14 DAY TRIAL // Take Two is getting ready to release the second episode of content for Grand Theft Auto IV. The Ballad of Gay Tony, as it is called, will be released via Xbox Live, as was previous DLC The Lost & Damned, but will also be published on a disc.
Take Two, which is handling publishing duties on the title, is saying that this move is a direct result of the response to the Xbox Live only release of The Lost & Damned, which presumably refers to the sales numbers posted by the release.
Strauss Zelnick, the chairman of the board at Take Two, said that “one of the lessons” of the past is that “it's clear that retail is the channel for the foreseeable future,” hence the decision to put the DLC on a disk.
Ben Feder, the Chief Executive Officer of Take Two, has also said that “We're a pioneer on downloadable content with the two episodes for GTA4. At the same time, retail remains our primary channel, so we're making those titles available on a disc.”
At the same time, Take Two is touring that it is breaking new ground when it comes to digital distribution, with all the upcoming games it plans to release having a downloadable component.
The next Grand Theft Auto videogame, which might come as early as late 2010 or early 2011, could well be delivered using two very different channels. Hardcore gamers, those who follow release dates closely and hook up their console to a good Internet connection, might be getting the game via digital distribution, quickly and maybe a bit cheaper than in a brick and mortar store. On the other hand, mainstream gamers will probably also have the option of going into a retail chain, noticing that a new GTA game is out and pick it up there.