If you've been hiding under a rock for the last couple of weeks, you may have missed the news that while the next entry in the GTA series has been confirmed for the aging Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, the future of GTA 5 on PC (and Wii U) are simply "up for consideration" according to Dan Houser, Rockstar Games Vice President.

There has been a lot of speculation and outrage over these three words but what does it actually mean?

In truth... not a lot.  Rockstar have always been quite controlling over the flow of information, and they simply aren't commiting to a release on PC... for all we know, they have been working on it all along and want people to be 'grateful' when they announce it will be released but six months after the console versions (as GTA 4 was).

That said, I can understand (and share) the concern.  After all, the 'old' Rockstar Games that appeared to care more about the games than the money or public opinion has long gone.  Listening to Dan Houser talk about GTA 5, it's clear that the main focus is hitting the largest audience possible without costing them the earth (I'm sure they've got some very clear charts showing their profit margin on each platform... the numbers never lie).  And, let's be honest, the PC market is never going to generate the same sort of profits they will get on the consoles.

But why is that? Is it the ever-popular-with-publishers bad guy, piracy?  Unlikely (in my opinion) as in some terratories, pirated console games are simply a way of life and in far greater numbers than the PC market is ever likely to see.  Piracy on the PC is just an easy thing to blame.  The reality is more likely a combination of factors.  The price point on PC games (unless it's a Call of Duty game) tends to be significantly lower than the consoles.  On top of that, you need to be able to support a wide, ever-changing, range of hardware, and anyone who has ever used Rockstar Technical Support is sure to point out that their investment in that area is lacking somewhat.  It also doesn't help that PC gamers can be a demanding bunch sometimes and want to be able to make the most of their platform.  From adjustable FOV and resolution through to very specific hardware like the Oculus Rift, we want it all... and it all cost money.

On top of that, Rockstar's recent releases on PC, LA Noire and Max Payne 3, haven't really seen particularly impressive numbers... although in LA Noire's case (if you excuse the pun) some of that may be down to PC owners that bought it on Xbox 360 because they didn't think it'd be coming out on PC (like myself).  Max Payne 3 on PC had... other issues.

So is there anything we can do to 'help' Rockstar commit to other versions?  Maybe... it's happened before with Dark Souls (although I'm not convinced that the end result could be considered a 'success') and onepetition by Mike Julliard appears to have picked up a bit of weight already with 56,625 names so far so if you feel like adding yours to that list, maybe the Houser brothers are watching.

In reality, we are simply along for the ride and only Rockstar know the truth...

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~ Naiboss