Rockstar was looking to set the gaming world ablaze with the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, launching simultaneously on the Xbox 360 and PS3.  Microsoft had somewhat of a victory be getting a simultaneous launch on the two platforms since GTA games had previously launched first on Playstation platforms before other platforms.  In addition to that, Microsoft paid a handsome fee for exclusive downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version.  It clearly looked like Microsoft had the advantage this time around.  When the games were release, reality kicked in.

Almost immediately, there were minor issues on the Xbox 360 version that seemed to be worked out in a matter of hours or days, but the PS3 version was stuttering, hanging, crashing, and for some folks, not even installing at all.  Rockstar promised a patch and offered a literal smorgasbord of possible remedies that I’m fairly certain were designed to exhaust you while they tried to figure out what in the heck was really wrong.

Some of the things Rockstar suggested seemed like they could possibly be related while others seemed more like desperate shots in the dark.  Some of the suggestions were to delete the game data (ie. uninstall the game), delete your saved game (erasing all progress you somehow managed to make), disable your internet connection (which doesn’t bode well for online multiplayer gaming), disabling the console’s Information Board, disabling the media server functionality, deleting the internet cache, turning off the PS3 screensaver, manually resetting all the PS3′s display settings, turning off auto0save when you reinstall the game, turning off the game’s flicker-filter feature, and turning off the controller rumble options (which are barely implemented in the game anyway.)  What all those steps told me was that Rockstar didn’t have a friggin’ clue what was causing the game to crash.  Three months after the game’s launch, it still hangs on my PS3.

Despite all that hassle and grief inflicted on PS3 owners, a larger percentage of PS3 owners bought GTA IV than 360 owners did and most recently we learned that Take-Two (Rockstar’s publisher) earned more from PS3 sales than any other console for 2008.  How they managed to release such a shoddily tested game to the masses and still manage feats like that is why GTA IV’s buggy release on the PS3 is one of Sarcastic Gamer’s Top Gaming Moments of 2008.