When Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was officially unveiled at Nintendo’s E3 2008 media briefing, many assumed that it was and would remain a DS exclusive. Even the official Chinatown Wars web site pegged it as such.

Though, as has become apparent, the word “exclusive” rarely means just that. Oftentimes, it means that a game – or piece of content – will be exclusive for a limited time only. Nowadays, companies are looking for bigger returns on their investments, and, as result, third-party exclusives are becoming increasingly rare.

It should come as no surprise then, that a PSP version of Chinatown Wars is currently in development at Rockstar Leeds, the same studio that handled the DS SKU. Rockstar North is also involved with the project.

Slated for a fall release in North America and Europe, the game will be offered as a disc-based retail release and as a digital download from the PlayStation Network. Current PSP models support both formats, but the PSP go – set to release on Oct. 1 – will be a download-only device.

Rockstar Leeds previously released Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories for the PSP, both of which achieved great critical and commercial success.

Sales of the DS version were heavily scrutinized, as many viewed the game as an important indicator of the viability of Mature-rated titles on the family-friendly system. The cel-shaded title didn’t sell abysmally, but certainly disappointed, considering the pedigree of the franchise and the mammoth worldwide install base of the DS. According to NPD numbers obtained by Gamasutra, Chinatown Wars sold 163,000 copies during its first two months at retail. Keep in mind that, that total is for the U.S. only. The game failed to rank in the NPD top ten for DS software in May.

This is of course tremendous news for current and future PSP owners, who have yet another tremendous title to look forward to. Future PSP releases include MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, LittleBigPlanet, Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe, Ghostbusters: The Video Game and Dante’s Inferno. Sweet lord that is a lot of games. Better start donating plasma now guys and gals.

Some might speculate that this move is a response to the disappointing sales of the DS version. However, I am not so sure. During Nintendo’s E3 2008 media briefing, Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales & marketing, referred to Chinatown Wars as a custom game for the DS, not an exclusive. So, perhaps Nintendo struck a timed-exclusivity deal that has since expired.

According to the press release provided by Take-Two Interactive, the PSP version is being developed specifically for the platform and “will take full advantage of the power of the PSP system.” Thus, I assume it won’t be a simple port of the DS game. Besides, would PSP owners be satisfied with a PSP GTA with DS graphics?

The official Chinatown Wars web site now acknowledges the existence of the PSP version, but it used to read “Out Now,” with “Exclusively for the DS” written under that. Now, you could interpret that message a couple of ways: 1) the game is a DS exclusive and will remain so, or 2) the game is currently only available for the DS. The latter interpretation suggests that another SKU could appear in the future.

If you ask me, this game has been in development for a while. At least longer than three months.

What do you think?

Sources: Take-Two Interactive, Gamasutra, Gamasutra

Popularity: 1% [?]