impressed with the detachable thumb trick...

    43. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by EGSonikku · · Score: 1

      Wife no, girlfriend yes :)

      There are gamer chicks out there. I too once thought them to be a myth ;)

      --
      - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
    44. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think this is what Sony was hoping to do with the Cell processor. Assign one or two of the chips to creating textures on the fly, leave one for the physics, one for sound, etc... With one processor (and three cores, as in the 360), you're looking at taking a lot of headroom just to generate textures, leaving little power for everything else in the game. In theory, the Cell processor is what very complex games should be played on.

      Unfortunately, I don't think game developers are quite at that point yet. They're used to textures, and since the PS3 is the only console with a Cell processor, they can't port games to the 360 or Wii if they rely on procedural textures. It's really a shame - the PS3 has the most potential right now, but I don't think it will ever get used.

      Just a sidenote: I am by no means a fan of Sony. I think their rootkit antics, exploding batteries and "you should get a second job because the PS3 is worth it" attitude are very wrong. I just happen to think that they have made a console that's ahead of its time for two reasons: no need for Blu-Ray and poor programming tools for the Cell. The demand for Blu-Ray might exist soon, but programming for Cell processors will remain very complicated for a long time. If they succeed with it, they'll have a huge edge on the competition in the future generations of consoles.

    45. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, you certainly got me picked out. Except for one thing -- my code is being used by over a million gamers. What's yours doing? :)

    46. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by tomaasz · · Score: 1

      "So what exactly do you want them to stick on the BluRay disc?"

      More music and higher resolution textures?

    47. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      The PS2 and Xbox both had exactly the same storage sizes - dual layer DVDs.

      Right...because hard drives only matter when they benefit your own point.

      And as a non-fanboy who owns all the systems; The Xbox versions almost always looked better for whatever reason. The Cube version too. The PS2 was the least graphically impressive of the last generation. Not to mention the PS2's online experience was only slightly better than the Cube's. When buying last gen games my priority always went XBox if available, then Cube if there was no online or PS2 if there was.

    48. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Bandman · · Score: 1

      What I've always been confused about is why they haven't made an optical drive with more than one read head. Read from two (or even 3) parts of the disc at once.

      --
      Check out my sysadmin blog!
    49. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The PS3 only has 256MB of graphics memory though, just like PC graphics cards from 2003.(Not that the 360 is much better).

    50. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      I don't completely follow your post. Am I correct in deciphering that you'd like to see the 360 play music for months without repeating? That's easy, just hook it up to the host server using one of the many streaming clients available.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
    51. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by Das+Modell · · Score: 1

      Considering that I've barely kept any tabs on the development of Crysis, it's pretty far-fetched to call me a fanboy.

    52. Re:GTA IV - Gimped Thanks To The Xbox 360 by default+luser · · Score: 1

      They did. It was called TrueX, and was manufactured by Kenwood and Hi-Val.

      The drive rotated at equivilant 6-10x speed (CLV), and delivered 40x-72x speeds constantly, thanks to seven independent read heads.

      A buddy of mine bought the first-generation drive, and I was amazed how quickly it installed Windows. It was also very quiet...but beyond that, it wasn't that amazing.

      Reasons why it failed:

      * TOO EXPENSIVE. It couldn't compete with cheap CD drives.
      * POOR BIOS support, drives would often not be detected during POST.
      * POOR COMPATIBILITY, the drives had trouble reading certain discs.
      * CRAPPY ACCESS TIMES, what do you expect when the disc spins so slow?

      The consumers responded by bringing a class-action lawsuit over the problems. Kenwood lost the lawsuit, and the technology was quietly buried.

      --

      Man is the animal that laughs.
      And occasionally whores for Karma.

  6. PR by nacturation · · Score: 2, Informative

    Looks like the PR boffins have been doing their homework lately.

    --
    Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
  7. Cultural reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    One thing many people missed is the reference to the movie Koyaanisqatsi. The music was taken from the original movie score, by Philip Glass, and the 'fast-motion' scenes are a direct reference to scenes from the movie.

    Also, much of the movie was shot in, you guessed it, New York.

    1. Re:Cultural reference by John+Nowak · · Score: 1

      The phrase "Life is complicated" is also a play on the trilogy.

      I can't believe I'm such a sucker for Glass that I'm exciting about running over hookers now...

    2. Re:Cultural reference by braindrainbahrain · · Score: 1

      Kewl! Phillip Glass is one of my favorite modern composers...

      In his biography, he wrote how he always felt he was a composer for theater (and evidently films). I guess he now composes for video games. Woot Philip!!

    3. Re:Cultural reference by Perseid · · Score: 1

      Indeed. Not only that but you see a poster for a Kronos watch. Most of Philip Glass's work is played by the Kronos Quartet.

    4. Re:Cultural reference by Hatta · · Score: 1

      If you want to check out this movie, which is highly recommended, get yourself an account at mvgroup.org. You'll be glad you did.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  8. Godfrey Reggio Rocks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sold. Koyaanisqatsi reference for the win!
    Also, I'm gonna have to buy a PS3 for it -- I'm too lazy to relearn the controls for the 360.

  9. The engine looks pretty solid... by bealzabobs_youruncle · · Score: 1

    now show me some gameplay, I don't need GTA III mechanics again. And please tweak the combat system so I feel like there is some level of control during up close fights instead of just random luck.

    1. Re:The engine looks pretty solid... by Firefly1 · · Score: 1

      With respect to firearms targeting, perhaps the developers should take a look at Scarface: The World is Yours (TWiY hereafter; whose develoeprs, in turn, might have been inspired by Everything or Nothing). Quite simply: when you lock onto somebody, you have the option of refining your aimpoint while retaining that lock. The Crackdown team took it a bit further: an arm hit will make someone drop their weapon, and they'll either try and recover it or pull their backup; shoot someone in the leg, and they'll be temporarily out of the fight (on the ground, clutching the wounded limb). As a bonus, not only does the system in TwiY also works when you're firing from a vehicle, but it applies to vehicles as well - pursue-and-kill missions are much easier when you can nail the driver as opposed to shooting/ramming the vehicle until it explodes.
      By 'close fights' I assume you are referring to melee engagements. What they did in San Andreas was a good start, but it sounds to me like you want this dev team to perhaps take pages from Yakuza, which wouldn't be a bad thing. Related: you should be able to perform stealth takedowns bare-handed or with any melee weapon (with the obvious exception of the chainsaw).

      --
      - White Knight of the Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
  10. Saw the trailer, going to buy a 360 by bigdady92 · · Score: 1

    No ghetto blasting gangsta or slick mobster this time. Looks like a modern day game played out with a eastern european/russian hitman. The graphics look absolutely stunning like something out of a movie. Cars looks like Forza models. People actual look like people not some rectagular blocks of old GTA games. Shadowing, sunsets, cloud cover, you name it all in this thing. I wonder if rain is coming?

    I will HAVE to buy an XBOX360 to play this game. Noone is forcing me to but damn this thing comes out on my birthday (3 rockstar) so I guess I'm plunking down a huge chunk of change to get my gaming system and GTA to play for a few weeks.

    sigh...

    --
    Wheel of Time: Book by Book and Sumview (summary review) Bigdady92 style: http://bigdady92.blogspot.com/
    1. Re:Saw the trailer, going to buy a 360 by benzapp · · Score: 1

      Are they not going to release a version for the PC at the same time? I thought console exclusivity was finished...

      --
      I don't read or respond to AC posts
    2. Re:Saw the trailer, going to buy a 360 by Applekid · · Score: 1

      I know it's too late in development for it, but, please, Rockstar, let me enter properties in the game world -- any property -- and commit various acts of terror or distruction or just make dynamic missions.

      Yeah, it looks good, but I want it to actually PLAY like a next gene title.

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    3. Re:Saw the trailer, going to buy a 360 by kalirion · · Score: 1

      Next gen? Even Bard's Tale let you enter any properties in the game world!

    4. Re:Saw the trailer, going to buy a 360 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder if rain is coming?


      They had rain effects in GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas, AFAIK...
  11. Re: was completely overloaded with traffic last ni by 4D6963 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes / No ~ I am willing to help test Slashdot's New Server Overloading System.

    I, for one, welcome our new.. server overload.. erm.. system..

    --
    You just got troll'd!
  12. Here's the Torrent by dalmiroy2k · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here's the torrent (no registration required). Please seed the file when the download it's complete so you may help others getting it fast.

    http://www.mininova.org/get/640860

    1. Re:Here's the Torrent by Aladrin · · Score: 1

      Probably should have actually tried the torrent first before karma-whoring. It's a gameupdates.org torrent and won't let you download from mininova. You have to register at gameupdates.org.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
  13. Sounds dull by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What kind of a game is Greater Toronto Area?

  14. YouTube link by chalkyj · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoB01yi_6Ys

  15. Interesting by The-Bus · · Score: 2, Informative

    I haven't played this series since Vice City and I'm glad that we finally get a modern, more stylized version of it. The voiceover seems to point at some Russian/Eastern European immigrant moving up the ranks in American crime. It's reminiscent of the beginning in movies like The Godfather or Scarface where you see the world through the eyes of a newcomer.

    Here's the direct download link for the 720P WMV file. Or, you can see it on YouTube as well.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    1. Re:Interesting by Firefly1 · · Score: 1

      The voiceover seems to point at some Russian/Eastern European immigrant moving up the ranks in American crime.
      Interesting... I cannot help but wonder if one of the people you might do jobs for in this game will be anything like Balalaika.
      (Although, as I've said, a Black Lagoon game, probably based on the Everything or Nothing mechanics, would rock in its own right)
      --
      - White Knight of the Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
    2. Re:Interesting by Goaway · · Score: 0, Troll

      "More stylized"? I don't think that word means what you think it does.

  16. Torrent for high-res? by OlivierB · · Score: 1

    Can anybody please set up a torrent and post a link here in the comments for one of the high-res files?

    --
    Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity
  17. Wow, it really is NYC by Phoenix666 · · Score: 1

    Or at least the landmarks are. The Cyclone is spot-on. Mapping the virtual streets to NYC's actual layout would be even cooler. Let's hope. It would be awesome to scream down my street in Brooklyn in a ferrari.

    --
    Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
    1. Re:Wow, it really is NYC by BoberFett · · Score: 1

      Rockstart doesn't use actual locations, their cities are all parodies of real cities. I haven't played the game, but I believe the True Crime games actually use the real maps of the cities in which they take place.

  18. oooo yeah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Almost time to beat some ragdolled VIRTUAL hookers. (I SAID VIRTUAL OK Mr Jack Thompson?)

  19. Another YouTube link. by antdude · · Score: 1

    here from VideoSift.

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  20. Huked on fawniks werkd fer mi! by oneplus999 · · Score: 1, Troll

    "The music, in case your wondering, is a piece from minimalist composer Philip Glass, who created the music for Koyaanisqatsi." Wow your smart CVG! Here's to hopping every knows what's wrong w/ above sentence.
    1. Re:Huked on fawniks werkd fer mi! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Wow your smart CVG!"
      YOU'RE not. People in glass houses should not throw stones.
  21. NYC by Bulletz26 · · Score: 1

    The best thing, to me, about the game that the trailer shows is that its set in a real world location, that is going to increase the immersion so much more no matter how good the visuals are. I wonder how closely they are going to replicate New York, as no doubt the game world will be huge. It would be positively awesome if i could use my real world knowledge of the city to find places and things in the game. And who knows, maybe they will include some of the suburbs, so I can take a leisurely Sunday drive to my neighborhood. :-)

    1. Re:NYC by PikachuMolester2007 · · Score: 1

      It's still Liberty City. Notice how the ship behind the russian/eastern european guy had "Platypus, Liberty City" painted on it. Not to mention the "liberteen" newspaper and the "LCPD" car in the Times Square-ish area. Shocking they are using real-world buildings, but they aren't going to full-on remplicate NYC.

    2. Re:NYC by Bulletz26 · · Score: 1

      Yeah that is a disappointment that they aren't going to any real world names, im guessing it partly has to do with the legal issue of obtaining the rights to use it, which would probably be impossible as im sure the city of new york wouldnt want to be associated with a game like GTA. However it i would still be very happy if they could replicate the layout of the city as close as possible as it looks like they are going to at least partially from what the trailer shows.

    3. Re:NYC by StocDred · · Score: 0

      More than likely the supposed real-world buildings will all have "hilarious" names like Horney Island, the Crappler Building, Ball Street, and don't forget the statue that has welcomed immigrants to Liberty City for over 200 years, the Statue of Cuntery.

    4. Re:NYC by CrashPoint · · Score: 1

      im guessing it partly has to do with the legal issue of obtaining the rights to use it, which would probably be impossible as im sure the city of new york wouldnt want to be associated with a game like GTA.

      They wouldn't need anyone's permission to set the game in NYC if they wanted to; it's not like the city itself is copyrighted or its name trademarked. Using a fictional city simply allows for a greater degree of creative flexibility. It's how they've always done GTA.

  22. My take by Wilson_6500 · · Score: 1

    I spent a couple of months in the summer in California, and had many chances to ride around on a cheap bike in the Palo Alto/Menlo Park region. I have a lot of good memories of those excursions; I guess I should apologize: that part of SA was targeted at me specifically.

    1. Re:My take by mink · · Score: 1

      And people who watched Friday.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  23. Yeah, yeah by Jeppe+Salvesen · · Score: 1

    They can still use the extra space for more and better textures etc. More kinds of houses, more kinds of pedestrians, more kinds of cars. Non-essential to gameplay, but it would still make a bit of a difference. I wouldn't be suprised if Sony would co-sponsor that extra content, just to showcase the difference between the PS3 and the XBox360..

    --

    Stop the brainwash

    1. Re:Yeah, yeah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its called free downloadable content. Xbox Live Marketplace has had it for 2 years. Welcome to 2005.

  24. Knock Knock! by FiloEleven · · Score: 2, Funny

    Knock Knock!
    Who's there?
    Knock Knock!
    Who's there?
    Knock Knock!
    Who's there!?
    Knock Knock!
    Who's there!?
    Knock Knock!
    WHO'S THERE!?

    Philip Glass. ;)

    --
    Your brain is not a computer.
  25. 30 min Spots by Telepathetic+Man · · Score: 1

    I wonder if all the late night advertising for the trailer was worth it. There is no way anyone sat there thru the whole 30 minute spot and watched the timer tick down.

    The hype for the trailer was a bit of a let down. It has given me second thoughts about the game too. Is it really going to be worth the price of a 360?

    --
    Just because you can, does not mean you should.
    1. Re:30 min Spots by cybereal · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The hype for the trailer was a bit of a let down. It has given me second thoughts about the game too. Is it really going to be worth the price of a 360?

      No. Of course one game is never actually going to be worth the cost of an entire video game system, and appropriate accessories. However, couple it with some Gears of War, Assassin's Creed, Blue Dragon, etc. and I believe you have a strong argument for the system.

      On one hand you can't justify a system for a single game, but, on the other hand you have so much more to consider with the 360 than just this little rehash.

      --
      I read the script, and I think it would help my character's motivation if he was on fire. -Bender
  26. Now I understand by dave562 · · Score: 1

    I have to admit to having become a bit of a Ludite with regards to all of the new home entertainment, high def TV, LCD, plasma, buzzword, blah blah blah... offerings that have come out over the last few years. I never understood the fascination with watching sports in high definition, or watching the latest sitcom or TV drama in ultra clarity. But now that I have seen the graphics in that trailer, I understand why somebody would want to buy a high definition television... and a new console system. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. The urge to spend money on stupid shit is growing.

  27. Now with MORE pedestrians! by Madpony · · Score: 1

    Well, wait a minute, more pedestrians would certainly be essential to the gameplay. It's going to be a hell of a lot harder to do those drag race missions during rush hour in the middle of downtown. You might plow into so many bodies on the corner of Jefferson and Main that they stop your car completely in the PS3 version!

  28. CAMERA FIX!! by Create+an+Account · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Please God let them have a better camera system for this one. The one in SA on the PC was terrible. I cannot believe they let that crap out, and people still loved the game.