These are problems specific to the game itself (except the CTDs), regardless of the system you run it on.
Console games receive patches too. The consumers do the beta testing nowadays and pay for the privilege.

Recommended specs are pretty high for the average game. Its the kind of game GTA IV is designed to be.

I love the video editor idea. More games should include these types of options.

One thing that seems unclear in the article is exactly how good GTA IV looks at low visual settings. I'd be interested to know if it looks comparable to the console version or if it is better/worse at those settings. The article only lists it as "decent."

If the only reason to get GTA4 for PC is the graphics, that seems like a bit of a waste of money. Apparently a lot of people aren't up to the recommended specs, and you'd get the same experience out of playing it on console. Either way, if you bought it on console or PC the day it came out, you'd still be out the same $60 for generically the same experience. They are just making visual upgrades to the game, not adding new features or new missions. I've bought nearly all of the GTA games on PC and haven't yet noticed any Rockstar-developed patches or mods to the games that make them any different than on console. If you just want Liberty City to look prettier, then by all means shell out the money for the PC version. Otherwise, play it on console and at least enjoy the game itself instead of wanting to see it with better detail. Were the graphics really that bad on console? I thought they looked perfectly great, but I guess I don't have the eye for detail some people do. It sounds like they are trying to improve on something that doesn't really need to be messed with, and are making a stable thing worse off than it needs to be. If it ain't broke, don't think you need to fix it.

$60?? PC games rarely (if ever) cost more than $50. :)

Since this site is the spiritual successor to PCGamer.com...those of us who made the transition would most likely be buying it on PC for the first time, as opposed to buying it for the PC in addittion to a console version.

I really hope my rig can run this. I'm sick of my PC not being able to run good games.

They recommend Q6600? WTH? I just built a machine with one of these because it is mid-high level machine (best bang for your buck) and I can run Fallout 3 at 1280x1024 with all settings on Ultra with no stuttering. This better not indicate that they've done a terrible job optimizing the PC port.