GamesRadar - Grand Theft Auto IV

GTA IV Ads Back on Chicago Buses, But Future M-Rated Game Ads Banned (News)

Nov 20, 2008

Niko Bellic is back.

About six months after the Chicago Transit Authority pulled ads for the violent but popular gangland video game "Grand Theft Auto IV," triggering a lawsuit from the gamemaker and attracting national attention, billboards for the game and its brooding, East European anti-hero have begun reappearing on the sides of CTA buses.

Subscription-based GTA and BioShock planned? (News)

Nov 17, 2008

CVG.com writes: "Take-Two chief Strauss Zelnick says that the company's looking to exploit a subscription-based pricing model for its AAA titles.

While the publisher's currently focused on delivering its first DLC (for Grand Theft Auto IV and the PS3 version of BioShock), it has other plans in store to boost its bank account, which could see its premium titles take on a subscription-based model.

"The holy grail is taking a business, already a very large and successful business that's focused on packaged goods that you sell once and then are occasionally resold by others with new benefit to us, and turning that into a subscription business or a semi subscription business where we have an ongoing relationship with consumers, giving them products that they want," Zelnick said at last week's BMO Capital Markets conference (whoops, missed it at the time)."

GTA IV Scoops Interactive Award In Scottish BAFTAs (News)

Nov 17, 2008

It's November in Scotland. That means two things. Surging haggis sales thanks to St Andrews Day and the Scottish BAFTA awards.

Despite Fanboy Accusations, Metacritic Does Not Exclude In-Network Review Scores (News)

Nov 12, 2008

Ripten writes: "A few weeks ago, we ran a story about LittleBigPlanet's Metacritic user score: a measly 6.3. We spoke to the site's founder Marc Doyle about the matter and were informed that it was only that low due to rampant fanboys on the warpath, attempting to sabotage the PS3 and its games. This inevitably continued with more low user scores: Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2. Well, it seems that now, fanboys have started trying to influence the critic's score, by flaming LittleBigPlanet on the site's forums.

While posting on this thread, an unnamed Metacritic user and certified fanboy claims they were wrongfully banned for what the cite deemed "crude and rude" statements. The complaint was then carried over by the user as an attempted news post on gaming news site N4G.

In the Metacritic thread itself, a series of users voiced concerns that not every 10/10 score for Sony's huge IP LittleBigPlanet had been posted to the site. The users kick and scream because their favorite system's biggest game isn't scored as high as they'd like - beaten only by GTA4. We spoke to Marc about the matter, and he summed up the idiocy neatly:..."

Grand Theft Auto IV Key to the City Keys Starting to Arrive (News)

Nov 12, 2008

James Parkin reports:

"Great news everyone, we're getting numerous reports from people all over the world stating that they've received their coveted Grand Theft Auto IV Key to the City."

Rockstar "not sure" when GTAIV content is coming (News)

Nov 10, 2008

Arstechnica writes: Before Grand Theft Auto IV's release, Microsoft paid $50 million to secure the exclusive rights to a large batch of downloadable content. To this day, no information about that content has been divulged, except for a tentative release date of fall 2008. Even that single piece of information appears to be moot now, as Rockstar has commented that it is "not sure" when the content will go live.

GTA IV Keys To The City Are Surprisingly Fancy (News)

Nov 8, 2008

If you got GTAIV on or just after its release, managed to rack up a 100% completion percentage and got one of those "return within seven days" emails, congratulations. You were one of the first people to "complete" the game, and earned yourself a prize. If you took the time to read that email, you'd have noticed that Rockstar warned it could take up to 120 days for your prize - a "key" to Liberty City - to arrive, depending on how many they had to make. Guess they had to make a ton of them, because they're only now, in November, shipping out to the winners. Reader MastaKwaa was one of the lucky ones, and his just turned up in the mail. If you're a fellow winner, yours will be there soon, and will look like this. If you weren't a winner, here's what you could have got yourself if you were a winner, and not a loser.

Media Create Sales: 10/27 - 11/02 (GTAIV PS3 @ 133k!) (News)

Nov 6, 2008

Chart Get! has translated the latest Japanese Sales data from Media Create for 10/27 - 11/02.

01. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto IV (Capcom) 133,000 / NEW
02. [NDS] Valkyrie Profile: Toga o Seoumono (Square Enix) 80,000 / NEW
03. [PS3] LittleBigPlanet (SCE) 52,000 / NEW
04. [NDS] Pokémon Platinum (Pokémon) 47,000 / 1,853,400
05. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode (Nintendo) 40,000 / 117,000
06. [NDS] Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo) 39,000 / 1,089,000
07. [360] Grand Theft Auto IV (Capcom) 34,000 / NEW
08. [NDS] Personal Trainer: Walking (Nintendo) 26,000 / NEW
09. [NDS] Cid to Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon: Toki Wasure no Meikyuu + (Square Enix) 26,000 / NEW
10. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) (Capcom) 26,000 / NEW

Notice Wii Music has already dropped out of the top 10!

Full top 30 and colorful charts at Chart Get!

Grand Theft Auto IV is Officially Number 1 in Japan (News)

Nov 5, 2008

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV is making a big splash over in Japan, according to the weekly software ranking published by Famitsu. The big budget sandbox title is debuted at the top of the charts, while LittleBigPlanet and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: Spec III took third and seventh place, respectively...

Read the rest of this news at the link below.

Costumes that saved the world (Feature)

Oct 30, 2008

When the Puritans began settling down in North America during the early 17th century, they didn’t practice cosplay. Those were dark days - dark, costume-less days, filled with famine, toil, and a depressingly short supply of free candy. It would take nearly 200 years for Americans and Canadians to finally embrace Halloween as a mainstream event - and it was mostly thanks to a flood of Irish and Scottish immigrants in the late 19th century. ...

Sony UK boss on DLC: 'Nothing is ever exclusive' (News)

Oct 29, 2008

Sony Computer Entertainment UK managing director Ray Maguire has told VideoGamer.com that "nothing is ever exclusive" in response to questions surrounding exclusive DLC on Microsoft's Xbox 360.

The Scariest Games this fall - Part 2 (Feature)

Oct 29, 2008

A few months back we featured the most bloodcurdling games to be unleashed this fall. We then graded each fright fest depending on what we assumed would be the scariest. The big surprise though is that half of the games featured - including FEAR 2 - either won’t be released by year’s end or - like in GhostBusters and Fatal Frame’s case - don’t even have release dates. ...

GTA 4 Trophy patch goes live (News)

Oct 27, 2008

1.00 AM GMT trophy patch for PS3 went live. It is 20MB. They are not retroactive.

Grand Theft Auto IV Price Drop Just In Time For Holiday (News)

Oct 25, 2008

GP Reports: "To prepare everyone for the upcoming DLC of GTA IV for our XBOX 360 owners and the trophies that are going live this Monday for Playstation 3 owners, the price of Grand Theft Auto IV has officially dropped to $49.99, making it very affordable for everyone who still hasn't had a chance to explore Liberty City..."

GTA IV Gets Multiplayer Zombie Infections (News)

Oct 24, 2008

Rockstar has confirmed that the rumors were true and they have released a zombie plague onto GTA IV players who play multiplayer. In addition to being able to get infect, players can also track where the infection has spread to through the Rockstar Social Club.

GTA IV Trophies To Be Released Monday 10/27 (News)

Oct 24, 2008

GP Repots: "If you are on Rockstar Games' mailing list, you should've received the information that the much awaited trophies for Grand Theft Auto IV are coming out on Monday, October 27..."

Quarantine Teaser at Rockstar Social Club (News)

Oct 23, 2008

GamingShogun writes, "Nope, its not for the movie Quarantine (at least, we don't think it is), however it could be a teaser for some new GTA IV downloadable content featuring zombies. How cool of a Halloween surprise would that be! For those of you who cannot read through the chain link, here is what it says: 'Contagious Disease - No one shall enter or leave this premises without the proper documentation issued by Eugenics Inc..."

GTAIV gets near perfect score from Famitsu, beats LittleBigPlanet (News)

Oct 22, 2008

Japanese games magazine Famitsu has given Grand Theft Auto IV a score of 10,10,9,10 which means that three out four reviewers thought it damn near perfect. This rather surprisingly outscored Sony's LittleBigPlanet, which recieved a more than formidable 10,10,9,9.

Full scores below.

Grand Theft Auto IV - Liberty City Lovers (Video)

Oct 20, 2008

What if GTA IV was a gay romantic comedy? (Feature)

Oct 20, 2008

Here at GamesRadar, we believe in asking, and then answering, the tough questions that no-one else is asking. Take GTA IV, for example. Players and critics alike lauded Rockstar’s hyperviolent ode to the savage desolation of the human soul, the gritty tale of gangster vengeance that unfolds as Niko struggles with his inner demons. Good stuff, for sure – Joseph Conrad couldn’t do better. ...

Lazlow: GTA IV DLC is "More Missions And Characters" (News)

Oct 18, 2008

Grand Theft Auto's most famous DJ has begun talking about the series again, this time giving a little detail on what fans can expect from the forthcoming Xbox 360 exclusive downloadable content....

"Mature" games that are actually mature (Feature)

Oct 14, 2008

Real world definition of "mature": Showing the mental, emotional, or physical characteristics associated with a fully developed person; involving serious thought. Videogame definition of "mature": Shits, tits and gibs. ...

World Gaming lets you turn frags into cash (News)

Oct 1, 2008

It's every gamers' dream: win money by playing video games. Despite gaming's newfound mainstream acceptance, most people--especially those in the United States--do not recognize gaming as a legitimate competitive activity. In a country where card games like Texas Hold 'em have recently exploded, turning 21-year-olds into online superstars, it's no stretch to assume that more gaming mediums deserve a similar place in public attention.

GTA IV Trophy List Revealed (News)

Oct 1, 2008

PS3Trophies.co.uk has uploaded a list of trophies for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 4. No word on whether these trophies are retroactive or not yet. Full list on their site.

Housers Will Stay With Rockstar - Analyst (News)

Sep 24, 2008

Edge writes: "With Grand Theft Auto masterminds Sam and Dan Houser's contracts up for renewal in February 2009, speculation has led some to believe the pair could be sniped by rival game makers.

But analyst Mike Hickey with Janco Partners finds that scenario unlikely, saying the two will stay with Rockstar Games.

He wrote in a Tuesday investor note, 'We find it unlikely that the Houser brothers would leave Take-Two Interactive for a competitor, as loyalty, compensation, culture and compelling IP should be sufficient in aggregate to leave employment alternatives unappealing.'"

GTA IV Sales Not as Obscenely/Repulsively Huge as Expected, Barely 10 Million Sold (News)

Sep 19, 2008

Companies, no matter how big or small, really like making money. This is no secret and, you know, God bless. Sometimes, though, their whining about not making enough of the stuff can be downright infuriating. A good example is Take-Two Interactive, makers of the overrated popular Grand Theft Auto video games. According to a recent report, sales of GTA IV are slowing considerably and not meeting the company's expectations.

Rockstar: 'We haven't announced a release date' for GTA IV expansion' (News)

Sep 18, 2008

Microsoft and Rockstar make differing statements regarding the GTA IV downloadable content coming to Xbox 360, leaving open the possibility of a delay to 2009.

Microsoft today again promised that downloadable GTA IV content would be coming to Xbox 360 in time for Christmas, according to Video Gamer. The news, however, contradicts previous statements made by both Microsoft and Rockstar earlier this month to GamePro.

Blizzard: GTA 4 is 'like an MMO but with one quest' (News)

Sep 16, 2008

Speaking to VideoGamer.com at Games Convention last month Diablo III lead designer Jay Wilson has revealed which games he's been playing this year. Unsurprisingly Blizzard's own World of Warcraft has taken up a lot of his spare time, but Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, C&C3 and GTA 4 have also been getting a look in.

"Well, I'm currently playing the PS3 Ratchet & Clank, which I absolutely love. I play a lot of World of Warcraft, and a lot of RTSs - so I was playing C&C3 earlier this year. I know it took me a while to catch up to it, but I have like this laundry list! I really enjoyed GTA 4," he told us during an interview last month.

Although GTA 4 is seemingly very different to World of Warcraft, Wilson thinks the two games have some things in common.

"I especially liked the way they introduced their campaign," he said. "It's funny, but we joke about GTA 4 that it's like an MMO but with one quest - and how did they pull that off? If we gave people an MMO with one quest they'd skin us alive! But really it means that they get to pace their game, but give people this open-world illusion that they have complete freedom, which is wonderful. It's a great way to create a game, and it's really fun."

Banjo dev: Game play through time 'almost irrelevant' (News)

Sep 11, 2008

Speaking to VideoGamer.com at a recent Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts press day at Microsoft's Reading HQ, Rare's senior animator Elissa Miller said that the time it takes gamers to play through a modern video game is pretty much "irrelevant".

Asked about the apparent move away from linear gaming to much more free experiences - LittleBigPlanet, Spore, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - Miller said this is the kind of gaming she enjoys most.

"For some people, that's the most interesting part. I know it's what I enjoy the most. Rather than play a game through from start to finish, I like to get lost in it," said Miller.

She added: "The amount of time it takes to actually complete a game is almost irrelevant, nowadays."

GTA IV Radio Station Prompts Music Copyright Lawsuit (News)

Sep 10, 2008

A Jamaican man who claims that he co-wrote a pair of reggae songs featured on one of Grand Theft Auto IV's radio stations filed suit over the issue against Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive in July.

The suit was dropped yesterday in federal court in Manhattan.

Sex beast copied Grand Theft Auto (News)

Sep 10, 2008

The Sun: A TEEN sex beast attacked four women in an imitation of violent computer game Grand Theft Auto, a court heard yesterday.
Ryan Chinnery, 19, prowled streets in his car targeting females he thought were prostitutes after becoming obsessed with the video nasty.

He assaulted his victims, none of them hookers, by night in a two-month period.

And the court was told he may have been influenced by the virtual reality game, in which a character drives around on "missions" - including approaching prostitutes who can be beaten up.

Grand Theft Auto IV Could Sell Over 23 Million Units (News)

Sep 5, 2008

Gamedaily writes: "In the wake of the recent GTA fueled quarter for Take-Two Interactive, analysts have weighed in on the publisher's future. UBS analyst Ben Schachter and Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter both mention management's belief that GTA IV could ultimately outsell its predecessor GTA: San Andreas, which would mean the blockbuster title would sell over 23 million units. To date, the game has shipped around 11 million units and sold through 10 million to consumers.

"In our view, the 1 million units remaining at retail will be sufficient to satisfy consumer demand for the balance of this quarter," noted Pachter. "While we expect some reorders in Q1:09, we expect orders to approximate 30% of hardware sales in Take-Two's addressable market, or around 2.5 million additional units.'"

Old GTA games sold 1 million units in May-July (News)

Sep 5, 2008

Speaking in an earnings call following the release of Q3 financials last night, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder said that old GTA titles have sold in seven figure units for the quarter.

Rockstar launching new GTA IV campaign for autumn and Christmas (News)

Sep 5, 2008

In Take-Two's third-quarter earnings call last night, CEO Ben Feder said that Rockstar is planning a new Christmas push for GTA IV.

Take-Two re-confirms GTA IV 360 DLC for fiscal 2009 (News)

Sep 4, 2008

Take-Two's just re-confirmed it will ship DLC for the 360 version of GTA IV in fiscal 2009, beginning November 1 this year.

Grand Theft Auto Film Rip Off On the Way? (News)

Sep 4, 2008

A call has gone out for teens to help Briggs Digital Media, an internet TV company, cash in on the success of the GTA franchise.

A casting call for a short film call Game Over states, "Teens looking to appear in the upcoming short film must be very experienced players of "Grand Theft Auto.""

The movie will be directed by Bobby Garabedian, whose short film, Most, was nominated for an Oscar.

Games take over corporate logos (Feature)

Sep 4, 2008

I literally sat at my desk for hours trying to come up with some kind of witty or insightful introduction to this article. I tried to play up our shared history as gamers, that we play so many of these damn things it’s easy to picture game names in place of everyday brands. ...

Grand Theft Auto Helps Preteen Rescue Family From Crashed Car (News)

Sep 3, 2008

Kotaku writes: "While we've seen countless story regarding children using Grand Theft Auto as their inspiration to do wrong, it's extremely rare that we see news about GTA being cited as a cause for good. It happened on August 27th around 9pm, as the Norris family of five was heading to Diamond, Illinois to visit relatives. Their 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee swerved off the road, hitting a guardrail and flipping four times before coming to a stop, caving in the roof and smashing out the back window. With her mother hanging upside down and her father pinned against the steering wheel, 11-year-old Audrey Plique climbed out of the back window and helped her parents and two younger siblings escape the car. The motivation for her heroic act, according to her mother Karen Norris?

'She just knew, from playing 'Grand Theft Auto.' She saw on there that when a car rolls over, it can blow up. She knew that could happen to us'"

Thailand Bans Games (News)

Sep 3, 2008

The government of Thailand was in an uproar after a nineteen year old man murdered a taxi driver and told police he was reenacting Grand Theft Auto. The extremely conservative Ministry of Culture has taken action by banning several video games from the country.

Earlier this year the Ministry released a list of objectionable violent games which it turns out were stolen from a list put forth by a Detroit prosecutor as a warning to parents during the holiday season of 2007. Hitman, 300, Hitman: Blood Money, Killer Seven and Fifty Cent: Bulletproof have all been officially banned in Thailand, and all of these games were on that list.

TGR's Rumor Killers: GTA4 DLC, Next-gen DS, and Lightsaber Waggle (News)

Aug 29, 2008

TGR - "In our last edition of Rumor Killers we brought you word that Microsoft was expecting to release the first batch of exclusive Grand Theft Auto 4 DLC in November, alongside the new Xbox Experience. Turns out that might just be wishful thinking on Microsoft's part though, and anyone looking for a reason to go back into Liberty City will have to wait until 2009.

According to a a source close to Rockstar, there is no way the new content will be released until next year, with January or February 2009 being pinned as the early possible dates the new content could make its debut."

Source: GTA IV DLC to launch in "January or February" next year (News)

Aug 28, 2008

A source close to Rockstar has told VG247 that Microsoft is "wrong" to expect the 360 GTA IV DLC in 2008.

Attorney: Blame Grand Theft Auto in Court, Get Rich (News)

Aug 28, 2008

shacknews.com: The use of Grand Theft Auto as a scapegoat isn't going anywhere, says law professor Ashley Lipson. The trick is worth too much money.

"A good defense lawyer will blame everyone in sight, except of course the client. When he or she runs out of people to blame, it's time to look around for objects. What could be better than a popular videogame?"

TGR's Rumor Killers: Halo 4, Home, and GTA4 DLC (News)

Aug 26, 2008

TGR - "Gearbox Software is no stranger to high profile games, particularly those of the shooter variety. The company behind the Brothers in Arms series has been hinting for a while now that they're working on something big, something huge, something so mind-blowing if they dared speak its name we would all prostrate ourselves and weep uncontrollably for weeks. The only problem is that we had no idea what this project was, until now."

GTA IV Breaks the Six Million Barrier (News)

Aug 22, 2008

PSU writes: Grand Theft Auto IV unsurprisingly sits at the top of the pile for worldwide sales in 2008, shifting a whopping 6.29 million copies since the beginning of the year.

Niko Bellic May Not Play Role in GTA IV DLC (News)

Aug 21, 2008

Ripten writes:

"At ComicCon '08 GameTrailers had the opportunity to catch up with the voice behind Niko Bellic, Michael Hollick. Geoff Keighly prefaced one of his questions by stating that Rockstar has been very tight-lipped about the upcoming DLC, adding that no one knows what to expect. Michael responded by saying 'neither do I' ...

The GTA IV DLC has been shrouded in ambiguity since its very announcement. It's been 4 months since the release of the game, and we haven't heard so much as a snippet of news regarding downloadable content. The trend continues, this time courtesy of Leipzig Games Convention where Microsoft said, 'In autumn there will be news from Liberty City,' followed by a mouthful of marketing mumbo jumbo."

Grand Theft Auto IV - Serial killer (Video)

Aug 15, 2008

5 Cool Things You Missed in GTA IV (Feature)

Aug 15, 2008

Grand Theft Auto IV is too big, too deep, too overwhelming. You could finish the storyline completely and still pass by some of the game's very best moments. We're not talking about pigeons, stunt jumps, glitches or Easter eggs either. We're talking about entire characters, whole missions, secret sex scenes and phonebooks worth of must-see trivia. ...

Electronic Arts keeping price of games artificially high (News)

Aug 15, 2008

Electronic Arts always seem to get the sh!t@y end of the stick when being discussed in the gaming community. Not least because of their aggressive buyout of top developers such as Pandemic, Bullfrog and such like, but also the tendency for them to invest huge amounts of money in acquiring licenses only to produce a bunch of shovelware that sits atop the festive gaming charts year in year out.

As if that wasn't bad enough - EA are now beginning to attempt to 'strangle' the second hand games market.

Nielsen: 17% of GTA IV Purchasers Underage - They also found episodic content on 360 swayed some buyers (News)

Aug 13, 2008

Gamedaily.biz writes: "The folks at Nielsen Games have released a new report on Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV, which looks at reasons for purchase, platform preference and perhaps most interestingly the ability for minors to get their hands on the controversial title. In fact, Nielsen found that 17 percent of respondents in their survey who had purchased GTA IV were between the ages of seven and 16.

Elsewhere in the Nielsen report, the company found that Microsoft's exclusive episodic GTA content (coming this fall) did have some sway on consumers, with 25 percent of those who purchased the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV citing the extra content as a deciding factor. 64 percent said they simply prefer the Xbox 360 over the PS3."

Houser made GTA by digging his "f***ing teeth in," says Levine (News)

Aug 10, 2008

BioShock dev lead Ken Levine has spoken for the first time about his Take-Two compadres at Rockstar, saying the Sam Houser is the "most intense guy in the world" and that he shares the Houser's method of creating great games: "digging your f***ing teeth in."

Halo 3, Xbox 360 Top G-Phoria 2008 Awards Full List Rundown (News)

Aug 9, 2008

Bungie's Halo 3 took top Game of the Year honors during the G-Phoria awards last night, broadcast by game-oriented cable television network G4.

Xbox 360 was named the station's favorite system -- which falls in line with the award distribution. Of the show's 18 game awards, only four went to titles not available on Microsoft's system: Best Graphics and Best Voice Acting for Kojima Productions' Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Best Racing Game for Nintendo EAD's Mario Kart Wii, and, by default, Best Handheld Game for Ready at Dawn's God of War: Chains of Olympus.

Follow Thailand and ban violent video game (News)

Aug 9, 2008

In an op-ed for the Star Online, Mohamed Idris, president of a Malaysian consumer rights organization has called for a ban on Grand Theft Auto and similarly violent video games.

3 Teens Arrested; Say 'Grand Theft Auto' Taught Them About Molotov Cocktails (News)

Aug 7, 2008

WSBTV writes: "Fulton County officials said they have arrested three teens and charged them with 57 felony counts in connection with a recent series of car bombings with Molotov cocktails in the city of Milton, north of Atlanta.

The felony charges include arson, criminal damage to property and possession of explosive devices in six vehicle fires between 11 p.m. July 24 and 3 a.m. July 25. Each teen is charged with 19 counts.

Officials said the teens -- ages 15 and 16 -- told authorities they learned "how to do it" from playing the video game 'Grand Theft Auto.'"

GTA is blamed. Again. For destruction of potted plants (News)

Aug 7, 2008

...And in GTA IV, plants are one of the ONLY things you can't destroy...

'From killing sprees to the decay of society, Grand Theft Auto has been blamed for a lot of things. Add destroying plants. Swedish park supervisor Gert Axelsson is tired of the plants being destroyed in the park he oversees in Lulea, northern Sweden. "I am very much considering getting surveillance," says Axelsson. And what does he blame for the plant destruction and increased vandalism? GTA "where you wreak havoc in the city." He's totally right, you know. Because the potted plant mission is my favorite. Heck, I've been kicking over plants all week. Whenever I see a flower bed, I immediately think uproot uproot. Just like I was taught in GTA. We're surprised that people are just catching onto this now. People are so slow sometimes.'

So there you go. GTA kills plants.

Let's add it to the list...

Five games you love that should go MMO (Feature)

Aug 7, 2008

Forget the tedious grinding and throw out the goblins. These would be the coolest MMOs ever made. ...

GTA IV PC to enable cross platform PC-360 online play? (News)

Aug 6, 2008

Maxconsole writes: "Rockstar games has updated the Official GTA IV website and it is now carrying a Games for Windows LIVE logo. This has sparked speculation that GTA may soon allow for cross platform play between PC and Xbox 360 and the PC may also be receiving the delayed 'exclusive' Xbox 360 GTA IV DLC..."

GameTrailers TV to Give Details on GTA IV DLC (News)

Aug 6, 2008

GameTrailers TV and Spike TV have announced that they will be interviewing Michael Hollick, the voice of Niko Bellic, in an upcoming episode of GameTrailers TV. During this interview, they will be talking about the upcoming downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV.

Stats: Taxi Murders Peaked Years Before GTA (News)

Aug 5, 2008

GamePolitics reports: "Absent speculation that Grand Theft Auto somehow played a role, the murder of a Bangkok cab driver by a 19-year-old-man in some ways appears similar to the typical murder of a cab driver in the United States.

In the U.S., cabbie killings appear to have very little to do with violent video games, given that they peaked in 1990-1993, when crude first-person shooters like Doom were the bloodiest games available and the first Grand Theft Auto was years away."

Thai Site Offers Local Perspective on GTA Cabbie Murder (News)

Aug 5, 2008

Via GamePolitics: "Frustrated by sketchy and somewhat conflicting English language news accounts of Bangkok's GTA Cabbie murder, GP went looking for local Thai sources and found Asian Sweetheart. The site is mostly pictures of "gorgeous Thai ladies," but the cabbie murder apparently got the owner's attention away from posting glam shots."

No Surprise Dept: Jack Thompson Wades into Thai GTA Case (News)

Aug 5, 2008

Via GamePolitics: "You knew it was only a matter of time.

In the wake of reports that a 19-year-old Thai man murdered a cab driver after playing Grand Theft Auto, embattled Miami attorney Jack Thompson has written a menacing e-mail to the top executives of Take-Two Interactive, publisher of the controversial series.

In the e-mail to T2 chairman Strauss Zelnick and CEO Ben Feder (and copied to dozens of other people, including GamePolitics), Thompson writes:

'I warned you both that copycat killings by teens would occur upon the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Now my prediction has come true...'"

How not to make a video review (Feature)

Aug 5, 2008

For the benefit of budding handy-cam critics everywhere we've put together this five point checklist that we hope will provide some priceless pointers for making better video reviews. ...

Murder Blamed on GTA, Sales Halted (News)

Aug 4, 2008

In addition to the previous reports of a GTA related murder in Thailand, it appears that the sales of the game will now be halted.

Ripten writes:

"Here we go again. An 18 year old in Thailand confessed to the robbery and murder of a 54 year old taxi cab driver, claiming he was trying to recreate a scene from the Grand Theft Auto video game.

Distributors of the game in Thailand are now being instructed to remove the game from their shelves indefinitely it would seem. Sales and Marketing Director for New Era Interactive Media, Sakchai Chotikachinda, was quoted saying..."

GTA copycat murder in Thailand, games pulled from shelves (News)

Aug 4, 2008

A Thai videogame distributor has pulled copies of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto games from retailers in Thailand following reports of a GTA copycat crime that ended in the murder of a taxi driver over the weekend.

GTA 100 Percenters Have 7 Days to Get Their Key (News)

Aug 2, 2008

Rockstar sent notices out sometime after midnight to players who achieved 100 percent completion in Grand Theft Auto IV during the game's "Key to the City" contest (now closed, so if you're at 98.3 percent, suck it up.) Reader Farnic sent us a screenshot of his (fullsize after the jump). The fine print: "If you do not respond within seven days, you will be made ineligible for the prize." Also, it could take up to 120 days to get your key, depending on how many they have to make.

GTA IV 100% Club Contest winners notified (News)

Aug 2, 2008

Check your inbox eager gamers, Rockstar has announced that potential winners of the GTA IV 100% Club Contest have been notified.

Have you won?

Crime could pay for top video game (News)

Aug 1, 2008

The game, created by Edinburgh-based company Rockstar North, is the latest in the long-running franchise which sees gamers given the chance to run around lavishly-created virtual cities carrying out all manner of criminal activities.

This latest instalment has earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours. In its first day on release the game sold 3.6 million copies and earned more than £150 million.

At the Edinburgh awards, established to recognise innovation and design in video games, it will be up against the revolutionary Wii Fit, the incredibly popular Rock Band game and best-selling Halo 3.

The winner of the Edge Award will be announced on Monday, August 11.

Grand Theft Auto IV - Ghostriding glitch (Video)

Jul 28, 2008

GTA IV Ghostriding glitch (Feature)

Jul 28, 2008

We were goofing around in GTA IV multiplayer the other day, trying to play “grenade baseball,” when we discovered that the shopping carts in my world were not visible in my friend’s world. Naturally, this begged further investigation. The conclusion? You can get into a shopping cart and have your friend push you down a hill. ...

GTA IV confirmed for PC by ESRB (News)

Jul 26, 2008

C4D.dk reports: "Rockstar has repeatedly denied plans for a PC version of the ultra-popular Grand Theft Auto IV, which was released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles in April. There have been alot of rumours, latest had a PC dedicated magazine in Malaysia, Niko on the frontpage. But now it should be officially, ESRB has listed GTA IV on the three platforms, in which PC is one of them."

GTA IV Revealed for PC! - PC Gamer Malaysia (News)

Jul 24, 2008

A photo of the cover of the next PC Gamer Malaysia reveals that GTA IV is now coming to the PC!

Which console does best and worst in each genre? (Feature)

Jul 22, 2008

We compiled game review scores (collected from Metacritic) by genre to show you which console does each kind of game best, in the most unbiased way we can ...

GTA IV Car Named After Game Violence Researcher (News)

Jul 22, 2008

GamePolitics:

"A hybrid car available for jacking in GTA IV is named after a well-known game violence researcher, Dr. Karen Dill of North Carolina's Lenoir-Rhyne College."

The "Karin Dilettante" is a sporty hybrid sedan that appears in Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest installment in the famously violent and sexualized series of video games. "Chicks love electronic gadgets" is the slogan in fake ads for the car.

Ms. Dill says she couldn't believe that Rockstar Games, the maker of Grand Theft Auto, had taken the trouble to name a car for her: "I was kind of like, whoa, they actually do care about video-game research."

GTA: Chinatown Wars at PAX? (News)

Jul 22, 2008

In an interview with Nintendo's Cammie Dunaway [who announced GTA: Chinatown Wars for the DS at Nintendo's E3 press conference], she revealed that Nintendo are pushing on Rockstar for some new stuff on Chinatown Wars for the Penny Arcade Expo.

Rockstar Games have been confirmed to be attending so there is a good chance we will see some new Rockstar Games stuff including GTA for the Nintendo DS.

GTAIV PC: Prank Results in Half-Assed Confirmation (News)

Jul 19, 2008

Kotaku:

"Two guys worked up an extremely patient, social engineering prank that had 2K Games support believing, or at least suspicious of the possibility of a hacked Grand Theft Auto IV demo on pirate sites. And in the back-and-forth, it turned up this reply from tech support:

"The PC version of GTA IV has not even been announced for release and is still in development so is not about to be released on a website." "

Full story after the jump!

Take Two's Conference Over (News)

Jul 16, 2008

So Take Two's conference has to come to an end and a few of Rockstar's titles made appearences including a brief montage of GTA IV, Bully and L.A. Noire, a new trailer of Midnight Club: LA and a brief teaser of the new Red Dead Revolver 2 game.

GTA muggers sentenced (News)

Jul 15, 2008

A pair of hooded robbers who ambushed a man for his copy of the controversial video game Grand Theft Auto IV have been jailed for two years each.

Marc Hughes, 21, of Herbert Street, Leyland, and Oliver Aindow, 18, of Kingswood Road, Leyland, stalked their victim as he left a Leyland store after a midnight release of the 18-rated game.

E3 08: Is Mercenaries 2 better than GTA IV? (Feature)

Jul 14, 2008

In the weeks that followed the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, most of its high-profile competitors - including Prototype and Saints Row 2 - had their release dates hastily and conspicuously pushed back to fall or later. Most of them, that is, except for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. After a number of pre-GTA IV delays, the free-roaming soldier-of-fortune simulator is sticking to its August release date, with no sissy retreat in ...

INTERVIEW: Sam Houser (News)

Jul 11, 2008

MCV: The Rockstar co-founder looks back over his amazingly successful career, discussing his biggest challenges, successes - and what's he's still to achieve.

Sam Houser: 'People want to put Rockstar out of business' (News)

Jul 11, 2008

MCV: Biggest challenge of legend's career has been the 'powerful people' who want to crush GTA firm

Sam Houser: Games industry has 'limitless' potential (News)

Jul 11, 2008

MCV: Rockstar boss reveals his motivations and his vision of the future in an exclusive MCV profile

Gaming's most repellent anti-babes (Feature)

Jul 11, 2008

After a week of eye-popping sexy lady types, we thought it was only fair that we should give some exposure to a few of God's burnt cookies. ...

The best video games of the year -- so far (News)

Jul 9, 2008

E3, the video-game industry's big trade show, is next week, and you'll be hearing a lot about all the new software coming between now and Christmas. But there's a bit of a lull until Aug. 12, when Madden NFL 09 unofficially marks the beginning of the fall game season. July is a good time to catch up on some of the games you may have missed. Here are the best of the year so far.

20 Most Rabidly Patriotic Games (Feature)

Jul 4, 2008

To celebrate Independence Day (the holiday, not the movie), we’ve scoured our encyclopedic minds for the most patriotic games to be developed. But that wasn’t funny enough. So, we dug deeper to find the most rabidly patriotic games every developed. Ya know - the ones with so much love for Old Glory that it starts to get a little ridiculous. Behold - our results!

America's ArmyUS Army | 2002Any game can add the word ...

The Most Gratuitous Headshots Video Ever (Feature)

Jul 3, 2008

Two minutes. One video. Fifty-five perforated skulls. ...

Police using GTA IV to catch pedophiles (News)

Jul 2, 2008

Computer and videogames Writes:

Police who previously used internet chat rooms to set up sting operations are now playing Grand Theft Auto IV online to catch kiddie fiddlers.

"Child predators are migrating from traditional methods to alternate media," said Detective Lt. Thomas Kish of the Michigan State Police to the USA Today. "They are going to places where children are."

Hit the Jump to know more.

GTA IV for PC Confirmed? (News)

Jul 2, 2008

Ever wondered if GTA IV is coming to the PC? Well wonder no more as two trickers have managed to get conformation from Rockstar. They pretended to have downloaded a free version of GTA IV from the web and a rep later responded "The PC version of GTA IV has not even been announced for release and is still in development so is not about to be released on a website we have no knowledge of" after a chain of e-mails.

Factually Wrong 'Grand Theft Childhood' Review Published, Then Removed (News)

Jun 28, 2008

Dr. Joanne Cantor, like many in the field of psychiatry, were none too pleased with the book "Grand Theft Childhood", and wrote a scathing review about the book on a popular and well-respected psychiatry website. There was just one problem: She had nothing to back up her outrageous claims.

Price not GTA IV to blame for slow PS3, 360 sales, says analyst (News)

Jun 27, 2008

Gamepro report's: While interest, investment, and sales of Nintendo Wii are through the roof, outspoken analyst Michael Pachter says traditional games will still grow, though not as fast as mainstream ones.

"The market for next-gen games is not close to exhaustion," says Pachter, when asked how promising of a future the Xbox 360 and PS3 have in a post-Wii world. "As consoles come down in price, the manufacturers will sell more of them, and the market will continue to expand."

GTA IV's hardest missions completed videos (Feature)

Jun 27, 2008

By GTA-series standards, mission difficulty in GTA IV is pretty well-paced. But we'd be happy to bet that you'll fail certain missions a few times. What you need is a video of the toughest missions being completed so you know the best way to success. We've beaten the ten hardest missions (as voted by a panel of 'experts') on video for that purpose.

The missions covered are: Snowstorm, Three Leaf Clover, Hostile Negotiations, Late ...

50 ways to die in Grand Theft Auto IV (Feature)

Jun 27, 2008

During the making of our huge catalogue of GTA IV video guides, to add to the frustration of having to produce perfect insane jumps against a deadline and shoot every damn pigeon on the map, we also had to content with the inconvenience of Niko's mortality.

The general rule is: the harder you try to do a task under pressure, the more likely Niko will find himself at the end of a spectacularly unlucky ...

Sen Gayle Slossberg sets the record straight (News)

Jun 27, 2008

Quote from MWgamer.com
"After Yesterdays post about Sen Gayle Slossberg comments on a GTA 4 rape scene. I took it upon my self, to contact the senator to ask her about the comment she made. She sent back this email"

Cops Say Teens Were Emulating GTA in Robbery Spree (News)

Jun 26, 2008

GamePolitics: Yesterday it was Connecticut State Senator Gayle Slossberg fretting about a non-existent rape scene in GTA IV. Today, police in Nassau County, New York allege that six teenagers charged with robbing a man at a supermarket were emulating Grand Theft Auto:

"Nassau County police cops have arrested six teens for robbing a man at a supermarket... The police add the teens arrested were emualting [sic] the characters from the video game Grand Theft Auto."

Grand Theft Morals: Senator Alarmed Over (non-existent) Rape Scene (News)

Jun 25, 2008

Connecticut State Senator Gayle Slossberg is eager to do something about the rape scene in Grand Theft Auto IV, she told the New Haven Advocate.

But she faces a major hurdle: There is no rape scene in the controversial game.

Why video games are the new entertainment leaders (News)

Jun 25, 2008

Posted by Don Reisinger

After playing through Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, it became quite clear to me that video games have supplanted film as entertainment leaders. The game shines on so many levels, it's difficult to recount them all here. But perhaps more than anything, it allowed me to become a part of an environment that goes above and beyond anything I've ever experienced in a movie.

And after playing through this instant classic, I can't help but wonder if the video game industry has finally realized that it commands mainstream attention and must favor a new type of gaming that creates unprecedented entertainment value.

I'm a firm believer that video games have replaced movies as the de facto leader in entertainment. Games offer greater entertainment value, usually have better stories, and generally appeal to people far more than any movie currently in theaters.

"Grand Theft Auto" settlement dwarfed by plaintiffs' legal bill (News)

Jun 24, 2008

Lawyers who sued the makers of the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" profess to be shocked that few people who bought the game were offended by sex scenes buried in its software. Any purchaser upset about hidden sex in the violent game could file a claim under a settlement the lawyers struck with its maker, Take-Two Interactive. Of the millions of people who bought the version after its release in 2004, exactly 2,676 filed claims.

The civil lawsuit was filed after the disclosure of the sex scenes, accessible only to savvy players using third-party software, sparked fulmination in the U.S. Congress and excitement online. The suit charged the company with defrauding buyers by failing to disclose the sex scenes.

"Am I disappointed? Sure," said Seth Lesser, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs. "We can't guess as to why now, several years later, people care or don't care. The merits of the case were clear."

Far bigger than the payout to plaintiffs will be the fees sought by the lawyers who brought the class action. Lesser and his colleagues at 10 other law firms have asked for more than $1.3 million - compared with less than $30,000 that Take-Two Interactive's lawyers say it will spend to resolve the claims for $5 to $35 each, or a clean copy of the game.

GTA IV fixed on both platforms (News)

Jun 24, 2008

Rockstar has released a new patch for GTA IV that should quash the majority of freezing and online connectivity issues on both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game.

The new patch, which should install itself next time you play the game with your console connected to the internet, tightens the nuts and bolts on many of the errors that had gamers in an uproar shortly after launch.

Here's the official list of repairs:-Fixed an issue ...

Rockstar Releases Patch for GTA IV (News)

Jun 23, 2008

Rockstar has just released a patch for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of GTA IV. The new patch will supposedly fix various issues that players have been experiencing during online play.

Grand Theft Auto movie an impossibility? (News)

Jun 23, 2008

Anyone that's interested in seeing a Grand Theft Auto movie shouldn't hold their breath. It seems that Rockstar can't make a film out of the game due to a legal settlement.

If you've spent some time perusing the bargain bin of Blockbuster, you might know that a film called Grand Theft Auto was made in the seventies by Ron Howard - yes, that Ron Howard.

It was hardly a success, but according to Hollywood Daily it worried ...

GTA movie is impossible, thanks to Ron Howard (News)

Jun 20, 2008

Shacknews reports:A film based on the open-world criminal antics of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series is likely to never happen due to a 1977 movie of the same name, according to LA Weekly film columnist Nikki Finke.

NSPCC joins GTA 'paedo' row (News)

Jun 20, 2008

MCV: The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has called on Rockstar to remove a joke 'paedophile' website from GTA IV.