GTA IV “Chinatown Wars” DLC Delayed

Although Microsoft reportedly paid $50 million in advanced for Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable content for GTA IV, we still have an uncertain status on the game’s release, allegedly in April.

Chairman of Take Two, Strauss Zelnick said at BMO Capital Markets Interactive Entertainment Conference in New York on Thursday that "We have it planned for the end of the first [fiscal] quarter. It's close to being completed. That said, it may move into the second quarter depending on its completion date."

Additionally, Dan Houser of Rockstar Games said that he’s not sure if Chinatown Wars would be released by this year. Zelnick said that Downloadable Content is a “big undertaking. …We’re setting incredibly high standards for it”

Take two is looking to expand its online distribution in order to create a more direct relationship with their customers. "Looking ahead, the biggest opportunity that we see for the industry as well as for us is downloadable content," Zelnick said. "We're excited about the creative opportunity; we're very excited about the profit potential."

Take Two will also release downloadable content for the PS3 version of BioShock next week. The company is going to take digital content distribution further and further, and focus more on the networked multiplayer aspect of gameplay.

Zelnick said that in addition to the Chinatown Wars DLC version, the version for Nintendo DS has been bumped down from the first quarter "in order to provide a better launch and marketing window. It will ship in the first fiscal half."

After it’s been delayed for this long, we’ll see if the quality and price are good enough to get people to buy Chinatown Wars, as many users who were initially excited by the DLC have reported disappointment after its prolonged delays.