
Microsoft struck a new "strategic alliance" in their not so deadly war against Sony, by getting Rockstar Games to provide exclusive episodic content for Xbox Live. The deal seamingly involves Rockstar's upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV, a game which Microsoft is more than thrilled to have on its Xbox 360 console from day one, thus escaping Sony's early exclusivity over previous titles in the GTA series (GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas have all shipped on the PS2 plenty of months ahead of the PC and/or Xbox versions).
But the funny thing is, Microsoft's announcement on Xbox.com doesn't actually have a single phrase with both "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "exclusive content" in it. And if it weren't for the story's explicit title - "GTA IV to Feature Exclusive Marketplace Content", we might even think of it as one of Microsoft's desperate attempts to steer away attention from Sony's PS3 (not to worry, the Wii is already doing that for them; and it's way better at it, too).
Other than that, Microsoft's story is utterly devoid of any useful information, stating only that Grand Theft Auto IV will be released for Xbox 360 on October 16, 2007. Which is the same day that Sony has in mind for the game's PlayStation 3 version. And given PS3's future online service, I wouldn't be surprised if they would reveil a similar "exclusive content" deal with Rockstar as well. In due time, of course.




