PS3 Poll Police: Did you succumb to Rockstar's GTA IV "fix"?

by Nick Doerr { May 4th 2008 at 5:45PM }

It's sort of sickening on the Poll Police's side of things -- we dig and dig through muck all day to uncover bits of news for your consumption. What makes this sickening is the recent trend for our fields o' news farming to get inundated with threads about people's problems with Grand Theft Auto IV. We don't mean problems in the game, beating a mission, or the like ... we mean the frequent freezing issues, console destruction tales, or horribly unstable online component. We know Rockstar has admitted to a few of these problems and issued their own hackneyed fix. We want to know if any of you actually did this just to play the game. We're not judging you. We're just curious.
A patch would be nice, but instead, we get to delete pretty much everything on our PS3 to make the game work? Sounds pretty pathetic to us, but hey, ostensible perfection demands sacrifice, right? Don't get us started. Last week's poll is after the jump, so check out those results while we have your attention!

Okay, we get the point. Not all of you are playing Metal Gear Online. It is a beta, after all. Still, it's interesting to see that across the board of people who are playing, it's almost a toss-up on levels of enjoyment. Some expected a fast-paced shooter, others expected gold coins to eject from their PS3's, while still others decided to actually hide in a box or barrel in real life to simulate stealth-action. Whatever the case, we're sure Metal Gear is better suited for the single-player experience thanks in part to its fantastic narrative, but this beta holds its own for more tactical online gaming. Thanks for voting!

Tags: poll-police

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

pavs @ May 4th 2008 5:50PM

umm, where is the option for people who don't have any problems?

sean @ May 4th 2008 5:54PM

im with pavs. me and my brohter played atleast 100 hours since we got it and it locked up on both of us only once(each). and it was within the first 30 minutes of just starting the game. not one problem since.

blake @ May 4th 2008 7:55PM

i'm with you, i feel left out of this one... but i guess thats not something to be upset about. still, the poll should have the option, given not everyone had this issue and the title of the poll doesn't explicitly exclude people who were not afflicted (it could be implied but thats neither here nor there).

Nick Doerr @ May 4th 2008 8:28PM

Hmm, yeah, that would've been a good thing to add.

Sorry guys, my heads been packed full of relevant real-world information lately... it's been finals/graduation for college the last week or so. I haven't really been on the site or honestly able to think that straight outside of things related to my major.

I'll just need to sleep a lot once it's all over with. Until then, bare with these sub-par polls. Better yet, if you don't like them, don't vote. It'll give us incentive to make polls that involve more than A) hot button topics/issues or B) something less obvious that we think needs attention.

Either way, people will say it's bad because it isn't one or the other =P.

dan @ May 4th 2008 11:37PM

me too.

Andir3.0 @ May 5th 2008 6:29AM

Add me to the no issues all weekend and I played nearly non-stop ;) Damn food.

The Aggie CEO @ May 5th 2008 8:47AM

yea no problems here.......

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ May 5th 2008 9:17AM

yea mine is kickin just fine so far.

John @ May 5th 2008 10:27AM

I hate to be a leech on the first post, but I haven't seen anyone mention that before you go off and delete your saved game, BACK IT UP! It's simple, and you'll be happy that you have your save when you find out that it's the internet connectivity conflict that's causing the problem.

amazo @ May 4th 2008 6:04PM

it freezes on me sometimes. then i just rebooted the ps3.

Real Gambler @ May 4th 2008 5:57PM

I agree, there should have been an option for NO PROBLEMS SO FAR, WHY SHOULD I DO THAT???

So far, I really think it's something with wireless connection or RSS feed. Why would my 60gig PS3 be better than another one built exactly the same way??? Only thing I could see is the fact that I use a wired ethernet connection, and I disable RSS from day one!

b. dash @ May 4th 2008 9:20PM

same here no problem and I have more or less the same set up on an 80Gb modified to 250GB

PSU_Boss @ May 5th 2008 1:06AM

Nope, I have a wired connection, and disabled the rss feed from day one too, but can't get more than 20 seconds of driving. Haven't even gotten to the apartment

gooftroop @ May 6th 2008 7:29PM

the 12 step 'fix' is terrible, about 30 or so people I game with often all had loading screen issues all on the exact same day and could not get in not matter what some people tried out of this 12 step fix... the one thing that did work 100% of the time was to disable online connectivity.

Online enabled = stuck at loading screen
Online disabled = straight into the game as usual first try

I think Rockstar (or whoever is doing the online stuff for Sony, Gamespy?) seriously messed something up...

Dan Davis @ May 5th 2008 10:00AM

You are dead-on.

My 60 gb PS3 (which played the game just fine for about 2 hours on release night) had freezing issues the very next time I booted GTA4 up.

I called Rockstar's tech support line on Saturday (waited on hold for about 45 minutes) and the solution the guy offered was to disable the wireless connection. He said that even the single player campaign tries to access the servers (?), and they are completely innundated with peeps logging on. He went on to say that he already passed that fix on to over 200 people.

After I disabled wireless I played for about 6-7 hours with no problems at all.

Haiddasalami @ May 5th 2008 11:06PM

Apparently the game trys to find a multiplayer connection even if you are in single player thus the fast 'connecting to game server'. When you dont sign into PSN, you cant play online and cant log on to the server. Though this fix does not work on 360 so they might be suffering from something else.

frankym @ May 4th 2008 5:58PM

Great game, terrible graphics.

If it would have been a PS3 exclusive, graphics would have been much better since they could pack it all on to blu ray.

IMHO I think this game is a bit overrated. I give it 9/10

DaveC @ May 4th 2008 6:27PM

IMHO I think the graphics are fantastic. They have an artistic flare to them, something the general populous seems to have overlooked when counting polygons.

Chris @ May 4th 2008 6:45PM

So, err, Blu-Ray != better graphics. If it's high res textures you're thinking about, the competition has better graphics memory. PS3 excels at processing, e.g. thousands of things at once. Blu-Ray means our games can be longer and we can have higher quality audio. I'm saying this as a PS3 owner before someone who isn't starts a fight.

ryan @ May 4th 2008 9:05PM

in GTA4 you can explore a whole city...not a single block.

you know nothing about next gen games do you?

ZMnsr1 @ May 4th 2008 5:59PM

no problems...

kevin @ May 4th 2008 6:00PM

is it me or has there been too many gta 4 posts....

Chris @ May 4th 2008 6:47PM

Yeah, can we please have a poll saying "Do you own GTA IV?" to find out who really cares? There are a ton of forums and websites to spread the word of this fix.

SG @ May 4th 2008 6:00PM

I'm sorry, I like this site, I really do, but these weekly poles are almost without fail hilariously bad. Every week I can count on the survey either being on a subject that most people don't care about (which is noted in the comments), or which title we're most excited about, when the only options are obscure RPGs. And then there's surveys like this where they completely neglect to add what would probably be the most commonly selected option - "I haven't had any problems". Oh, and then there was that survey one week where there were actually two essentially identical items, which kind of renders the survey useless.

Seriously, I'm certain I speak for most people who frequent this site when I say that these surveys should either be stopped, or done by someone else. The way they are now, they come off as being unprofessional and short-sighted. Again, I like this site, but this survey business is getting ridiculous.

Ranus Studios @ May 4th 2008 10:02PM

Can I shake your hand?

Night Elve @ May 4th 2008 6:03PM

Shame on Rockstar! We should not have to use work arounds in order to play the game.

I'm a 60Gb owner and I suppose I'm part of the "minority" that has the problem.

At least the "Disable Internet" solution works, the thing is I really want to play the online part.

SQUIRTFORCE @ May 4th 2008 6:09PM

I had lots of freezing but turned off the network and now it never freezes. I figure I'll wait for online once it's patched since that's the only thing that was constantly freezing when I tried.

Popfrogs @ May 5th 2008 10:12AM

If you think it never freezes, try this:

Get into the game, play a little, then pause it. Walk off for 5 or 6 hours and come back. Mine freezes every time I do this. If we didn't get the crippled loading sequence from the X360 (there's no reason for a 90 second load with a 3.5 gig cache file) I would just quit the game but I hate waiting forever to get in.

SNEAKN @ May 4th 2008 6:15PM

I've had this game since Moday at 6:30pm pst...I haven't been able to play it for more than 5 mins literally because it freezes everytime. None of those fixes work for most of us, for those that simply have to disable your ethernet cord or wifi you are lucky because I would give anything to just be able to play single player. And obviously all 60GB ps3's aren't the same because me and thousands of others would be able to play it, there is no product in the world that is made exactly like the other...not to mention that 20, 40, 60 and 80 GB owners plus Xboxers are all having the same issue.So just because you aren't having any problems don't discount the rest of us who are. Hey editor how about doing a story on the fact that the official Playstation forums shut down and buried the 4000+ post thread entitled GTA 4 Freezing. A new one has been started but its obvious that Sony nor R* wants this to get into the mainstream press.

Tarheel @ May 4th 2008 6:28PM

I have a bigger problem with the game resetting my multiplayer ranking to zero. Anyone else have this happen to them?

DaveC @ May 4th 2008 6:34PM

Some Euro PS forums users have apparently contacted Take-Two and have recieved a more up to date response:

If you're having frame rate issues, the patch is in the works, don't expect it soon though as it's still in development.

If you can't load the game at the start up, disabling your internet connection should fix this as this freeze is caused by the crippled servers at Take-Two's end. With the game constantly sending data to the servers, and seeing as they are having issues the game cannot send the data and keeps retrying. Disabling your internet connection should solve the problem for most.

Link: http://community.eu.playstation.com/playstationeu/board/message?board.id=73&thread.id=27117

Riley Freeman @ May 4th 2008 6:39PM

i have gb ps3 replaced with a 250gb hard drive. it froze on me also. i did the fix up until it said restart nothing after that. i didnt have to disable auto save or antiflicker. its worked. its very ghetto which is kind of fitting i guess. annoying but whatever the game works thats all that matters.

GRT @ May 4th 2008 6:46PM

I initially bought the 360 version (because some of my friends were getting that version) and it locked up randomly and frequently. I switched to the PS3 version (Best Buy swapped it, no questions asked) and then had it hanging when it first loaded the game. C'mon Rockstar!

But, I turned off the "Info Bar" and sign out of PSN and then it plays flawlessly. I shouldn't have to do that, but honestly it isn't much of a big deal.

I do agree with the commenter about who says the graphics could/should be better. Textures break up into 'graph paper' patterns to often. Actually aside from the textures, I think the graphics are fine.

And the game is so fun I pretty quickly forget about those problems anyway.

SOCOMRAIDER @ May 4th 2008 7:05PM

It no longer freezes on me, once I quit forcing it to output 1080p (like CoD4). Once running in 720p there has been no issues on my 60GB model.

maskedrose @ May 4th 2008 7:37PM

I haven't been online once with my ps3 while playing this game. Haven't had any problems..

And gta4 has very good graphics considering the franchise.... I mean... was gta ever known for good graphics? LOL

Kspraydad @ May 4th 2008 7:42PM

The apologies for Rockstar have to stop.

One of the major reasons I am a console gamer and not a PC gamer is because games are supposed to just work. A 'bug' that can now be fixed due to updates is one thing but this issue is completely unacceptable. It is beyond my imagining that R* didn't know this was going to happen but released the game anyway (nothing like EA breathing down your neck to cause you to release the game without quality testing.) From what I recall, the 'exclusive' reviews didn't even have access to online multiplayer at the behest of Rockstar. Now we know why that was.

What Rockstar has done here is inexcusable and my copy of GTA IV will be returned this week.

Bease @ May 4th 2008 7:43PM

Ok, i'm finally getting a chance to play the game and i'm having frequent problems with the game jamming while i'm just driving down a street! All of a sudden i'll just get stuck in the middle of the street ! other times i'll kill somebody and it will load into a cutscene except the loading screen will freeze the game. Then sometimes i'll try to start the game and i'll get an error code and unable to enter the game. Then 5 minutes ago i was supposed to enter a sex shop and when i entered i fell through the map into the ocean !

Is there ANY quality control at rockstar ??? This is insane ! I love this game, and i was planning to purchase it however i don't know that i can buy a broken product. And yes, i'm a loyal PS3 60gig owner (upgraded to 200gig) and i've allready turned off my internet and media server capabilities.

StevenRafael @ May 4th 2008 7:51PM

There should be a poll choice for those who haven't experienced issues at all. I've played all week with my friends coming over every night, and the game hasn't frozen up once.

I mean, I've seen some polls on this site with choices like "Don't own the game, I just felt compelled to click something"
http://playstation.joystiq.com/2008/04/30/are-you-having-technical-issues-with-gta-iv/

It'd be nice if the choice was up for those who haven't experienced issues, just so this thing doesn't get blown out of proportion as if everyone is experiencing freezes.

Wrathbringer @ May 4th 2008 7:55PM

I've had the game since Tuesday, and hadn't experienced any problems up until a few days ago when it would constantly freeze or not load the game at all. The next day my bro tried to play and had ZERO problems with it, and I haven't changed a thing on my PS3. The day after it was the same thing, constant freezing and infinite loading screens only to have it fixed the next day without a single change. WTF?

tristan88 @ May 4th 2008 7:59PM

i got the freezing issue on my launch 60gb ps3 so all i did was turn of the internet connection like it told me and it works great...just no multiplayer which sucks. but because this game is such a big deal i know there will be a patch soon. as for the graphics i was dissapointed at first because it didn't have the visual flare i excpected but they have started to grow on me. the only thing that can bug me sometimes is the character modelling on character that arent niko. they just dont look that good.

Parasite @ May 4th 2008 8:21PM

READ ON TO READ MY POTENTIAL FIX - I bought the ps3 version and played for about 4 days straight. finally 2 days ago my game wouldn't load. i tried several things but sure enough nothing except signing out of playstation network worked. however, if i did that...the minute i would select "multiplayer" within the game, everything would just freeze. so now, not only did i have to sign out of playstation network to play single player, but i also couldn't play online. anyway, decided to check the network performance using another game to see if it was a problem with the wireless network controller. I loaded up resistance and played 1 game online and it worked great(quit out in the middle). after that, i loaded up gta again and this time it worked fine (still signed into psnetwork) and i was able to play online. let me know if this helps any of you.

Chris @ May 4th 2008 8:27PM

Sony should introduce quality control measures to ensure games that are released on its console work, and make its console look good to consumers. Otherwise, people will start flocking to Microsoft's X-Box.

Parasite @ May 4th 2008 8:28PM

sorry about the above post, i didn't really outline what to try. i guess if you're having trouble with gta on ps3, try playing some other ps3 game online for a minute or 2, then load up gta to see if that fixes it (probably not but doesn't hurt to try cuz it worked for me).

allan @ May 4th 2008 8:42PM

After playing for a couple of days, I'm really surprise that it got a prefect score in some of the major review sites.

It's a bit buggy and the game's control and graphics are rough around the edges.

ryan @ May 4th 2008 9:05PM

they are great considering what the game had to achieve. it's no gears of war or Uncharted, but it's longer and bigger than both those games. so what's the issue?

hey_big_dck psn:fuliano626 @ May 5th 2008 12:52AM

i felt the same way i believe hype had something to do with the scores don't get me wrong i love the game its just that its more of a 80ish not 100, for example all the cars feel like your driving on ice annoys me!!!!!!!!!! and the camere eh it gets by but sometimes i auto lock onto a wall and i cant turn around quick enough plus the graphics also eh to bad it wasnt ps3 exclusive there would be more disc space for better textures. gta4 =good eh eh

ryan @ May 5th 2008 1:29AM

Even if GTA4 was exclusive to PS3 I doubt it would look any better. And the cars are actually realistic btw.

Hackmysack @ May 4th 2008 8:42PM

no problems at all realy a bit of a frame drop and near freezes but im guessing this will be fixed in patches just compliited it ... wow what a game aint played a game with a story this good in ages.

ps3isowningxbox @ May 4th 2008 8:59PM

hey guys just trying to help here..

when i try to load my GTA4 when signed on to PSN it dosent load while when i sign out of PSN and try to load the game it loads with no freezes at all then when i login inside the game to play online.

hope this helps…

add me up: hannah06

macserv @ May 4th 2008 9:36PM

I didn't participate in the whole 12-step program, I did two things:

1-) Deleted the data (not the saves) on the HDD, and
2-) Turned off PSN Auto Sign-In

I'd only had one bad freeze, but it was in a consistent spot, and these steps fixed it.

I also snagged a different car... that actually might have fixed the one issue causing as freeze, but who knows.

60GB, btw.

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Did you try the 12-step fix for GTA IV?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

pavs @ May 4th 2008 5:50PM

sean @ May 4th 2008 5:54PM

blake @ May 4th 2008 7:55PM

Nick Doerr @ May 4th 2008 8:28PM

dan @ May 4th 2008 11:37PM

Andir3.0 @ May 5th 2008 6:29AM

The Aggie CEO @ May 5th 2008 8:47AM

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ May 5th 2008 9:17AM

John @ May 5th 2008 10:27AM

amazo @ May 4th 2008 6:04PM

Real Gambler @ May 4th 2008 5:57PM

b. dash @ May 4th 2008 9:20PM

PSU_Boss @ May 5th 2008 1:06AM

gooftroop @ May 6th 2008 7:29PM

Dan Davis @ May 5th 2008 10:00AM

Haiddasalami @ May 5th 2008 11:06PM

frankym @ May 4th 2008 5:58PM

DaveC @ May 4th 2008 6:27PM

Chris @ May 4th 2008 6:45PM

ryan @ May 4th 2008 9:05PM

ZMnsr1 @ May 4th 2008 5:59PM

kevin @ May 4th 2008 6:00PM

Chris @ May 4th 2008 6:47PM

SG @ May 4th 2008 6:00PM

Ranus Studios @ May 4th 2008 10:02PM

Night Elve @ May 4th 2008 6:03PM

SQUIRTFORCE @ May 4th 2008 6:09PM

Popfrogs @ May 5th 2008 10:12AM

SNEAKN @ May 4th 2008 6:15PM

Tarheel @ May 4th 2008 6:28PM

DaveC @ May 4th 2008 6:34PM

Riley Freeman @ May 4th 2008 6:39PM

GRT @ May 4th 2008 6:46PM

SOCOMRAIDER @ May 4th 2008 7:05PM

maskedrose @ May 4th 2008 7:37PM

Kspraydad @ May 4th 2008 7:42PM

Bease @ May 4th 2008 7:43PM

StevenRafael @ May 4th 2008 7:51PM

Wrathbringer @ May 4th 2008 7:55PM

tristan88 @ May 4th 2008 7:59PM

Parasite @ May 4th 2008 8:21PM

Chris @ May 4th 2008 8:27PM

Parasite @ May 4th 2008 8:28PM

allan @ May 4th 2008 8:42PM

ryan @ May 4th 2008 9:05PM

hey_big_dck psn:fuliano626 @ May 5th 2008 12:52AM

ryan @ May 5th 2008 1:29AM

Hackmysack @ May 4th 2008 8:42PM

ps3isowningxbox @ May 4th 2008 8:59PM

macserv @ May 4th 2008 9:36PM

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