[STORY UPDATED: Consider this story old, squashed and curb-stomped upon. It looks like the thousands of GTA IV gamers who bombared our inboxes about this news would actually not have to worry about waiting ages for the game or importing it from elsewhere. The game will be made available on December 3rd and will retail for INR 499. Check this story here for more information.]

I never could understand the mind of a terrorist. Sure, everybody talks about how one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter, but you need to be a special form of coward to take your frustration out on hard-working innocents, especially when they don’t have high powered assault rifles to balance out the argument. With the country still reeling from the nightmare in Mumbai yesterday and dozens of lives still hanging by a thin thread, the Indian gaming market is already starting to feel the shockwaves, and predictably, the game standing in the spotlight is none other than the “murder simulator” poster child, GTA IV.

Fortunately, this time around, no one has started blaming the game for the vicious drive-bys, the car bombs and the massacres in the 5-star hotels just yet, but for all the PC gamers waiting to get their hands on the title, the wait just got longer. Originally set to release along with the European launch on December 3rd for an insanely low price point of INR 499, or approximately US $10, the game’s launch in India is being pushed back an unspecified number of days.

Coming close on the heels of last month’s Fallout 3 fiasco, where Microsoft India enacted a last-minute self-imposed ban on the game, citing “religiously sentimental concerns” over the presence of mutated two-headed cows in the game, the GTA IV delay seems to second a new wave of political correctness sweeping through the Indian gaming market, which seems very keen on avoiding all the sales and censorship controversies that are dredged up by the wash of violent videogames. Unfortunately though, this couldn’t have come at a worse time for fans eagerly waiting for the game, considering the fact that the Indian launch of GTA IV PC is a spectacular record, marking the first time in the history of Indian game sales that a brand-new AAA title will be available for the cheapest price worldwide, selling for a scant INR 499, when the usual going rate for a new title averages between INR 999 (~ US $20) and INR 1299 (~ US $26).

In light of yesterday’s attacks, however, the planned fanfare for the game’s launch may be toned down and lesser copies than initially planned may be imported, which could drive up the price point of the game to a maximum of INR 699, approximately US $4 more than the previously announced retail price (which still makes India the cheapest place in the world to get your copy of GTA IV). While the gamer in me echoes the sentiments of the hundred thousands odd PC gamers in the country in condemning this delay and ranting for a couple of hours on the distinctions between reality and fantasy and how we’re more than capable of telling them apart, thank you very much, Moral Police – one teensy-weensy part of me understands why this had to be done. After all, what’s a couple of days more when you’re waiting for the biggest game of the year? We’re more than used to it.

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By N2H

• ThunderKnight Says:
  November 27th, 2008 at 9:52 pm

  Sigh. I was waiting to buy it now i have to wait even longer. Any idea how long must i wait?.

• Abhinav Says:
  November 27th, 2008 at 11:16 pm

  There is no real date on the release as of now. Considering the situation in Mumbai at the moment, it might take a while before the game gets a release in India.

• Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read » Tragedy in Mumbai - GTA IV put on hold Says:
  November 28th, 2008 at 12:07 am

  [...] seen on The Angry Pixel, the launch of the PC version of GTA IV in India might be delayed, as stated by the official [...]

• ThunderKnight Says:
  November 28th, 2008 at 12:28 am

  I hope it will not be late 2009. I cant use digital distribution. Downloading 20GB on steam is a nightmare which i want to avoid.

  Please Express release it soon. I don’t know GTA would cause any problem.

• Krishnan Rajagopal Says:
  November 28th, 2008 at 7:17 am

  Late 2009? Dude, its just going to be a short delay, out of consideration for all that’s happened. Chances are it will be out just one week or so after Dec. 3.

  As for downloading it off Steam, that would be impossible unless someone decided to gift you the game from the US, considering the Rockstar catalog isn’t even available for purchase in India via Steam. So it’s either retail via e-Xpress or someone from the US gifting it to you via Steam.

• Videep Vijay Kumar Says:
  November 28th, 2008 at 10:36 am

  I see the terrorists haven’t even spared the video gaming industry. I thought this was bad enough: http://kotaku.com/5099692/splinter-cell-voice-actor-shot-by-terrorists

• | Balu | Says:
  November 28th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

  Hey, any idea what DRM it will have? I hope there is no internet activation. My net is down =(

• ThunderKnight Says:
  November 28th, 2008 at 7:24 pm

  @Krishnan Rajagopal :- I hope what you said is true. After Fallout 3 iam not sure what to except.

  Oh i forgot that Rockstar does not have a catalog for India.

  @Balu :-

  GTA 4 needs internet for multiplayer and it needs to be connected on net when the game is installed.

• Don Says:
  November 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am

  Sigh! Sigh! Sigh!

  I was biting my finger nails and waiting for Dec 3rd, the day I was planning to purchase it for a ’scant’ INR 499 over ebay.in.

  Now we just have to wait longer. Now that I have read the Fallout 3 news: No wonder, that game never showed up on ebay.in!

  Again, 1 of the disadvantages of living in this country – you never get anything on TIME!

• Gta Iv To Retail For 499rs - Gaming - TechEnclave Says:
  November 30th, 2008 at 9:54 am

  [...] permalink hey guys just came across this in the angry pixel site i dont know wether it is true but this site is stating that the pc version of the game is going to retail for 499rs O.o and its is gonna be delayed dude to the frequent mumbai terrorist attacks here is the link I never could understand the mind of a terrorist. Sure, everybody talks about how one man�s terrorist is another man�s freedom fighter, but you need to be a special form of coward to take your frustration out on hard-working innocents, especially when they don�t have high powered assault rifles to balance out the argument. With the country still reeling from the nightmare in Mumbai yesterday and dozens of lives still hanging by a thin thread, the Indian gaming market is already starting to feel the shockwaves, and predictably, the game standing in the spotlight is none other than the �murder simulator� poster child, GTA IV. Fortunately, this time around, no one has started blaming the game for the vicious drive-bys, the car bombs and the massacres in the 5-star hotels just yet, but for all the PC gamers waiting to get their hands on the title, the wait just got longer. Originally set to release along with the European launch on December 3rd for an insanely low price point of INR 499, or approximately US $10, the game�s launch in India is being pushed back an unspecified number of days, as the official Rockstar / 2K distributor in the country, e-Xpress Interactive feels that it would be insensitive (not to mention, asking for trouble) if the game is put on shelves less than a week after what is one of the worst terrorist incidents India has ever seen. Speaking to us today morning, e-Xpress Interactive, which, coincidentally, operates out of Mumbai, said that they were discussing the propriety of launching the game on December 3rd, especially considering Niko Bellic is able to perform drive-bys on innocent civilians after hijacking a cop car, killing cops who try to stop him – which is exactly what the terrorists had done in the financial capital of the country late last night, resulting in the deaths of over a hundred people, including the head of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad, Hemant Karkare and over a dozen police officers. Coming close on the heels of last month�s Fallout 3 fiasco, where Microsoft India enacted a last-minute self-imposed ban on the game, citing �religiously sentimental concerns� over the presence of mutated two-headed cows in the game, the GTA IV delay seems to second a new wave of political correctness sweeping through the Indian gaming market, which seems very keen on avoiding all the sales and censorship controversies that are dredged up by the wash of violent videogames. Unfortunately though, this couldn�t have come at a worse time for e-Xpress, considering the fact that the Indian launch of GTA IV PC is a spectacular record, marking the first time in the history of Indian game sales that a brand-new AAA title will be available for the cheapest price worldwide, selling for a scant INR 499, when the usual going rate for a new title averages between INR 999 (~ US $20) and INR 1299 (~ US $26). In light of yesterday�s attacks, however, e-Xpress says that they may tone down the fanfare they had planned for the game�s launch, which include a contest based on fan-made videos via the Replay Editor, and may actually end up importing lesser copies than they had initially planned, which could drive up the price point of the game to a maximum of INR 699, approximately US $4 more than the previously announced retail price (which still makes India the cheapest place in the world to get your copy of GTA IV). While the gamer in me echoes the sentiments of the hundred thousands odd PC gamers in the country in condemning this delay and ranting for a couple of hours on the distinctions between reality and fantasy and how we�re more than capable of telling them apart, thank you very much, Moral Police � one teensy-weensy part of me understands why this had to be done. After all, what�s a couple of days more when you�re waiting for the biggest game of the year? We�re more than used to it. GTA IV PC Delayed After Mumbai Massacre | the ANGRY pixel [...]

• ayush Says:
  December 10th, 2008 at 11:59 pm

  hey is it available anywhere in new delhi plz reply