Rockstar seems committed to bringing Chinatown Wars to every handheld platform but the N-Gage, as the company has just announced that the once-DS-exclusive GTA game will be hitting iPhone and iPod Touch later this year.
The PSP won’t be the only handheld platform getting a taste of Chinatown Wars later this year. Rockstar Leeds’ formerly DS-exclusive Grand Theft Auto is also making its way to the iPhone and iPod Touch this fall. No screens (that one’s from the DS version) or details are available for the game yet – all we know is that it has the same story, and, hopefully, is pretty much the same game.
“Chinatown Wars is a perfect match for the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Sam Houser of Rockstar Games. “We are very excited to bring this incredibly ambitious version of Liberty City, with this level of detail and immersive gameplay on Apple’s new gaming platforms.”
If it is the same game and plays just as well, Chinatown Wars may just set a new standard for games on Apple’s device. There have been GTA-esque titles on the platform, but Chinatown Wars is the real deal. Not to mention that the game’s numerous touch-screen minigames should translate better from the DS to the iPhone than they would from the DS to the PSP.
So are the Houser brothers as iPhone crazy as John Carmack all of a sudden? Chinatown Wars going to the PSP was one thing, but the iPhone? No offense to the device as a platform, but maybe this has something to do with the game’s underwhelming sales performance on the DS. Maybe Rockstar are spreading the property across multiple platforms to recoup some of its losses? Maybe, maybe not, but the more people who get to play Chinatown Wars, the better.
