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Humble is selling Rockstar Games on the cheap to save the rainforest
Want a way to pick up a bulk of Rockstar Games' back catalog and help a good cause? Then head over to Humble where donating $1 or more will get you Grand Theft Auto III, GTA: Vice City and the grisly stealth game Manhunt. Bumping up your pledge to $8.13 adds Bully: Scholarship Edition, GTA IV, GTA: San Andreas, L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3 to your haul.
'GTA: San Andreas' on Xbox 360 looks a lot like the Android version
Let's say that nostalgia got the better of you and you downloaded the refreshed GTA: San Andreas on Xbox 360 to replay a few missions ahead of GTA:V's new-gen re-release. You know, the tale of the Grove Street Families that now supports 720p resolution and achievements. Well, the tech-minded folks at Digital Foundry have done some digging and found that the HD version actually bears more than a passing resemblance to the game's recent Android offering, as opposed to, say, a port of the original PC release. What you get here has better draw distance than the one on Google's mobile OS, but, for the most part, little else in the way of enhancements. Instead, there's apparently quite a bit of stuttering in-game, there are visual effects missing that even the PlayStation 2 release had too, in addition to cutscenes where audio drops out completely.
Grand Theft Auto III series lands on Amazon's tablets and Fire TV
The Grand Theft Auto games have been on seemingly every platform known to humankind, but those with Amazon devices have had to make do without Rockstar's vehicular mayhem. That changes today: you can now snag Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas on both the Kindle Fire tablet line as well as Fire TV. You'll be very familiar with the experience if you've used any of the earlier mobile versions, although that's no big complaint given the quality of the ports. With that said, the real allure may be the pricing. Each game normally costs $5 a pop, but purchasing San Andreas currently gets you enough Amazon Coins to buy the other two releases -- this could be a good way to get started in the crime-filled world of GTA without making a big investment.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas available on iOS right now, Android and Windows Phone next week
If you've been jonesing to spend some HD quality-time with Carl Johnson on your iDevice, the wait is over. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is available from iTunes right this moment for $7, and is compatible with most recent iOS gizmos. If you want to roll with Officer Tenpenny on a different mobile platform, Rockstar Games tells us that the promised Android and Windows Phone versions will hit next week. Just remember: What happens in Las Venturas, stays in Las Venturas.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas coming to Android, iOS and Windows Phone in December
If Grand Theft Auto V left you eager to spend more time in Los Santos, you'll be glad to hear that Rockstar Games is porting Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to mobile devices. Android, iOS and Windows Phone users will get to relive Carl Johnson's early '90s gangster saga this December, with more detailed graphics and touch-optimized controls coming to all platforms. Gamers will also get full controller support, including Made for iOS devices if you're using iOS 7. Rockstar isn't providing release dates and prices just yet, although the imminent launch suggests that we'll get more details in short order.
Cypress Hill backup singer sees himself in Grand Theft Auto, sues Rockstar
Our friends, this next post is fraught with danger, excitement, and West Coast rappers with names like B-Real, Sen Dog, and Michael "Shagg" Washington. Indeed, the latter is alleging that Rockstar appropriated his likeness for the character CJ, a hood in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas whose life apparently shares many details with his own troubled upbringing, "including how the teen-agers in his gang rode around on bicycles," according to his lawyer. It seems that way back in 2003 the Cypress Hill backup singer met with reps from the game studio for a two hour interview "to talk about street life," and the next thing you know, San Andreas is released and you have criminals riding around on bikes! Coincidence? Mr. Shagg doesn't think so, and he's asking for twenty-five percent of Rockstar's profits from the game -- approximately $250 million -- because they've "stolen his image and never paid him." Now that we think of it, isn't there an obsessive gadget blogger in that game that looks awfully familiar? We'd better call our lawyers.
Grand Theft Auto trilogy finally coming to the Mac
Man, it's about $*#(ing time. The storied (and dare I say classic?) Grand Theft Auto trilogy, featuring GTA 3, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas, is finally coming to the Mac thanks to Transgaming. Of course, it's about ten years late -- the first game in the grouping came out in 2001 on the PS2. On current-gen gaming consoles, gamers have enjoyed Grand Theft Auto IV for a few years, and Rockstar released Red Dead Redemption earlier this year and is priming for a game called L.A. Noire. I'm surprised these haven't been released on the Mac yet; especially with Steam on the platform, you'd think there would have been a port at some point. You can order the Mac versions of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy right now for $15 each online, and in about a month they'll be showing up in various retail stores. If you somehow missed these the first time around, or if you just want a few terrific older games to play on your Mac, you can pick and play these. Just keep them away from the kids -- they're all very mature games.
Rumor: GTA IV DLC may include entirely new cities
We're vehement followers of the logic that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is -- still, in cases like these, that doesn't stop us from wishing and hoping hard enough to make our noses bleed. The latest, Microsoft-endorsed, Grand Theft Auto IV special edition issue of Computer and Video Games magazine suggests that the 360 DLC is to the perfect scoring GTA IV as "Vice City or San Andreas were [to] GTA III," and later, in simpler terms, "Rockstar is clearly hinting at new downloadable cities" for the title.While this infinitely awesome feature might be technically and fiscally possible, we must keep a firm grasp on our cynically-tinted monocles until official confirmation arises. Still, it's tough not to wonder what cities Rockstar could build knock-off replicas of to add to their latest title -- perhaps an Atlantic City clone? A geographically-appropriate rendering of New Jersey? A mock-up of the bustling metropolis of Mud Lick, KY? The possibilities are endless!
Today's most self-referencing video: GTA IV trailer in San Andreas
Are you still looking for that special someone? Gametrailers user Brotha has recreated the second Grand Theft Auto IV trailer in GTA III: San Andreas. While we're impressed by the endeavor, the video has actually made us more eager to get our hands on the upcoming violent sandbox sequel by showcasing the visual improvements in the series. We've embedded the original video after the break, if you want to try and synchronize them. (We recommending muting one video, unless you think you're fast enough with the mouse to hit play near-simultaneously.)
No new GTA games in the works for PSP
San Andreas Stories? We never knew thee ... and we may never. GTA4.net has information supposedly from the Australian OPM. In their Grand Theft Auto IV preview, they reveal that work on San Andreas Stories is not happening. In fact, there's no plans to develop a PSP GTA title at all. "When asked about a San Andreas Stories for the PSP, he replies saying that they don't have any plans for that at the moment, suggesting that they likely haven't started at all on another GTA PSP title."We're a little saddened by this revelation, if only because we'd love to see San Andreas squeezed onto the portable. It seems that crime-loving gamers will have to look towards Driver 76 to get their fix.[Via DCEmu]
GTA: San Andreas Stories - the fan trailers
Rockstar's made Liberty City Stories. They've made Vice City Stories. So, San Andreas Stories is inevitable, right? Well, that's what one GTA fan's thinking. He's created a series of fake trailers for a potential San Andreas Stories, and we have to admit, these teasers have us salivating.
Video Game Decency Act: saving the children, or one-way ticket to tyranny?
As Congressman Fred Upton's Video Game Decency Act continues to percolate through Congress, Upton (R-MI) is singing its praises to the press, telling his local paper, the Niles Daily Star, "This legislation will restore parents' trust in a system in which game makers had intentionally deceived the ratings board to deliver violent and pornographic material to our kids."This whole foofaraw kicked off when Rockstar Games tucked away some sex-related gameplay into Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and, while the content was only accessible by using hacking tools, it was there for the minigaming. When word got out, lawsuits flowed like coffee, and Rockstar rushed out a "clean" version in order to avoid the dreaded "Adults Only" rating. The Video Game Decency Act would make it a crime to hide such content from the ESRB, the independent ratings board created by the industry in 1994 to avoid federal regulation.Seems pretty reasonable, right? Well, it is. Whether you believe all sexual content deserves an "AO" rating or not, developers who want a rating from the ESRB should fully disclose anything that might affect that rating. But if the bill passes, the government will finally have its paws in the game rating pie, in a very official (and probably irreversible) way -- exactly what the ESRB was founded to prevent. Fine by you? Or is this the next step on a slippery slope of governmental control that will end with a dystopian, 1984-style wasteland?[Via GamePolitics]
SEC filing reveals 3mil Take Two shares unloaded
Hedge fund Glenview Capital Management have revealed in an SEC filing that it sold exactly 3 million shares of Take Two stock over the course of six transactions on December 21 at $19.25 each, amounting to $57.75 million. Glenview also disclosed that it held a 6.7% stake, or 4.88 million shares, of the controversial publisher. You might be quick to think something rather shifty is going on behind the scenes with such a large quantity of sales, but remember that GCM is a hedge fund with a fiduciary responsibility to its investors, and Take Two's stock has been on a steady rise since the FTC concluded its investigation of the Hot Coffee incident in June.[Via Seeking Alpha and Dubious Quality]
Capcom bringing GTA San Andreas to Japan
With controversy having cooled, Capcom has reached a deal with Rockstar to localize, publish, and distribute the PlayStation 2 version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in Japan. The release is scheduled for January, a full 27 months after the game's initial debut in North America. What's with the delay? Guess car jacking and gang banging doesn't move units at quite the same pace in Japan.
Take-Two in trouble with NASDAQ
Take-Two Interactive, publisher of the famed Grand Theft Auto series, is under pressure to complete its quarterly report. NASDAQ has filed a non-compliance on the company for failing to report its July 31, 2006 statement on time. If Take-Two fails to comply, the company may have its stocks de-listed from NASDAQ, which would cause havoc with the share prices. Take-Two's official stance is that they wish to review their stock options before releasing the financial report, though taking over three months to do so is suspect. According to the SEC, 10-Q forms (the form Take-Two is late on) must be filed within 40 days of the end of the financial period. There's gotta be something more than a simple review of stock options going on. Could Take-Two be shuffling around records to hide or eliminate a fraudulent transaction? Maybe the media exposure over Bully has hampered sales; TT could be stalling for time to release the bad news, hoping the share price impact is softened by strong holiday sales outlooks. In any case, Take-Two needs to get their act together or investors may look elsewhere to keep their retirement assets. If so, TT would need a mega-hit series to keep the investor's money from falling out of their pockets ... oh, wait.
Steal this toy: GTA Vice City action figures [update 1]
Rockstar Games and Medicom Toy Company have teamed up to release a set of action figures inspired by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The limited edition set is part of the famous Kubrick line of toys. The set of five includes Tommy Vercetti, Lance Vance, Ricardo Diaz, Candi Suxx, and Ken Rosenberg, scruples-free attorney.Toys teach kids to kill? Barbie caught in hot coffee scandal? The bad jokes are limitless.The set will be available this fall, but you can pre-order now for $35 -- that's nearly one-fourth the cost of the Fierce Deity Link. How often do you get to say that a Sony (inspired) product is vastly cheaper than a Nintendo (inspired) product?[via PSP Fanboy][update 1: Misread the sales page; the entire Grand Theft Auto Kubrick line has been in development for two years, not just this Vice City set. Snark removed.]
Tepid Coffee: Take-Two gets foreboding slap on wrist by FTC
The Federal Trade Commision today handed down its final verdict regarding the "Hot Coffee" controversy. While not fined, the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection director Lydia Parnes stated that the hidden sex game, and publisher Take-Two's subsequent coverup, "undermined the industry's own rating system and deceived consumers," adding that "parents have the right to rely on the accuracy of the entertainment rating system."The harsh words give the impression that this is the game industry's final warning on the subject of full disclosure to ratings systems -- the FTC ruling did note that all future violations by Take-Two will results in an $11,000 fine per violation (i.e. per game sold). As GameSpot extrapolated, with 7.27 million copies of San Andreas sold in the US, Take Two would have had to pay almost $80 billion dollars.The Hot Coffee incident involves a sex minigame found in the code of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which could only be found by hacking the title or downloading user-made modifications. Although difficult to find (and play), its inherent inclusion (and Take Two's initial denial) ignited anti-game activists and more than a few opportunistic lawmakers into action.[Thanks, SickNic]
