Version and Platform Differences

This is a sub-page of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Platform Differences#

PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360#

To do: Physics may be glitchier on PlayStation 3?

• The "call" button on the cell phone on the PlayStation 3 version is blue, while on the PC and Xbox 360 version it's green.

PlayStation 3	Xbox 360/PC

• The colors of special abilities in QUB3D also different.

PlayStation 3	Xbox 360/PC

• The PlayStation 3 release contains SIXAXIS™ support, which adds motion controls to the game that is toggled in settings. By using the SIXAXIS™ Tutorial option on your phone, you will be sent to the Francis International Airport where the tutorial will take place.

SIXAXIS™ can be used to reload your weapon.

Use [Tilt controller up] to reload the pistol.

You can use SIXAXIS™ to control bikes.

Press [R2] to accelerate. Press [L2] to brake.

Use [Tilt controller sideways] to steer the bike.

You can use SIXAXIS™ to shift your weight forwards and backwards whilst on a bike. This will allow you to perform stunts such as stoppies and wheelies.

Use [Tilt controller up and down] whilst driving to lean forward or backwards.

You can use SIXAXIS™ to control boats.

Press [R2] to accelerate. Press [L2] to brake.

Use [Tilt controller sideways] to steer the boat.

Use [Tilt controller up and down] to adjust the trim.

You can use [Tilt controller up and down] to adjust the trim.

You can use SIXAXIS™ to control helicopters.

By enabling the Auto Pitch Calibration option in the Controls menu, upon entering a vehicle the current pitch of the SIXAXIS™ is used as the central pitch position for all vehicle controls.

Hold [R2] to increase your altitude or [L2] to decrease your altitude.

Use [Tilt controller sideways] or [Tilt controller up and down] to bank the helicopter in the direction you wish to move.

Press [L1] and [R1] to rotate the helicopter left and right.

Hold [R2] to increase your altitude.

Use [Tilt controller up and down] and hold [R2] to accelerate forwards.

Use [Tilt controller sideways] to steer the helicopter.

Hold [L2] to decrease your altitude.

• On the downloadable Xbox 360 version of The Lost and Damned, Funkmaster Flex's segment on The Beat 102.7 has a unique intro featuring Mister Cee introducing Funkmaster Flex. Statik Selektah's segment has an extended outro where he introduces Mister Cee's segment from the base game. Additionally, L.C.H.C. features an exclusive outro where Max Cavalera introduces Jimmy Gestapo's segment from the base game. These were removed from all editions of Episodes from Liberty City (including the Xbox 360 version) due to the base game songs being removed.
• Some songs on the PlayStation 3 version are longer, these are:

The Journey

• Jean Michel Jarre - "Oxygene Pt.4"
• Ray Lynch - "The Oh Of Pleasure"
• Michael Shrieve - "Communique: Approach Spiral"
• Terry Riley - "A Rainbow In Curved Air"
• Steve Roach - "Arrival"

IF99

• War - "Galaxy"
• Lonnie Liston Smith - "A Chance for Peace"
• Hummingbird - "You Can't Hide"
• The Meters - "Just Kissed My Baby"
• Manu Dibango - "New Bell"

Radio Broker

• The Boggs - "Arm in Arm (Shy Child Remix)"
• Get Shakes - "Disneyland, Pt 1"
• The Prairie Cartel - "Homicide"

Fusion FM

• Gong - "Heavy Tune"
• Roy Ayers - "Funk in the Hole"
• David Axelrod - "Holy Thursday"
• Grover Washington Jr - "Knucklehead"
• Ryo Kawasaki - "Raisins"
• Marc Moulin - "Stomp"
• Billy Cobham - "Stratus"
• Tom Scott & The L.A. Express - "Sneakin' in the Back"

Jazz Nation Radio

• Roy Haynes - "Snap Crackle"
• Sonny Rollins - "St. Thomas"
• Dizzy Gillespie - "Whisper Not (Big Band)"

K109 The Studio

• Tamiko Jones - "Can't Live Without Your Love"

PC#

The Windows version, released months later contain a couple of differences.

General#

• Selection menu differs between PC and consoles, this applies to both Complete Edition and standalone EFLC.

PC	PlayStation 3/Xbox 360

• Loading screens on the PC version are different compared to the console versions.

PC	PlayStation 3/Xbox 360

• The PC version has a Graphics option in the pause menu.
• The PC version has an exclusive video editor.
• The PC version has an exclusive radio station called Independence FM that allows the player to use their music files in game by placing them in the Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\User Music folder.
• The PC version has different suits compared to the console versions.

• The size of the text messages in help box on consoles is bigger compared to PC.
  • In TBoGT on consoles the color of the help box looks brighter and more saturated than on PC.

Xbox 360/PlayStation 3	PC

• The PC version doesn't have the multiplayer tutorial.
• The PC version has different multiplayer character models.

Graphics#

• The gamma is more pronounced on consoles (including menus and loading screens), while the PC version looks "washed out".
• Textures on the PC version are prone to "flickering" due to z-fighting.
  • PC also has more pronounced z-shift issues, where some textures overlap others depending on how far the player moves away from the object.
• The bloom effect is less visible in the PC version.
• Definition is broken on PC, instead of keeping the player in focus and blurring what is far away, absolutely everything gets blurred.
• Raindrops are different on the PC version. Instead of creating blurry spots that would reflect the surroundings, they simply turns black.

Xbox 360	PC

• Falling raindrops way more noticeable on consoles than on PC.
• Sea foam is missing in the PC version.
• The PC version has less HDR (High Dynamic Range).
• In the PC version, the reflections in the mirror are distorted when viewed from a certain angle.
  • On consoles the mirrors have a blur effect, while on PC they are crystal clear, probably the blur was added to hide the fact that the mirror does not correctly display Niko's hairstyle.
• On Xbox 360 some objects looks blurry and have slight grain, which makes these objects look somewhat transparent, while on PC and PlayStation 3 these objects are opaque. Best example of objects with this difference is golf net in Algonquin or roof windows on Hove Beach subway station.
• Some ground areas on PC started to have reflections during rain, which in most cases does not seem right, while on consoles this does not happen.

Lights

• Lights on buildings are broken on PC due to broken emissive shaders.
• Volumetric lightning is missing in the PC version.
• In the PC version, street lights do not have a light corona.
• The glass of street lights displayed incorrectly both during the day and night on PC.
• Pedestrian traffic lights are always off in the PC version, while on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 their functionality is simulated (it's just a recolored texture).
• The texture of the light corona is also different, where on the PC it was compressed, whereas on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions it looks better.

Xbox 360/PS3	PC

Shadows

• Lampposts on consoles do not cast any shadows, unlike on PC, however this feature has more bugs than improvements.
• Car headlights now makes some objects cast shadows on PC.
• Some light sources on PC don't cast shadows like they do on consoles, a prime example would be Booth's Tunnel or the police helicopter spotlight.

Vegetation#

• Vegetation on the PC version is different compared to the console versions.
• The shaders of the tree leaves differ between each version:
  • On the Xbox 360 version, tree leaves has some transparency effect, as well as blur effect that makes the leaves appear more lush, and the leaves have no grain on them;
  • The PS3 version has opaque leaves, but they have blur effect and the leaves have no grain on them;
  • The PC version has opaque leaves, no blur and the leaves received a grainy effect.

Vehicles#

• Some vehicles on PC have issues that are not present on consoles:
  • The headlights on Sanchez bike always use the texture where the headlights are on, while on consoles there is no such problem;
  • The Rancher has incorrect collision in the front, because of this it cannot ride over various obstacles.
• Glass shards are broken on the PC version. Now regardless of the color of the vehicle's headlight, the color of the fragments will always be white, which is not the case on consoles.

PS3/Xbox 360	PC

• The PC version has vehicle imposters when looking at the roads from a very high altitude, on consoles there is only lights which imitates moving vehicles.
• Vehicle reflections on PC are distorted.
• Vehicle reflections have received a new system on PC, in which the intensity of reflections is divided into three levels - low, medium and high, on consoles the high level is always used.
  • It is noteworthy that TBoGT on PC has abandoned this feature and all vehicles that this DLC adds will have high reflections intensity.
• On PC, the vehicle lights are broken in TBoGT.

Audio#

• The pause menu music is different, on consoles it is randomized, while on PC it uses pre-recorded audio that plays from start to finish and then repeats.
  • The pause menu in TBoGT has the same system, however the PC version also lacks vocals, only music is playing.
• The sound of taking the photo on a phone is different between PC and consoles.

Miscellaneous#

• Pedestrians have better textures on PC compared to the console versions.
  • Aside from quality, textures also have different contrast and saturation, and some pedestrians have some texture differences, mostly the presence or absence of some details.
  • The PC version is missing a variant of the skinny cop model. However, it still exists in the game files.
  • Pedestrian M_Y_Business_01 has a completely different suit model on PC compared to consoles.

• Animations are different on the PC version, the differences are:
  • Weapon animations, their shooting both outside and inside cover;
  • Vehicle animations, closing doors and jumping out of the moving vehicle;
  • Player animations, turns while running, climbing onto objects, etc.
• Bullet spread is seemingly non-existent when using the mouse.
• The PC version has different fences mesh texture.

X360/PS3	PC

• The PC version has a different preacher script, in which he does not have a book in his hands, and random pedestrians can argue with him; meanwhile in the console versions, the situation is the opposite, the preacher speaks with a book and pedestrians do not argue with him.
• On PC, the police at the barricades on the bridges have a slightly different script of their work, with which they warn the player to get away from the barricades or they will open fire, while on consoles they immediately open fire at the player if he tries to go around the barricade.
• In the PC version on the mission To Live and Die in Alderney, the police arrive too early in the second cutscene of the mission.
• In the PC version, if you give money to a homeless person, they won't pick it up off the ground unlike the console versions where they do.
• The pool balls, when up close, become transparent on the Xbox 360 version, while on PC and PlayStation 3 they are completely invisible.
• The quality of the TV footage differs on each version; the PlayStation 3 version has the best quality, both visual and audio, the PC is a bit worse, and the Xbox 360 is even worse.

PlayStation 3	PC	Xbox 360

• • In the EFLC, this difference was simplified, now both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 have the worst TV quality, while the PC looks better than them in comparison, although the audio on PlayStation 3 is better.

PC	PlayStation 3/Xbox 360

• PC has the very close camera option when watching TV, consoles lacks of it.
• The intro credits are transparent on consoles, whereas on PC they are opaque.
  • It appears that the credits were transparent on early PC patches (1.0.4.0), but over time this effect was broken.
• The consoles have the correct photo of Tom Goldberg in the GL&S building, while the PC appears to have an earlier image of him.
• The texture of the laundromat sign in East Island City on PC is different, which does not match the LOD of the place.
• The projects in Firefly Projects have better texture quality on PlayStation 3 than on PC.
• The roof windows on the Hove Beach subway station differ between versions: on Xbox 360 they are transparent, while on the PlayStation 3 and PC they are opaque.
• The office window at the Triangle club is transparent on Xbox 360, on PC it is opaque.
• The texture of the windows in Middle Park East safehouse is muddy on consoles, while on PC it is much cleaner.
• The blinds on the windows in the U.L.P. office on the consoles are transparent, while on the PC they are not.
• The tollbooth windows on PC completely transparent, as if there were no windows at all, this is not the case with consoles.
• Golf course grid texture is different on PC.
  • It is noteworthy that the TBoGT on PC uses console version of the golf net.

Episodes from Liberty City#

The Lost and Damned

• The head of Johnny Klebitz appears to be broken on PC in some places (this is mostly noticeable in cutscenes).
• In The Lost and Damned, the phone texture on Xbox 360 has a slight differences compared to the PC one.

Xbox 360	PC

• The racing bat on consoles is aluminum, while on PC it's wooden.
• M_Y_Gangel_01 on PC uses incorrect hair texture that can be noticed during Angels in America cutscene.
• IG_Pgirl_01 uses incorrect hair texture, also the textures appears to have lower resolution compare to console versions.
• The arm texture cannot be changed for the player's multiplayer model on the PC version.

The Ballad of Gay Tony

• The head of Luis Lopez appears to be slightly broken on PC, the only noticeable part about it is the lip of the mouth.
• The ambient color during sunny weather at the midday differs between consoles and PC; on consoles its using more bluish tones while PC uses lilac.

Xbox 360/PlayStation 3	PC

Revisional Differences#

Episodes from Liberty City#

• The Episodes from Liberty City version of The Lost and Damned featured the map changes from The Ballad of Gay Tony. This change had the side effect to where players who bought the DLC version couldn't play online with those playing the EFLC version as the DLC version still only had the changes made to the map with that DLC.
• Episodes from Liberty City features three exclusive radio stations, an ambient electronic station named Self-Actualization FM, a 80's pop and rock station named Vice City FM, and a reggae station named RamJam FM.

10th Anniversary Update#

A patch on April 26, 2018, for some versions (not including disc based versions for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), removed and added some songs that can be heard on the radio, due to song-licensing expiration issues.

Grand Theft Auto IV#

Vladivostok FM had almost all the songs from the base game cut out, except for Liberty City: The Invasion, by Seryoga.

The following new songs are added to Vladivostok FM.

• Aleksey Bolshoy - "Ya Nenavizhu Karaoke"
• Seryoga - "Mon Ami (ft. Maks Lorens)"
• Seryoga - "Dobav' Skorost"
• Seryoga - "Chiki"
• Delice - "Goryacheye Leto"
• Zhenya Fokin - "Noch'ju"
• Kievelektro - "Gulyaj, Slavyane!! (ft. Alyona Vinnitskaya)"
• Riffmaster - "Begu (Rancho Song)"
• Riffmaster - "Riffmaster Tony"
• Ayvengo - "Underground"
• Ayvengo - "Reprezenty"

The cut songs from other stations are:

• The Smashing Pumpkins - "1979" (1995) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• Stevie Nicks - "Edge of Seventeen" (1981) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• Electric Light Orchestra - "Evil Woman" (1975) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• David Bowie - "Fascination" (1975) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• Black Sabbath - "Heaven and Hell" (1980) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• Cro-Mags - "It's the Limit" (1985) (Liberty City Hardcore)
• Leeway - "Enforcer" (1988) (Liberty City Hardcore)
• Tamiko Jones - "Can't Live Without Your Love" (1979) (K109 The Studio)
• Rose Royce - "Still in Love" (1982) (K109 The Studio)
• Terry Riley - "A Rainbow in Curved Air" (1969) (The Journey)
• Michael Shrieve - "Communique: 'Approach Spiral'" (1984) (The Journey)
• The Prairie Cartel - "Homicide" (2008) (Radio Broker)
• Ralph Myerz - "The Teacher" (2006) (Radio Broker)
• Gil Scott-Heron - "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" (1971) (IF99 International Funk)
• Angel y Khriz - "Ven Báilalo" (2004) (San Juan Sounds)
• Mtume - "C.O.D. (I'll Deliver)" (1984) (The Vibe 98.8)
• Fat Joe (feat. Lil Wayne) - "Crackhouse" (2008) (The Beat 102.7)
• Papoose - "Stylin'" (2008) (The Beat 102.7)
• Brand Nubian - "All for One" (1990) (The Classics)
• Marley Marl feat. Craig G - "Droppin' Science" (1988) (The Classics)
• Robbie Nevil - "C'est la Vie" (1986) (Vice City FM)
• Mai Tai - "History" (1985) (Vice City FM)
• Womack & Womack - "Teardrops" (1988) (Vice City FM)
• Scritti Politti - "Wood Beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin)" (1984) (Vice City FM)
• John Farnham - "You're the Voice" (1986) (Vice City FM)

Episodes from Liberty City#

• AC/DC - "Touch Too Much" (1979) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• The Doors - "Five to One" (1968) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• Jefferson Starship - "Jane" (1979) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• Iron Maiden - "Run to the Hills" (1982) (Liberty Rock Radio)
• Bathory - "Call from the Grave" (1987) (Liberty City Hardcore)
• Rose Royce - "Still in Love" (1982) (K109 The Studio)
• Robbie Nevil - "C'est la Vie" (1986) (Vice City FM)
• Mai Tai - "History" (1985) (Vice City FM)
• Womack & Womack - "Teardrops" (1988) (Vice City FM)
• Scritti Politti - "Wood Beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin)" (1984) (Vice City FM)
• John Farnham - "You're the Voice" (1986) (Vice City FM)
• Sucker DJs - "Salvation" (eSQUIRE Mix) (2008) (Vladivostok FM)
• Jonathan Peters feat. Maya Azucena - "Music" (2005) (Vladivostok FM)
• David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - "When Love Takes Over" (2009) (Vladivostok FM)
• Aventura - "El Desprecio" (2009) (San Juan Sounds)
• Angel y Khriz (feat. Gocho & John Eric) - "Na De Na" (2008) (San Juan Sounds)
• Ivy Queen - "Dime (Reggaeton Remix)" (2008) (San Juan Sounds)
• Tego Calderón (feat. Oscar D'León) - "Llora, Llora" (2006) (San Juan Sounds)

This change affects the downloadable DLC and the standalone Episodes From Liberty City.

The Complete Edition (PC)#

On January 10th 2020, the game was delisted from all digital storefronts because Games for Windows - Live, which was no longer supported by Microsoft, could not generate additional activation keys. In response, Rockstar relisted the game and released an update that transitioned it to the Rockstar Launcher and bundled the DLC with the base game (including even those who had only purchased Episodes From Liberty City). This update also removed multiplayer and consolidated all the radio stations so that the DLC radio stations played after the base games rendition, similar to how they functioned in the original DLC versions. Initially, the three exclusive stations from Episodes From Liberty City were missing but were added back a few months later.