GTA: Chinatown Wars to rage on PSP this fall

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars received effusive critical praise when it debuted on the Nintendo DS in March. However, high marks from critics didn't translate to equally high sales, with the M-for-Mature-rated top-down shooter/minigame compilation selling just 90,000 units in the US during its opening month, according to the NPD Group. That figure is an extraordinarily low one, considering the DS's massive installed base and the strength of the franchise.

A commonly floated theory for Chinatown Wars' lackluster start is that mature games simply don't sell well on Nintendo's platforms. That theory may soon be tested, as Rockstar Games today said that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be available for Sony's PSP this fall. The game will see release via traditional retail discs, as well as a digital download through the PlayStation Network for Sony's newly unveiled UMD-less PSP Go, which will be available in the US on October 1.

As with the DS installment, Rockstar Leeds is leading development on the PSP edition of Chinatown Wars. Rockstar notes that the PSP game won't just be a port of its DS counterpart, with the publisher promising enhanced widescreen graphics, as well as improved lighting and animations. Chinatown Wars on the PSP also offers new story missions, though up-and-coming Triad gangster Huang Lee remains the portable title's protagonist.

Though Chinatown Wars was the first installment of Rockstar's acclaimed franchise to release on Nintendo's portable, the GTA series is no stranger to the PSP. In 2005, Rockstar released the well-received GTA: Liberty City Stories, which returned players to the New York-inspired scene seen in GTAIII. The following year, Rockstar brought GTA: Vice City Stories to the PSP, a well-regarded title that took place in the same humid Miami-mimicked streets of the original GTA: Vice City.