Microsoft Shells Out $50 Million For Exclusive GTA IV Episodic Content

The Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV was always supposed to have “exclusive” major episodic downloadable content via Xbox Live. To make sure it stays exclusive to Microsoft’s shiny white (well, black if you’re one of the few that has an Elite console) they spent a few bucks so the content will only see release on the Xbox 360. How much of their enormous budget did they spend exactly? According to Take Two Software, Microsoft spent a staggering $50 million dollars to make sure this content won’t see release on the Playstation 3.

Microsoft desperately wants to outsell Sony’s Playstation 3 in the long run (It’s performing better on the market now, but Microsoft knows that you can’t just rest on your laurels). Whether or not the episodic content via Xbox Live will be worth it is unknown at this point, and how much it will be has not been decided yet, but we can tell that Microsoft will be using some industrious tactics in order to make sure that the Xbox 360 it outselling Sony’s black box.