Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars coming to iPhone

Rockstar Games announced that it will be bringing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars to iPhone and iPod touch this fall. As with the DS version of the game, the iPod Touch and iPhone version of the game follows the story of Huang Lee, a young Triad member who travels to Liberty City after the mysterious death of his father.

Earlier this year the company announced plans to bring the DS game to Sony’s PlayStation Portable. With the PSP Go finally announced, there will probably even be a digital distribution of it on PlayStation Network.. Anyway, Here’s what Rockstar has to say about the Apple platform versions:

“Chinatown Wars is a perfect match for the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “We are very excited to bring this incredibly ambitious version of Liberty City, with this level of detail and immersive gameplay on Apple’s new gaming platforms.“

Perhaps what the Sam Houser is really looking to do with this game on the PSP and Apple platforms is rewrite history; after all, the DS version of the game was a critical success (read Crispy Gamer’s GTA: China Town Wars review) but a retail failure by all accounts. So perhaps by re-releasing it on other platforms China Town Wars will get the respect it deserves and from where it matters: gamers. If Rockstar Leeds uses the same formula perhaps that will finally happen.

You can learn more about every version of the game by visiting www.rockstargames.com/chinatownwars.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars coming to PSP

Rockstar Games announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, will be making its way to the PSP this fall. Developed by Rockstar Leeds, in conjunction with series creator Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be available at retail on UMD and digitally from the PlayStation Network in North America and Europe this fall.

No details on what the differences between this new version and the DS version are - beyond the lack of touch screen support. No doubt Rockstar hopes that the PSP game will do better than the DS version did earlier this year - despite winning over most critics.

GTA: Chinatown Wars Predictions

Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars may very well sell two million units in the United States, according predictions from an analysts at Cowen and Company. According to analyst Doug Creutz the game should do very well among hardcore gamers who already own a DS and early reviews will probably help sales.

The review data is based on whatever formula Metacritic uses to determine scores to work within their system. Metacritic has the game at 95 percent, based on reviews by Gamepro, Eurogamer and Games Radar. Look for our review soon - but don’t look for our review there anytime soon - our scoring system doesn’t break down well in such a system..

“Although the handheld platform has a younger-skewing installed base, we believe many core gamers own the DS,” wrote Cowen’s Doug Creutz in an note to investors. “The strong critical rating will likely increase the game’s chances of becoming a commercial hit.”

It makes sense, given that there are few DS games geared towards that hardcore, mature demographic. We’ll let you know just how well the game does in a couple of months I guess.

Nintendo E3 Press Briefing Highlights

Nintendo wants to keep everybody smiling, except apparently hardcore gamers. That was the theme at today’s press briefing, and while some interesting things were shown, Nintendo fans felt a little disappointed. Various Nintendo executives including Reggie Fils-Amie, Cammie Dunaway, Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto took to the stage to show off new Wii games and to talk up the success of Nintendo Wii and DS. Here’s the highlight reel:

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