March 18th, 2010

GTA: EFLC delayed for both PS3 and PC thanks to Sony

Published at 1:34 PM PST

Another day brings another delay. This delay today is courtesy of Sony Computer Entrainment Europe. Thanks to them requesting some changes at the last minute, Rockstar has been forced to push back the release of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City for both the PlayStation 3 and PC until April 13th in the US and the 16th in the UK. Here is Rockstar's FAQ on the situation.

Those game changes sound pretty minor.  Why does the game have to be delayed a whole two weeks?
Unfortunately, with each round of changes comes fully re-testing the game and a full re-submission to PlayStation.  This is the nature of the game submission process.  Believe us, if we could expedite the turnaround any sooner – we would.  We are dying to get this game in the hands of fans who’ve waited for it for so long in the first place.

Why is content being edited just for the European release?  This doesn’t seem fair.
There are different regional requirements for content – whether dictated by ratings boards like the ESRB and BBFC or by SCEE – this is pretty standard in the world of entertainment.

If this content is only being edited for the PlayStation 3 release, and only in Europe… why does everyone in North America etc have to wait?  And why do PC players have to wait at all?

This was a tough decision but with a simultaneous release, everyone can experience multiplayer simultaneously, take part in online events together, be on level ground on leaderboards, etc.

What about those Episodes from Liberty City PSN and GFWL Social Club multiplayer events you announced for April 2nd and 3rd? 
The first Episodes events for those systems will now be on April 16th and 17th.  We will most likely replace the originally scheduled early April events with one for another game.  Any requests?

Thanks Sony! Hear that? That's an angry mob at your door.

Source: Rockstar Games