"on the surface" or "on the service" ?

Valrik

@Kanik: Hahaha, good call

Spiraltribesman

You can actually play on Xbox Live? Me and my friend spent ages yesterday trying to join a Team Deathmatch and other games modes but we kept getting booted out soon after or as the game was starting.

hamandcheeseUK

Funny thing is, you wouldn't really know it trying to find a match in GTAIV. It's nowhere close to the ease of #2 and #3.

I hope Rockstar finds it in their heart to tweak the "matchmaking." Maybe "Any Solo," "Any Team," "Any Race," etc., options at the very least. When you splinter the MP into 12 multiplayer modes, many of which are so similar, it splinters the users unecessarily.

Or do it like Shadowrun, with a checklist of what you like and what you don't like. Then being matched up based on those choices.

Xiedo

When GTA works online (and doesn't keep booting players) it truly is a very fun and different kind of multiplayer game. Glad to see something thats more about causing utter anarchy than winning. Hopefully it will prove to have some longevity too!

Although it is no Brain Challenge (a further clone of Brain Training I would imagine? So bizarre that that game has spawned such a sub-genre!)

johnny_ultimate

i'm sad you can't hang from helicopters.

blehh

Free mode FTW.

Its eating up all my game time. My Swiffer duster has ceased functioning on my 360.

Fyren

Brain Challenge - that game could be about anything!

Kanik

I TOTALLY didn't see this coming.
I'm shocked.
Or don't care.
Probably the latter.

Bicro

I doubt this will last that long, although it's a very good online game, it's soooo annoying having to run around 90% of the time.

Klopfer123

It may have the most people playing on XBL, but damn, I cannot stand playing with most of those gamers. Definitely worse than the Halo crowd.

Callidux

not so surprising i guess... multiplayer is pretty darn fun... at least enough to keep me off of CoD4 for quite some time.

phrequency

so this is just the amount of users online playing games, not necessarily engaged in any multiplayer modes?

if so, then yeah, no surprise there, but in terms of people actively playing multiplayer i'm sure CoD4 and H3 would be up there. well maybe not H3 since bungle fucked up with the networking code.

illocon

Damn, Rockstar got it down. I wouldn't be surprised if the next GTA starred Robert De Niro and was written by Quentin Tarrentino.

Wait a minute.. yes I would.. it would be the happiest day of my life.
MAke it happen Rockstar! You know you can afford it!

skullkid

@Valrik: Eek! Gotta keep my glue-sniffing OFF the clock.

Michael McWhertor

That game is too much fun on Live.

They need new co-op missions and soon.

What they really need is a (somewhat) random mission generator.

Ess

No surprise here. Rockstar has a huge hit.

balls187 upside yo head

@Callidux: That's why you use a friends list. I only play with my friends and only my real friends, So I NEVER get stuck with children.

Rebel Without Applause

@Ess: Yeah, more Co-op Missions are needed. If you set up a custom Team Mafia match it is a good random mission generator.

Rebel Without Applause

@Mr.SithNinja: I just hate the 12 year olds in general. Everytime I hear their voice on that game I think of another parent that probably (there are exceptions) aren't doing their job.

Callidux

@Callidux: I agree. I hate having to mute 12 year olds who have nothing better to do than sing to themselves through the mic or call me a hommo every time I kill them.

Mr.SithNinja

GTA is a big reason why gaming is viewed as low culture. It's no surprise it's the top game on...anything, but that doesn't change the fact that it bothers me.

Aresef

How is the online on the PS3? How does it compare? It too dominating PSN... if they even have those stats on hand.

I am interested to see how things are on the PS3 side of things.

Not-Witzbold

Halo, who?

ibelli

What the fuck is Call of Duty 4?

leetXcore

never been much of a fan of multiplayer untill this little game came along. been playing team deathmatch for hours now.

hate eternal + gt4 = excellent mix;)

BitterAndThenSome

Personally, the GTA4 multiplayer does not hold up. I've completed at least 80% of the game, played ALL the multiplayer gametypes and must say, the online popularity will wind down.

AplusBminus

I haven't played online, but I find that when I'm playing GTA and I'm signed in to live, it disconnects me from live after about 10 minutes of play

kathartik

@blehh: Yeah, or climb up lamp posts, or shoot rocket launchers out of cars. How could they lie about such tiny features? I swear its just some kind of wierd machocistic way of irritating their devoted fans.

skullkid

I've been on Free Play a lot, and had a good game of Team Deathmatch going before school this morning.I'd say this is tops for PSN as well.

ForwardInReverse

I played my first multiplayer gta game the other day, and although it was fun the lobby system wasn't very intuitive. I ended up being teamed up with a buddy of mine, and we only were in 2v2(v2v2) gang wars. I thought we'd be put on some 8v8 game where we took up two slots on one team.

fuzzycuffs

@Callidux:

A few days ago, while playing Cops N Crooks, a young male with a shreiking voice was on. Everyone made comments on how his parents have failed by letting him play this game. I agreed, and I think letting anyone under 15 use Xbox Live in general is pretty foolish. Then, the people I had just agreed with began using racial slurs and synonyms for homosexual. Their parents failed, too. I left the game, which is a shame because it's hard to get a good Cops N Crooks game going. You can have fun, own some noobs WITHOUT using incredible offensive language.

But besides that, GTA has been incredibly fun to play online and has earned the top spot on Live.

Spaceboy

@Not-Witzbold: The online on the PS3 is great. Sometimes my PS3 would freeze when loading my save file but I just disabled the auto sign in for PSN and connect after the game is loaded up. Between my roommate and I we have 2 360s a PS3 and a Wii so he picked up the 360 version(I bought the PS3 version because my 4th 360 is getting disc read errors again and M$ is telling me it is out of warranty even though this last replacement they sent me has a manufactured date of Jan. 08 on it but that's another story). After playing both I must say that the differences between playing on Live and PSN are fading fast as both versions play almost identically online. I know that most of my friends on both systems are constantly playing GTA4 so I'm sure it must be at the top of the charts for both. Now only if Sony would get their act together and add in game XMB support I might be able to stop shelling out so much money to the house that Gates built.

DrunkenTrom

@Not-Witzbold:

I think the PS3 version probably suffered from the problem with GTA PS3. One of the option is to disconnect from PSN to avoid froze and stuffs

mcool93

Also, I have not touched CoD4 or Halo 3 since GTA dropped last week so this does not surprise me at all. I'd say a good 3/4 of my friends list is playing GTA4 at any given time.

Gray665

@Aresef: GTAIV is the opposite of low culture. Its biting satire and one of the best examples of "video games as art" that I have seen. Don't buy into the media witchhunt.

Gray665

@Gray665: I believe that games are art, certainly. But GTA is like the crap gangster flick A game like Halo is the good action movie. Katamari Damacy is the crazy arthouse bit.

Aresef