If you enjoy rolling down the streets of Stilwater with your posse in a pimp mobile as you casually unleash a wave of bullets on an opposing gang then today is your lucky day. We may be a ways off from getting Saints Row 3 but THQ is trying to keep gangsta antics of Saints Row alive with Saints Row: Drive By for the Nintendo 3DS and Xbox Live Arcade. Yup, now you can represent the 3rd Street Saints on XBLA.
Many were surprised that Saints Row: Drive-By was announced during Nintendo’s E3 conference but this XBLA news is even more surprising. In fact it turns out that the 3DS version is a port of the XBLA game which was already in production when Nintendo approached THQ about bringing Saints Row to the 3DS.
Speaking to IndustryGamers, THQ VP of Publishing Danny Bilson spoke about how the game came to be:
I’m kind of puzzled by Mr. Bilson’s comment. So is Saints Row: Drive-By a XBLA exclusive even though the 360 isn’t a 3D predominant platform? Obviously the likely case is that a PSN version is in the works since the Red Faction: Armageddon prequel is slated to hit the PSN later this year. But I just find it puzzling that a PSN version hasn’t been hinted at, especially since so many developers are eager to proclaim their games support 3D on PS3.
Of course when Saints Row: Drive-By is released we can expect tie-ins with Saints Row 3 as playing both games will unlock additional content. That’s just a small portion of what THQ has planned for the Saints Row franchise which also includes a live-action film. Saints Row 3 is set to be unveiled in December at the Spike Video Game Awards so it could be awhile before we see any sort of crazy gangster action.
