GTA 5 “making great progress” as release date drags on, says Take Two

by Beatweek Staff

Grand Theft Auto 5 is “making great progress” according to gaming vendor Take Two, which means two things if you read between the lines: GTA 5 might yet see a release date in 2012, and it isn’t ready yet. The company was speaking on other matters, but was inevitably asked about the progress of its most anticipated upcoming gaming title for Xbox and PC. Through four generations plus a recently launched mobile iPhone-iPad version of GTA 3, the Grand Theft Auto franchise has remained one of the most popular among hardcore gamers. The title allows players to assume the role of a lawless thug, stealing cars, running over pedestrians, wreaking havoc on the city, and somewhere in it all, carrying out underworld missions for profit and favor. The new fifth iteration of the game, formally known as Grand Theft Auto V but more commonly referred to as GTA 5 by gamers, is set to bring new blood to the fold, literally and figuratively…

GTA 5 will be set in a fictionalized version of Los Angeles, slightly renamed and featuring a “Vinewood” sign in place of the Hollywood sign. The city map is said to be four times larger than previous iterations, and while only one song from the Small Faces has been unveiled thus far, the soundtrack has been hotly anticipated by music aficionados. Although the initial trailer for the game was released late last year, there’s been no official word on when Rockstar Games and Take Two will get around to giving it a release date. There’s been some speculation that the game could be released as soon as May of 2012, but that’s optimistic in the face of other predictions which place the release as late as 2013. The latest comments regarding “progress” can be taken in any number of ways, and may depend on ones optimism toward a swift release to begin with.

GTA 5: new Grand Theft Auto release date delayed thanks to Max Payne 3

by Beatweek Staff

Grand Theft Auto 5 should still arrive this year, but don’t hope for a May 2012 release date for GTA 5. The hotly anticipated new generation of the video game focused on underworld crime sprees (read: you get to run people over in a tank) had been targeted for the first half of May by at least one analyst, but the recent delay in Max Payne 3 by developer Take-Two. That could leave rival Rockstar hesitant to launch GTA5 in the same month for fear of having to split any media hype and buying dollars between the two, that leaves the new Grand Theft Auto to slide back by at least a nominal amount of time…

Other analysts have pegged Grand Theft Auto 5 as being a summer 2012 release all along, meaning that the new May release date for Max Payne 3 won’t necessarily impact their predictions. The original GTA debuted some fifteen years ago and has since evolved across three subsequent generations in gameplay, setting, and gaming technology. The game was originally available for Windows but has since expanded to Xbox and Xbox 360. Late last year, GTA 3 debuted on iOS for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices.