Sam Houser on GTA 5!
Rockstar: GTA V Could Be Too Large for Xbox 360
Rockstar co-founder Sam (no, not Dan) Houser doesn't know if the next Grand Theft Auto title after IV will properly fit onto the 360's standard-sized discs.
"One of the problems with the 360, and it affects games like Grand Theft Auto if you think about how much content we put in the actual machine, is the fact that they don't have a significantly larger storage medium than the previous systems. It's a slightly bigger DVD disc," Houser told 1up.
Then take into account that not all Xbox 360s come with a hard drive. It's here that things get super sticky. "The 360 is going to have to get 'round this issue we're talking about...hopefully, they're going to adopt one of those in the next year or so, because it's going to become more of an issue. If we're filling up the disc right now, where are we going? It's not like our games are going to get any smaller."
The delay heard round the world was mostly credited to technical issues during IV's development. Some said the 360 didn't have enough space to hold the game; others heard that the PS3 version was having big problems of its own. Whatever the case, Houser isn't telling. "Both machines are absolutely fantastic, but they both come with strengths and weaknesses. The strength of the 360 is a very, very accessible, familiar, effective environment to work in. You're making the game from the get-go, everyone understands its PC environment -- boom, off we go. It's pretty good."
Development on the PS3 version wasn't too smooth early on, however. "I think it was challenging for a lot of companies, but it's also a machine where, now that we've got comfortable with it -- I don't want to say we've cracked it, but we've got comfortable with it -- we know we can make our games."
Many have posed a big question that's on my mind, for sure: Does either version look better than the other? "There's a slight difference in the way they look," Houser admitted. "I think that's to do with really low-level technical stuff that I'm not the guy to explain. The 360 games have a certain look to them; PS3 games have a certain look to them. I like the way [the PS3] renders." He concluded, "There's a certain kind of softness without being blurry -- some warmth to it -- and then there's a certain more clinical element to how the 360 looks."