@thebigsmoke: I don't get it. Wouldn't native 720p material (read: textures etc.) allow the game to be rendered at native 720p and thus look better regarding the res? Not saying it wouldn't impact the FPS or anything, just, hypothetically speaking.

Candlejack

@paseana:

What's with the grammar nazi shit? Do you have anything that's actually relevant to add to the conversation?

dead_red_eyes

No problems with lockups here on a 60GB PS3.

goddessakasha

@Capt. Struggle Bunny:

Don't be an ass. I'm tired of you guys coming in these articles and bitching. Knock it off.

I have some friends who are dealing with problems, they have the 60GB model.

dead_red_eyes

I've had a few random crashes in my game...nothing major, just one or two "oops, the game froze up while you were driving around" dealies. It's irritating, but every so often my Wii just refuses to boot up channels ever since it took a tumble off of our TV table, so a random crash every 6-10 hours is alright in my book, especially with auto-save.

Archaotic

I haven't played too much, but the game froze on me once. While driving, the game froze while I was listening to the radio. The radio was still running, and after about a minute the game unfroze.

M

I got my first 2 freezes yesterday. They were like 5 minutes apart.

slomo788

@Brian Crecente: Great, but any word on the connection issue?

SofaKingHI

Sucks, but by the time I'm ready to buy my own copy of GTA IV, the store where I buy it from would actually have it and the problems would be fixed so this wouldn't really affect me... Still following it though

VitFer2007

Got mine launch night. No issues with freezing and online was fine. On launch day online was down, and the freezing for a sec. or 2 started. Then Wednesday, online was fine again and I played for like 6 hours in the campaign and no freeze ups anymore. I do believe that the freezing was occuring because the game is trying to connect to the multiplayer servers in the background so that the Game Modes for multi are ready upon selecting multiplayer from your phone's menu. Because online was down, it would cause slght freeze hiccups during the background connection attempts. I really think this was the issue on the PS3 because since online is working, no freezing anymore. I have a 250GB upgraded launch 60GB. I don't know if any of you that are still having freezing issues are still having online connectin issues as well. I also don't know why the 360 version would be doing it also. This is just my observation. But again. I have not had any freezing issues since online went back up. Cheers.

MetiQluzZ

Well I've already talked about my so-far not-too-terrible-but-definitely-existent issues in other threads, so I won't go into them again here.

But anyway, +1 on all this.

badasscat

I betcha that if Sony had dished out $50 Mil to Rockstar for "limited content", they would be having much less of a problem

Mricci424

@Capt. Struggle Bunny: Yes, Rockstar purposely added a minority glitch to selected copies of GTA IV so people would report them online and drive such positive publicity about the game.

Does Not Equal

@Candlejack:
Textures have nothing to do with display rate. You could triple the resolution of the texture files, and the game would still be 640p native.

By the same token, you could just reduce all the textures in the game to easily get it to run at 1080p locked... but it would look a lot worse than it does now.

Display resolution is a metric like "loud". Volume is one aspect of picking out a stereo, but the loudest stereo isn't necessarily the best sounding. Display resolution is one aspect of "quality of graphics", but needs to be evaluated as part of a whole.

thebigsmoke

Much sympathy for all those affected by this tragedy. Missing out on GTA IV (Roman numerals 'cause it's epic) due to multiple system configurations would not sit well with me after spending $300-$500 on a system.

One of the advantages consoles have over PC is that developers are able to develop for one platform. Both Sony and Microsoft have introduced multiple versions of their consoles; if a bug like this only occurs on one configuration it is less likely that the test team will find the issue.

* Wow, no grammar nazi comments regarding the use of effect vs. affect. Please don't flame, I tried to contribute to the discussion first. =)

ozzzy

Mine messes up too. Randomly freezes, usualy after 9 mins of play. I find all i have to do is eject the game and put it back in right away and the system resets its self and i just have to re-launch the game from the XMB. i got a old 60 gig ps3.

Stikasasn

My 60gb froze one during one mission. Then I turned it off for 15-20 mins, and started it up. I was able to play through that mission just fine.

ktr

@kingclip: Yep, that's true, and that's why most people (before the resolution crisis broke out) said the PS3 version looked smoother and better.

However, upscaled at 1080p, it even improves ;) Give it a shot if you've got a 1080p TV!

Candlejack

Kotaku provides a service to its readers. That service is keeping us up to speed on whatever topic they feel is necessary. To throw it in there face is biting the hand that feeds. Funny how no one bitches when they post contest reminders!

Baukie

@exstrat: Its not more overrated then Brawl is IMO.

As for the lock ups, if I get GTA IV, I'm going to ask if I can bring it back and trade for Mass Effect, though, I do want to get both though.

Ashkihyena

I posted this in the original 640p thread, but raw line count is seriously overrated. In a side-by-side comparison, you might notice, but I've done theatre screenings of sub-SD material and not had anyone notice. What you do with the resolution is just as/more important than the raw quantity.

Plus count me among the few, the proud, the "borked". Game freezes entirely (requiring hard reboot) after about 2 minutes (originally played 2 hours with no problems).

thebigsmoke

I'm on dialup so I can't download any patches if they release patches... I hope they let people download it on their PCs so I can get it elsewhere and transfer it over to my PS3.

googleguru

The freezing issues with Grand Theft Auto IV is AFFECTING a limited number of Playstation 3s.

Just sayin.

paseana

I've had a few freezes on my 60gig, I waited one out (about 10 minutes) and the game came to its senses. I still had more issues with Assassin's Creed... :\

IrNoThnk

Why would people be calling into the Sony support lines at all for this? Shouldn't they be calling Rockstar since they, you know, made the game? No surprise they're getting a low volume of calls on the issue...

megahurtz

I have a 40GB PS3 and have had no issues whatsoever with my copy of GTA.

bruhkgb

How big is this "few" number?

redrabbit

I know what is causing it in multiplayer and I sent them an email with instruction on how to reproduce it. Hopefully someone reads it.

Spilt_Milk

What's GTA IV?

look-up-in-the-sky-its-baby-jesus

@Candlejack: The game looks great, and I'm willing to wager that if you didn't KNOW it was 640p, you wouldn't realize it.

I froze up during a cutscene and immediately panicked (60 GB PS3 -- well kinda -- modified to 250) but it lasted about a second and a half, caught up, and I've had no further troubles.

kingclip

Heh, glad to see I'm not the only one who uses the term borked, but I may be the only one who spells it bjørked.

People would be surprised about the leniency given to last minute crashes in the final stages of testing. I've tested for 3 games and 2 of them shipped with a nearly 100% crash still in game just because of deadline pressures and a general consensus of apathy stemming from stress. You just hope for the best and pray Sony or MSoft testers don't find it during authorization.

art_zombie

i had no problems installing it and playing though i did lock up in an infinite load screen after coming off of online last night. after that though, no other problems.

VixDiesel

Like I said previously, I don't have any gameplay issues whatsoever, the only problem I've seen was when I try to turn the game off via the PS button. When I do that my system reboots. No biggie, I'm still getting to where I wanted to be.

Sparx

I wonder if MS will do the same? At least it's being acknowledged by SCEA.Hopefully,Rockstar gets it worked out.

enewtabie

Well, it's good hearing *something* from SCEA at least.

Maybe they get their shit together and release a 1GB patch that upps the textures to native 720p or even 1080p. Who knows. Yea I'm dreaming right here.

Anyhow, the game looks sharp/good enough in upscaled 1080p for me, so that's a lower priority.

Candlejack

If these companies stop messing around with multiple SKU's and various components/configurations in there consoles, maybe we (the consumers) wouldn't have as many problems. Cost cutting is fine but don't break the thing while doing it.

Travezy

@Brian Crecente: Brian, you're so hyping GTA by reporting bugs and issues. You MUST be getting paid under the table.

Yes, sarcasm doesn't work quite as well in text. ;)

sascha23

I know a bunch of Kotakuites that have this problem. So apparently the only ones that have the freezing issue are...people on Kotaku?

I smell conspiracy! Crecente, they still remember the Karraker Incident!

Spoony Bard

@Capt. Struggle Bunny: Right, but I don't think Kotaku needs any more money after Microsoft already paid them millions to keep posting stories about RRODs.

???????

Gannoc

Not experiencing any issues.

Good luck to the small number of peeps that have the issue.

sascha23

What did you expect from multiplatform games.

Also I agree with Cpt. Struggle Bunny. Yawn GTA4, what a over rated game. I miss the old days of GTA when it was about stealing cars and not turning into a Scarface fake.

exstrat

I am having the problem on my 20gig

ShockTerminal

I had the issue ... it would freeze 1-2 seconds, then resume. During cutscenes, gameplay, whenever. Then it just crashed on me during the saving process.

I changed my copy and tried it again; same problem for the first 10 seconds, but then it ran smoothly for hours. No problem since ... I'm running an 80 GB PS3.

These problems are very real, as the EB Games I bought it at had had 5 returns like this .. Not a big number, but that's only ONE store !

Lapoisse

I locked up on my launch PS3.

Based on random comments I read online, I erased a 1 gig demo off of my hard drive, erased the GTA4 game data (not save data - game data) then had it reinstall.

Played it for several hours after that with no problems. Its probably a coincidence, but if you're having problems, it wouldn't hurt to try.

Nobody else I know has had any issues.

Gannoc

I actually had a freezing issue but it froze on me twice in one mission not the first cut scene. But I kept trying and the third time it went through and I finished it. Now I'm way past there with no issues at all. 60gig.

L

I was actually debating whether to get the game for xbox or my 60GB PS3. Glad I went with the xbox, since it seems the largest group of affected users are in the PS3 camp.

moose_pants

@Capt. Struggle Bunny: Bookmark this:
[kotaku.com]

Brian Crecente

@Capt. Struggle Bunny: Yes Rockstar paid us to write about bugs in GTA IV.

Brian Crecente

I thought R* said it was fixed already and that all you have to do is delete the game data and reinstall.

jacksons98

I personally haven't had any issues but for those who has, i hope a resolution comes quick to the manner.

jun581

Oh hey, ANTOHER GTA 4 story! *yawn*

Rockstar can't by the type of publicity...or maybe they can? (did?)

Capt. Struggle Bunny

Noone I know has had an issue. I played on a 40gig, and my own 60gig, with no glitches at all.

ChimDeathmonkey

@exstrat: Really? Overrated? What does it take to impress people like you? It is one thing when a big-budget game is hyped to death and fails to deliver, but from what I've played so far, this game is worth its weight in gold!

NinjaBurg3r

@slomo788: Make sure you disable 720p and 1080i though, since GTA IV will automatically select 720p if all are checked.

Candlejack

R* is working on a patch for both 360 and PS3 versions. They said sometime this week.

Andy D.

From the massive posts on forums Id say this isnt a very limited problem, and Im guessing a percentage above 33 here

KEELr

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. Launch 60gitg and no problems here. . .

(keeps fingers crossed)

Lachoy

All I know is I can't wait for the fix, so that I can, you know, PLAY GTA4.

Tzepish

@cleverlymadeup: If you put your TV set to 1080p it will output to 1080p.

slomo788

Deleting the game data has worked for some people. Not for me (I had my second freeze right after) but some of you might try it and see...

slomo788

i've had it lock up once on the 60 gig ps3

what i'm waiting for is the supported 1080p video output the collectors box and the game case say it supports

cleverlymadeup

@cleverlymadeup:

You of course understand the difference between NATIVE resolution and UPSCALED.

Both 360 and PS3 version render nowhere near 1080, and both upscale to 1080 if needed. The PS3 has extra pixel post processing to make it look better.

Stormbringer

@moose_pants:

You went for the gimped 360 version because a handful of both PS3 and 360 owners are haivng problems?

Having seen both versions in action, I am glad I went with the PS3 version, with it's much zippier load times (thanks to the mandatory install) and it's better visuals.

Stormbringer

great to see dev and console companies working together to solve any issues as a higher priority than usual

kw4k

@Candlejack:
The two problems with that assumption are:

1) Consoles aren't infinitely powerful. Increasing texture increases overhead, which slows frame rate. Stand a block away from a garbage can, and ask yourself if you could tell if the texture on it was doubled in resolution. Would the gain be worth the drop in frame-rate (and remember that "720p" is a mix of both resolution AND display rate). So without an infinitely powerful computer, you need to balance resolution and performance. But this is easy because resolution is not all powerful:

2) I could draw a texture in MS Paint at 720 x 1280, and while could fill the entire frame 1:1 and still be "HD" it's not going to look as good as a a texture at a fraction of that resolution by someone who knows what they're doing.

Finding that balance between overhead and *total* look is what game design is all about. I'd rather have a game that looks great, than meet an arbitrary technical benchmark in word - but not in spirit.

I think I said in another thread that "display resolution" is a metric like "volume". Although it's an important piece of the puzzle the loudest stereo isn't necessarily the best.

The fact remains that without some fairly complex pixel counting and math (by the fine folks at Beyond3D who are mostly interested about "Computer Science" implications) no one would know (or care) what the native resolution of the game was.

thebigsmoke

I haven't had any problems during the intro, but the game has frozen up on me on 3 random occasions, all today. it also seems to be alot more "laggy" today. Dunno whats causing it. But the 3 times the game froze was within 10 minutes of each other, and apart from the frameratedips I have had no more problems in the last 3 hours.

maybe I'll try deleting the game data and reinstall it, might help,or not.
have a 40 gig btw.

Cactuar

@NinjaBurg3r: Dude, just ignore him. I'd understand if he said it's not his type of game, but he probably just watched a friend play it for a few minutes and made his judgment. I have a friend like that on my floor, asking me about the game everyday, waiting for me to say it's overrated.

slomo788

Al my friends on my friends list have had no problems either...

and they own 40gb, 60gb, 20gb and 80gb...

TheApprentice

How did Rockstar spend so much time/money developing this game and not notice this issue?

avern

60 gig launch owner here CAN't PLAY 30 seconds OF GTA4 because it locks up my system ONLY GAME to do it ..

LOCO209

I guess I will have to call in and complain because the number of complaints has been so small. Just because people aren't complaining doesn't mean they aren't having the problem. I am experiencing freezes every couple of hours and since I've read about it everywhere just decided to wait for a patch. I guess I will have to be more vocal about it. I figured the other gamers were doing it for me.

stereoa

Interesting, I have the 360 version and it crashed on me yesterday. It bothered me until I realized the game had autosaved after completing my last mission. This happened as I rushed into the diner right next to Roman's apartment - it was empty and the game froze.

royaljester

I am sorry, is this sony talking about GTA IV or MS talking about RRoD? I cannot tell from the article.

As far as the 640 thing goes... Sony told me that after I got a 360 and before the PS3 was released, that HiDef gaming would not start until the PS3 was released at 1080. Even though my 720 sony TV had HD stamped all over the box. So if readers want to shit on PS3 GTA IV for not running in hidef, fine with me.

Necroscope

@Capt. Struggle Bunny: I don't know, but I would like my internet sites to start covering games agian rather then just A game, gta 4 is out, can we move on?

D Mitsuki

@Stormbringer:

Whoops, you just stepped in it sir.

SeedyROM

The problems are real. My coworker has the freeze problem... but he also did have the 3 Red Rings... Out of the 7 friends that have this he is the only unlucky one.

Seventh

@ Stormbringer: Gimped 360 version? You do know that the 360 version runs at a higher resolution, right? I own the PS3 version and performance is pretty bad, and I could imagine the 360 version running any worse.

Heyyou27

@mister_shhh: No, there are jaggies. I have a 1080p 42" LCD TV and it looks like upconverted SDTV to me. It is not the prettiest game I have seen, although I'm willing to overlook that because of just how much stuff is going on.

It's beside the point of this thread, really, but I just wanted to answer your question and say it's not just you.

I can imagine that it wouldn't be so noticeable with a lower-res and/or smaller TV.

badasscat

borked. annoying. had to hard reboot once, but have run into stutters aplenty. also, there seem to be jaggies galore. is this just me? 60gig ps3. 720p tv running my ps at same.

mister_shhh

@Jonathan21:

Oh... that and other reports sound like it's running out of memory. That's about the only thing that'll cause that cross platform. Oh snap!

Mongoosekun

"Works for me." I never even had a problem with online play either. It's most likely a bad cache file, but since I never had the problem myself -- who knows.

Mongoosekun

@royaljester: My 360 froze on me too. I was getting on my bike, then Roman got on and it froze. None of the buttons worked, not even the ring of light button on my controller worked.

Jonathan21

I didnt have a single issue since i started playing it on tuesday morning(ps3 60GB).I must have put in 15 hours or so just messing about and doing some missions.
Then today i signed into the ps network before i played with the intent of trying multiplayer at sometime today.Whilst playing the single player game i started getting the odd pause of a second or two and i thought it may have been network related, this being the first time i had played connected.So i played on for an hour or so and it got to another cut scene where it decided to freeze the scene mid way.dialogue continued as the scene was frozen and when it ended the game locked up.
so i ejected the disc and held down the standby button on the ps3.Restarted and its ok since.
It seems strange that this only happend after i signed in to the network first.Oh and i couldnt get a multiplayer game at all, it said to try again later.

UFO

@LOCO209: Try freeing up some space, deleting the game data and re-install it.

slomo788

I don't understand why people like it so much

[www.rockstargames.com]

ext212

I haven't gotten a freeze yet, but I HAVE discovered a parallel universe. xD

Vidril

@mister_shhh: I had jaggies a lot on the first time I popped it in, but in trying to stop the freezing I reinstalled and it looked better. Still there, but it went from "galore" to "just there."

Maldron

I've had to play both 360 and PS3 versions a lot for a few days for my job -- don't ask -- and haven't had any problems with either one. Can't really tell them apart that easily either.

Of course this game doesn't exactly push the tech envelope.

wheezo

I mentioned earlier that replacing my copy of GTA had fixed it for me ... Well I was proven wrong today, as it keeps freezing just as much if not more. ><

Lapoisse

I have an 80GB unit and due to the slight freezing I'm withholding from playing the game until an update comes out, as I don't want it to do anything to my system.

kylo4

For some reason this story isn't tagged GTA IV.

ka2lu

I'm happy. Now this whole PSN vs Live crap can be put to rest.

Mepha

Sorry guys,but I can't stop to think about how Kotaku manages this kind of troubles,everytime that appears bug issues in a multiplatform game (like Assassin's Creed,COD4 and now GTA4 Kotaku usually blames more the PS3 than the 360's ones,like the 360's issues does not exists and pointing always to Sony,I trust almost blindly in Kotaku but this attitude seems really biased,what do you think folks?

OT79

no problem on my end and online works like a charm for me now! (btw I have a 60 gig)

Weasel3689

@OT79: I think it has to more to do with some developers building games on the 360 and then porting them over. I am unsure of what the case was for GTA IV. However this has been a source of bugs for ps3 versions that their 360 counterparts are not suffering.

ka2lu

What if these vocal few are actually Massive employees? :P

Replica23

Comment on SCEA I own a 60 gb launch ps3 and the game ran flawlessly after the first time I installed it until I quit that night. After work the next day I would crash after a few minutes every time I started playing but deleting the install data and letting it reinstall seems to have stopped my crash from occurring and I have had no further problems. Oh I have had it lock up once more when I attempted to call 8675309 and hook up with jenny =(

YalenaEggo

I have a 60gb ps3 and I've been having trouble with loading the game. I was reading on another board where someone said to try it without connecting to psn. So I yanked my ethernet cord tried it again and low and behold it works.

peet

Yeah, I work at EB Games (Canada's Gamestop), and today I had about 6-8 people bringing in PS3 GTAIV complaining about the freezing. That said, of the hundreds I've sold it to, that isn't terrible, but definitely a problem.

MPD51

Just yank the ethernet. This fixed it for me as well...

peljam

Unplugging the ethernet cable from the PS3 fixed the problem for me as well! Give it a try

I wonder why it would be trying to connect....hmmm...

peljam