GrandTheftAuto -- Engadget

GrandTheftAuto posts

HIPerSpace monitor wall makes a great Grand Theft Auto IV canvas

by Darren Murph, posted May 8th 2008 at 9:34AM

Rolling around jacking up innocents and tossing Molotov cocktails is pretty enthralling on your vanilla 46-inch HDTV, but can you even imagine the rush of swiping a hot dog, burning out in someone else's whip and then snagging a new pair of kicks on this? Researchers (and gamers, obviously) down at UC San Diego have re-engineered their middleware to enable such masterpieces as this to be played on the ~~big~~ monolithic HIPerSpace screen, and needless to say, we can't imagine much real work getting done with this new functionality coming to light. Head on down to the gallery to see what you're missing -- science, research and 4.0 GPAs are such beautiful things.

Gallery: HIPerSpace monitor wall makes a great Grand Theft Auto IV canvas

Sony's Grand Theft Auto IV PS3 bundle spotted in Belgium store

by Darren Murph, posted May 2nd 2008 at 8:36AM

Yeah, that fancy press shot has a certain beauty to it, but there's just nothing like spotting a highly coveted console in the wild. Thanks to our cameraphone toting tipster in Belgium, we're presented with the first image of the GTA IV bundle sitting on a shelf just waiting for someone to trade their €450 in and take it home. Oh, and if you're wondering what type of shop places a sweet PS3 beside an assortment of blank media, a coffee mug and what appears to be a CRT television circa 1990, it's Free Record Shop in Antwerp, sucka.

[Thanks, Yannick]

SCEE confirms: Grand Theft Auto IV PS3 bundle headed to Europe

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 23rd 2008 at 1:15PM

Just in case a cameo on some Swedish e-tailer's site wasn't enough proof for you, Sony has confirmed that all of our hopes and dreams are coming true... in Europe. Yep, the blokes and dames across the pond will be able to snag a special edition PlayStation 3 bundle with Grand Theft Auto IV (and a SIXAXIS wireless controller) bundled in for €439 ($696). Beyond that (and the way cool box), everything else looks to be the standard fare -- pick one up if you wish on April 29th.

[Via Joystiq]

GTA IV 40GB PlayStation 3 bundle surfaces in Europe

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 7th 2008 at 12:23PM

If you're still licking your lips while gazing at that limited edition GTA IV Xbox 360 Elite, you may have the opportunity to make your GTA-branded console ownership dreams come true in a slightly different manner. Out of seemingly nowhere, a Grand Theft Auto IV PlayStation 3 bundle has popped up on a Swedish retailer's website, offering a 40GB PS3, a copy of the game, a decorated box and little else (DualShock 3?). Judging by the package art, we're guessing there's no suave paint job waiting on either side, and Webhallen has the unit priced at 4,499 SEK (or about $755). Before you ask -- there's no telling whether this thing is headed stateside or not, but surely Sony / Rockstar Games wouldn't let such a moneymaker swim around the US of A, right?

[Via N4G, thanks John]

Microsoft unloads 500 GTA IV Xbox 360 Elite consoles

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 21st 2008 at 9:05PM

While folks at the Xbox 360 repair lab know good and well how to strip a console back to its birthday suit, Microsoft is going the opposite direction with its limited run of Grand Theft Auto IV Elites. The console itself is purportedly blasted with automotive quality paint and each one is individually numbered. Apparently, the 500 units -- which look to come with a case full of peripherals -- are only being dished out to press outlets and the like, so it seems your only shot at actually acquiring one is by scouring the second hand market. Or you could just steal one and toss a Molotov cocktail behind as you're getting away -- that'd be fitting, we guess.

[Via Xbox360Fanboy]

Becks loses two Bimmers to laptop-toting thieves

by Evan Blass, posted May 3rd 2006 at 3:14PM

For every hundred or so stupid criminals that we feature on these pages, there are a few just as brilliant as their contemporaries are dim: look at the international group of hardware pirates who managed to build their own version of Japan's NEC Corp, or the laptop-toting thieves who succesfully stole not one, but two, of ~~soccer~~ football star David Beckham's BMW X5 SUVs by hacking the keyless-entry systems. In the last six months, the Real Madrid star and Mr. Posh Spice has seen two of his $60,000 vehicles lost to geeky criminals, with the most recent GTA occurring while Becks dined at a mall in Spain. Apparently thieves armed with a particular model's security schematics can jack into the car's PC and run software that dumps out the necessary codes for breaking the encryption, allowing them to unlock the doors, start the engine, and in some cases, even disable built-in tracking devices. Yeah, we're kind of impressed, but let's see these fancy criminals use their high-tech lockpicks to "hack" the cold, hard steel of our "Club LX."

[Via Left Lane News]

Stefan Eriksson charged with multiple counts

by Ryan Block, posted Apr 17th 2006 at 5:21PM

Guess whose favorite scandal-ridden carousing ex-gangster party animal Los Angelean Swede just got charged with felony counts of embezzlement, grand theft auto, driving under the influence, and illegal possession of a firearm by felon? You got it, Stefan Eriksson. who supposedly faces 14 years in prison, if found guilty. What, you didn't think someone this shady was going to go about his business forever more without further question after that fateful evening last February, did you? Oh, and FYI, the handsome, mysterious Dietrich -- the man accused by Eriksson of driving the $1m Enzo into the pole at 160mph -- continues to evade capture, despite prosecuters' claims he does not exist. We have just received word, however, that he was spotted late last week attempting to cross the Canadian border in a Groucho Marx disguise and Ferrari PowerWheels.

[Thanks, Alex B]

Update: Apparentl Eriksson pleaded not guilty and was held on $5.5m bail. Yo, dudes at Xero Mobile, you wanna help a brother out? Thanks, Freddy.

Gizmondo chief finally arrested for being too shady

by Evan Blass, posted Apr 9th 2006 at 2:30PM

We shamelessly ripped this headline verbatim from the subject of reader Dave M's tip, because, well, it's just so perfect, isn't it? Specifically, former Tiger Telematics Europe executive and drunk driving enthusiast Stefan Eriksson was arrested at his Bel-Air residence on Saturday, booked on suspicion of grand theft, and is currently enjoying decidedly less-luxurious surroundings, as the Sheriff's Department is wisely holding the slippery Swede without bail. It's not immediately clear whether the theft charge is related to Eriksson's destruction of that million dollar Ferrari Enzo in February (pictured in cake, above), but since we'd already heard that a Scottish bank may be the rightful owners of the mangled supercar, we wouldn't be surprised if the former videogame exec is guilty of playing a little real life GTA along with his favorite DUI. Meanwhile, Eriksson's imaginary friend and supposed co-conspirator, "Dietrich," remains at large.

[Thanks, Dave M]