Source: The most recent issue of the British magazine PlayStation World (aka PSW).

　　What we heard: Microsoft's locking down of exclusive downloadable content for its platforms is a sore point for PlayStation 3 owners. The foremost offenders are the two Xbox 360-exclusive episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV, which Microsoft paid $25 million each for, according to a June 2007 Take-Two Interactive conference call. (A transcript of the call is available on finance blog Seeking Alpha.)

　　While the timed PlayStation 2 exclusivity on previous GTA games like Vice City and San Andreas helped that platform become the top-selling console of all time, GTAIV has sold best on the Xbox 360. In part, that success was spurred by the two 360-only expansions, the first of which, The Lost and Damned, debuted in February to strong critical praise (see below).

　　Still, the prayers of many PS3 owners appeared to be answered this week, when Play.tm and about four dozen other multilingual (mostly) European sites cited PSW as reporting that Lost and Damned was PS3-bound. According to Digitial Spy's summary of the article--which is not available online--Microsoft has only a "a six-month exclusivity deal for the content, which expires in August." After that, the magazine reportedly said, the "content will arrive on the PS3 once the deal has run its course."

　　The official story: Sony did not respond to e-mails, and Take-Two reps politely but firmly declined to comment. Microsoft, however…

　　Bogus or not bogus?: …issued a blunt but unequivocal statement about the prospect of a PS3 Lost and Damned. "The [GTAIV] episodes are exclusive to Xbox 360," a rep told GameSpot, officially ruling out any chance of a port. However, Take-Two Interactive's refusal to divulge sales figures for The Lost & Damned make it unclear if Microsoft paid too high a price to keep the add-ons 360-only.