Rockstar going ps3 exclusive after GTAIV?

[makingmusic476]

There have been recent rumblings that Rockstar will be focusing exclusively on ps3 development after the release of GTAIV:

According to reports, all future games from Rockstar beyond Grand Theft Auto IV will be exclusive to the PS3. GTA IV is slated to release in April on the Xbox 360 and PS3, but that may be all the love Xbox 360 owners get from Rockstar.

They stated in a report in Play Magazine “The game is both PS3 and 360, but Rockstar has suggested that all further game development is going to be PS3 exclusive.”

When reading this rumor, it reminded me of an announcement made on the PlayStation Blog back in July:

New Rockstar Games Franchise Exclusive to the PS3

+ Posted by Michael Shorrock // Director of 3rd Party Relations, SCEA

This is Michael Shorrock. I’m the Director of 3rd Party Relations at SCEA. As you may have seen this morning/last night on GameHead with Geoff Keighley, we are announcing that a new franchise from Rockstar Games will be exclusive to PS3. As part of our long standing relationship with Rockstar, and the incredible success for both companies with the cultural icon that is Grand Theft Auto, we’ve agreed to the PlayStation exclusive rights of the next great franchise from the Rockstar studios.

Everyone knows to have success in this business you need to look ahead, identifying the talent and titles that are going to give consumers new kinds of gaming experiences that help set the bar for the rest of the industry. Rockstar has a heritage for doing just that. We have had incredible success with the GTA franchise and are happy to continue to offer those titles on our platforms, and even more excited about what’s to come from the current and future relationship between our companies. Rockstar really wanted to make a game that you can truly only do on PS3, harnessing the power of CELL and Blu-ray disc and this deal lets them do just that.. This is really a win-win situation for both companies. As Jack mentioned in the interview with Geoff, this franchise is not LA Noire, but something all new. We agreed with Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive Software that we wouldn’t disclose anything more about the deal or title at this time, so stay tuned, we’ll share more info as soon as we can.

...so it looks to be more than just a rumor. Rockstar is apparently making a new franchise (franchise, not game) exclusively for the ps3 in addition to the already announced LA Noire. And from recent reports, it seems as if they are working on these new game(s) right now.