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GTA 4, Red Dead multiplayer gameplay unaffected by GameSpy closure
Rockstar's collection of games are some of the many to be affected by GameSpy's closure next month, although for the most part the studio's latest releases won't suffer. Rockstar plans to transition out of GameSpy's matchmaking service when it closes on May 31, and for some of the studio's older games, that will signal the end for their online features. The closure means Rockstar is removing all the online features from Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition and Dub Edition Remix, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on DS and PSP, and Beaterator. The racers are losing all online multiplayer as a result, while Chinatown Wars and Beaterator are dropping their Social Club features. The music mixing game is also ditching track uploading and downloading. No surprises: Grand Theft Auto 5 is totally unaffected, and online multiplayer gameplay remains intact in GTA 4, too. However, GTA 4 is dropping multiplayer leaderboards on PS3, while all platforms are parting with Social Club stat tracking and leaderboards. By the by, all of that also goes for the Complete version of GTA 4 and the Episodes from Liberty City.
Interview: Rockstar vets Lee Hutchinson and Matt Shepcar on their new studio, Double 11
Having put to bed a past with Rockstar Leeds -- and helping to turn out a laundry list of triple-A titles, including the portable Grand Theft Autos, while working there -- lead engineer turned studio director Lee Hutchinson and soon to be ex-lead programmer Matt Shepcar recently announced their new development studio: Double 11. Like so many other game devs these days, the two grew tired of big-budget projects with huge staffs, leaving in favor of creating their own smaller, mobile titles. "Our small size also means that every single team member is of paramount importance to their success or failure," the pair told Joystiq in an interview this afternoon. That isn't to say that the two have any complaints with Rockstar relating to the recent quality of life allegations. "We had a great time working at the Leeds studio and there are a lot of really talented people there," they told us. Hutchinson further expanded on his time at Rockstar to Develop. "Rockstar Leeds and the spouse allegations had no effect on our decisions to leave." In fact, we asked the two how they'd feel about working with Rockstar again in the future, and they told us, "We'd love to work with Rockstar again ... our split was very amicable and we hope Gordon [Hall] would consider working with us again in the future." To find out more about the studio's plans -- including a prospective Summer release for the its first game and where we might find said game, not to mention an explanation of the "Double 11" name -- join us past the break.
Beaterator now keeping time on iPhone
Amateur songwriters and frequent impromptu freestyle rap battlers take note: the iPhone version of Rockstar's Timbaland-ized beat creation software, Beaterator, is now available from the iTunes App Store for $4.99. The iPhone release features a redesigned interface, of course, since the PSP version relied on futuristic "button" technology. Other than that, it sounds similar to the original, though we don't know if it features everything from the PSP title: the press release announcing the product mentions that it features the ability to alter and add effects to sounds, as well as transposition and layering of loops. You can also upload your composition to the Rockstar Social Club! What seemed like an interesting curiosity as a full-priced PSP game sounds a lot more impressive as a five-dollar download, doesn't it? Beaterator ($4.99): %Gallery-79765%
Rockstar and Adult Swim offer free Beaterator tunes Dec. 7
Starting Monday through the end of the year, people who bust a funky move on over to Adult Swim's site will be able to download a free mix tape, courtesy of Rockstar's Beaterator. The tracks were hand-selected by both Rockstar and Adult Swim, and two of them -- Cee-Lo's "Hello Miss (Armani XXXChange remix)" and Good Time Guys' "Is That You God? (Dabrye remix)" -- will even be compatible with the PSP game. Hit the break for the list of all 17 tracks you'll be able to score from December 7 until January 1, 2010.
Rockstar's Beaterator subbing for music teachers in some NYC public schools
Despite a relatively low-key launch on the PSP this past Fall, Rockstar Games' Beaterator is showing back up in the news this week for reasons that we couldn't have seen coming from a mile away. It turns out that kids in some NYC public schools are getting their music education by means of the beat making application and PSPs, with a custom workshop being taught by Dubspot. CBS2 News reports that students from the East Side High School in Manhattan are being instructed on not just using Beaterator's tools, but also creating fully fleshed out tracks. "They're able to learn music theory in a different format ... it's the same information, just a different way of presenting it," the class' teacher says. Copies of Beaterator and PSPs are being provided for free, as is the classroom. We've contacted Rockstar to see if it plans on expanding the program into other cities. [Via Rockstar Games]
Beaterator is perfect for your awful friends
From: Dwight Slappe, marketing intern To: Jeff Bukovinski, head of Rockstar marketing NARRATION V.O. COPY FOR BEATERATOR PROMO, FIRST DRAFT: "Do you have an awful friend named Jason who's constantly tapping on stuff and making your life a waking hell? Well, now you can put Beaterator into his awful stupid hands for a few, precious moments of respite from his oppressive tooliness. But be forewarned, at the end of your brief reprieve, Jason, swollen with grotesque pride, will return with his miserable creation, and force you to listen to it repeatedly in its entirety, providing the final impetus you need to shear off his awful haircut and smother him with it. Beaterator: It'll make you kill your friends!"
Girlz play Beaterator too
Here's something Sony should add to its Girlz Play Too page: Beaterator. Timbaland's collaboration with Rockstar hits PSP (and iPhone) soon. While a supposedly fully-featured music creator may sound intimidating, Rockstar proves that Beaterator is easy enough for children to use. One of the cooler aspects of Beaterator is the ability to use the built-in PSP microphone (available on PSP-3000 and PSP Go) and create your own sounds. Finally! With Beaterator, we'll be able to make a club song made exclusively of our favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes. Timbaland gives an overview of the game in a new trailer posted after the break.
GTA Chinatown coming to the iPhone
Payback has been doing pretty well on the iPhone as a Grand Theft Auto clone, but the real thing is coming soon, apparently -- Rockstar Games says that they'll be bringing the acclaimed DS hit Chinatown Wars to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch platforms. Pretty big news, not only for GTA fans looking for a hijack-ing and crime spree fix (in this edition of the game, you can also deal drugs around the city, so that'll be fun), but also for the platform as a whole, since this is yet another sign that big developers are thinking about the iPhone as a major handheld platform. Chinatown Wars isn't the only game Rockstar will be releasing on the App Store, either, as their PSP music title Beaterator is also set to make an appearance. Nothing has yet been said about exact date or price (though G4 has guessed Rockstar wlll aim higher than the premium somewhat-standard of $9.99). We'll keep tuned to the police scanners for you.
Rockstar's Beaterator kicks it on the iPhone this fall
Timbaland's beat-blasting PSP game Beaterator is exclusive to Sony's platform no more, as Rockstar just announced the music-making application is headed to the iPhone, alongside Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Set for release sometime this fall, the title "features thousands of loops and sounds made by both Timbaland and Rockstar, and puts the power to make professional-level music at your fingertips in a format that's portable, accessible and fun." Sadly, no price has been mentioned, but we're sure you won't have to pony up that much scratch. Get it? Hey, where are you going?
Timbaland shows off Beaterator, explains lengthy dev time
Beaterator isn't really a game. It is, however, an interesting new music app designed specifically for PSP. Here, we see music producer Timbaland checking out Beaterator on his PSP Go. In addition to showcasing gameplay, this new video from Rockstar explains what took so long to get the project finished. According to the music producer, streamlining the experience is behind the game's lengthy development: "We made it very easy. It took time to make it easy. We've been putting this game together for three years, almost four years." Beaterator's long road to release will finally end when it launches on UMD and PSN on September 29th, a few weeks before Rockstar's other PSP game.
Beaterator is actually coming out -- and soon
You may not remember Beaterator, Rockstar Games and Timbaland's unique PSP collaboration. Why? It was announced over two years ago, in March 2007. Originally a Flash application on the Rockstar website, Beaterator allows players of all skill levels to create "professional-level music" through the thousands of loops and sounds included in the application. The PSP version of Beaterator is being developed by Rockstar Leeds, the team behind the PSP and DS Grand Theft Auto games. In preparation for the launch of the all-digital PSP Go, Rockstar will be releasing Beaterator on both UMD and PlayStation Network on September 29th in the US and October 2nd in Europe. This is actually the first of two PSP games expected from Rockstar Leeds this year: a PSP version of Chinatown Wars is also planned for release this holiday. Check out the trailer above, and the box art after the break.
Beaterator's PSP exclusivity a little unclear
You may (though you probably don't) remember all the way back to late 2007, when Rockstar picked a young producer by the name of Timbaland up off the streets and gave him a shot at his own PSP game, Beaterator. It's a year-and-a-half later now and, though the sheer power of the announcement was enough to catapult Timbaland to super-stardom, we still haven't seen the game. Now it seems there's a chance even more people can look forward to a digital Timbaland apprenticeship: Yesterday's Take-Two financial report listed the game's system as TBA rather than PSP. Does this mean DS, Wii or PS2 owners may soon experience the thrill of remixing music with Timbaland breathing down their necks? We'll keep you posted.
Beaterator and Timbaland pushed to 2009
Yes, we know, we're as crushed as you are. The musical beatmaking and music-mixing PSP game, Beaterator, by Rockstar games has been shoved back into 2009 because of fiscal year '08's robust lineup of titles, says the company. We're fairly sure that robust lineup constitutes mainly Grand Theft Auto IV, but we digress. The title was getting produced right along with Timbaland, so we'll assume both of those are pushed to 2009. It's all right, though, we'll find a lot of other things to tide us over until these games come out. Either way you look at it, though, 2009 is a long ways off, especially if you calculate time using the Blog-o-scheduler, which is approximately fourteen human years.
Rockstar taps Timbaland for Beaterator PSP
Take a two-year-old web app, sprinkle a lil' Timbaland on top, and Rockstar just baked us a Beaterator. But will it bring sexy back to PSP? Excuse us for being wary of Rockstar's continued re-usage of old content for its PSP titles. Recycling is generally a valuable effort, but "Beaterator: Timba-Land Stories" isn't exactly the megaton announcement PSP owners seem to be waiting for. What Beaterator will bring to Sony's handheld this summer is a distinctly un-Rockstar (at least, the game company) like offering; and perhaps, with the addition of minigames and challenge modes backed by the proven excellence of Timbaland production, Beaterator can help PSP finally adopt the 'non-gaming gaming' reputation that DS has sold so well. But the seemingly-hip(-hop) factor could also backfire. Battle of the bands: Beaterator or Jam Sessions?
Rockstar and Timbaland present: Beaterator
Two years ago, Rockstar Games had a version of Beaterator on its website. Today, Rockstar and famed R&B producer Timbaland have announced they would be teaming up to bring a full-fledged version of the music title exclusively to the PSP handheld system. Beaterator will feature a music mixer, and a collection of original music and rhythm games. "Music has always been a hugely important part of everything we do here," said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games in today's press release. "I've always been a huge fan of Rockstar and love playing their games," said Timbaland. "I'm thrilled to be partnering with them and making music for Beaterator. I cannot wait to get this in the hands of our fans!" Beaterator will be available on PSP this summer. Play the original Beaterator by visiting Rockstar.
