Liberty City Stories slips another fortnight

The launch date for Rockstar's PlayStation 2 version of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories has slipped back another fortnight, to June 23rd, with the title set to retail at a 29.99 Euro / GBP 19.99 price point.

Shares in Rockstar's parent company, Take Two, slid significantly when the firm originally announced that the game would not appear until early June, but this latest delay is unlikely to be seen as being quite so significant.

Liberty City Stories was released on the PlayStation Portable last autumn to significant critical acclaim and commercial success, and returns the franchise to Liberty City, the setting for Grand Theft Auto 3, but with new characters and missions.

Although the next instalment in the PSP franchise is on the cards - with Vice City Stories already in development - Rockstar has not yet given any detail on when the next Grand Theft Auto title for home consoles will appear.

It seems likely that a home console version of Vice City Stories will be launched if Liberty City Stories lives up to its promise, but it may be that the next "proper" new GTA title for a home console is Grand Theft Auto IV, which will appear on PS3 and Xbox 360 simultaneously next October.