GTAIV
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Give Dad the gift of gaming with Xbox 360
Hey Canadians, thinking about getting your father into gaming? While our dads can barely program the VCR, yours may possess the keen insight to pull off a 100-hit combo in Ninja Gaiden II. Best Buy and FutureShop have a few special promotion bundles available just in time for Father's Day that you may want to take a look at.At Best Buy, purchasing an Xbox 360 Elite package will allow you to choose from four pre-selected bundles that groups such titles as Grand Theft Auto IV with Tomb Raider Anniversary or Lego Indiana Jones with Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy to name a few for $449.99 CND.Purchasing either the Premium ($349.99 CND) or Elite ($449.99) consoles at FutureShop will net you your choice of GTAIV, Ninja Gaiden II, Lego Indiana Jones or The Bourne Conspiracy.Full details on Best Buy's offer and a clipping from the FutureShop bundle after the jump.
Analysts: GTAIV was not a console seller
No matter how much retailers, Microsoft or general sales figures have correlated Grand Theft Auto IV's stellar sales success with new hardware sales, the ever knowledgeable video game industry analysts just aren't buying it.In a preview of May's NPD sales, the analytical crew over at Lazard Capital Markets and Wedbush Morgan securities are reporting that GTAIV's tremendous software sales in May did not result in a "meaningful increase" for either the Xbox 360 or PS3 as was previously expected. "We do not believe the recent release of GTA IV has generated meaningful incremental demand for the Xbox 360 or PS3 platforms" commented Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets, suggesting that an actual hardware price cut would generate a more noticeable increase in demand.Sounds to us like GTAIV wasn't the big console seller that Microsoft wanted to be, which is too bad. Though, we have a hunch Rockstar is more than happy with the truckloads of cash GTAIV has dumped on their lap.
The Onion investigates Liberty City cops' incompetence
We've been railing against the LCPD for years, so it's nice to see a more mainstream publication like The Onion finally notice what we've been saying all along: Liberty City's cops are the absolute worst. Just look at this statistic: "Since the surge in crime, which began on April 28 at midnight, more than 830,000 civilians have been murdered-nearly one-tenth of Liberty City's total population." Unacceptable.It's even threatening to drive some people out of town! "Sure, we have excellent radio stations and an incredible range of things to see and do here," public defender Kiki Jenkins says. "But if I were younger, I'd move to Mario World in a second." We hear you Kiki, we hear you.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
The Naked Gun intro reborn on Grand Theft Auto IV
Believe it or not, there once was a time when Leslie Nielsen's resumé wasn't pockmarked with terrible, low-budget parody movies. No, the silver-haired comedy legend reached the pinnacle of his career by starring in, well ... fantastic, low-budget parody movies. Those who can recite "Airplane!" verbatim, or can fondly recall the misadventures of Detective Frank Drebin will probably recognize the above Grand Theft Auto IV machinima as the intro sequence for "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad" (those who don't recognize it can watch the real deal after the break and pretend that they do).It's an impressive, near shot-for-shot remake of the classic opening credits sequence -- sans the shower room scene, of course. That kind of vulgarity would never be allowed in a Rockstar title.
GTA IV DLC delayed, new release date set
Now that GTA IV has been out for enough time to have gamers get a good handle on its workings, one would think that it'd be the time to release good news about the $50 million worth of content that was supposed to lure gamers to the 360 version. Instead, the exclusive DLC episodes will hitting in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 (which actually begins in 2008). Specifically, the new release window for the DLC is November 1st 2008 to January 31st 2009, and funnily enough that's about all the specifics there is on it. See, this is where there should've been an announcement of good news! And with this fall being as full as any other in the industry just how popular will a GTA IV DLC purchase be then?
Take-Two: 'Portfolio balancing' drove GTA IV DLC delay, partnerships possible
In the same conference call that gave us this head scratcher, Take-Two reps tap danced over a number of other issues, including their official reason for delaying GTA IV's hotly anticipated DLC, as well as any potential partnerships that may be lurking on the horizon.Regarding the company's resolution to keep the GTA IV downloadable content out of players' hands until sometime between November 1 of this year and January 31, 2009, Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick calmly stated that the decision was based on "portfolio balancing," and that the delay was "not based on development issues." Even as our hearts ached for additional Liberty City shenanigans, Take-Two reps on the call remained enthusiastic, and for good reason, given that during the last quarter the GTA brand made up an impressive 78% of the firm's total publishing revenue.
GTA IV ships over 11 million copies
As part of Take-Two's glowing second quarter financials, the publisher confirmed that Grand Theft Auto IV has been flying off shelves (GASP!), announcing that as of May 31, more than 11 million copies "have been sold in to retailers," while nearly 8.5 million units "have been sold through to consumers." Take-Two further puffed out its financial chest this afternoon concerning the high profile title, boasting that GTAIV surpassed all-time entertainment records for day one and week one sales, selling about 6 million units worldwide and filling company wallets with more than $500 million in its debut week.
Grand Theft Auto IV DLC delayed until Fiscal Q1 2009
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV_DLC_delayed_to_Fiscal_Q1_2009'; Those waiting for more Grand Theft Auto IV content will have to wait a little bit longer. According to Take-Two's Fiscal Q3 2008 report, the first batch of GTA IV downloadable content will be coming in Q1 of fiscal 2009, instead of the originally planned Q4 of fiscal 2008. In real calendar terms, that means the DLC, which is rumored to include whole new cities, is due between November 1, 2008, and January 31, 2009.The reason behind the delay, according to Take-Two, was to "provide a better balance in Take-Two's release schedule." The statement specifically mentioned Xbox 360, with no talk of content for the PS3.
Age of Conan dethrones GTA IV in Europe
With the amount of hype, advertising, positive reviews and media attention Grand Theft Auto IV has received over the past few months, we wholly expected it to remain on top of the software sales charts until our video game consoles grew sentient and attempted to purge humanity from the planet. Strangely enough, a dark horse recently overtook Rockstar's well-received crime drama in many European territories -- a horse mounted by a brawny, rippling Cimmerian. Yes, Funcom's decapitation-rich MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures recently outsold GTA IV in a number of European locations, including Germany and Sweden. Since Rockstar's latest opus is still selling like freshly baked hotcakes in North America, we can't help but wonder if GTA's themes of living the American dream and hooker brutalization got lost in translation as the title crossed the Atlantic -- or whether Age of Conan's musclebound mascot reminds German gamers of a certain pop culture icon who is quite revered in their country.
Rockstar Social Club adds multiplayer stat tracking
Being knee-deep in big news yesterday blinded us to the fact that Rockstar Games has finally updated their Social Club page to include multiplayer stats.Now, criminal masterminds in Grand Theft Auto IV can hit the website and check out detailed leaderboards and statistis for the each of the 14 basic multiplayer modes.While some bugs are still being ironed out, the Social Club update is an important step to growning the GTAIV community as it awaits news on the highly anticipated downloadable content, exclusively coming to Xbox Live Marketplace this fall.Now, go back to car jacking. It's been like 7-seconds since I heard a siren.[Thanks, StLouisRibs7734]
GTAIV boosts UK 360 sales over PS3
Having already announced that the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV was the week one sales winner in the UK, Chart-Track has now told Eurogamer that the game also heavily boosted sales of the Xbox 360 console. Since Grand Theft Auto IV's launch last month, sales of the Xbox 360 are up 18% over the Playstation 3 in the UK. ChartTrack also notes that sales of the Xbox 360 have increased 47% over the month prior to GTAIV's launch, whereas PS3 sales have seen an increase of only 8%. Furthermore, a full 57% of all copies of GTAIV sold in the UK were sold for the Xbox 360, leaving 43% for the Playstation 3.It's not all sunshine and roses for the Xbox 360 though, as the Playstation 3 still holds the lead in overall UK sales for 2008 thus far. As it stands, there still remains a 10% gap between the consoles, though it's worth noting that the gap stood at 20% before the launch of GTAIV.[Via Joystiq]Update: Ahem, the numbers are for the UK, not all of Europe.
Chart-Track UK: 360 outselling PS3 following GTA IV launch
Proficient purveyor of sales data, Chart-Track, has informed Eurogamer that the Xbox 360 has established an 18% UK sales lead over the PlayStation 3, following the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV. Rockstar's open-world crime romp is said to have sold over 1.3 million copies in the UK, with 57% of sales in the first four weeks going to the Xbox 360. That obviously leaves 72% 12% 43% on the PlayStation 3. While the sales traction gained in GTA IV's wake has been more dramatic for the Xbox 360, year-to-date sales still place the PlayStation 3 ahead in the UK. According to Chart-Track's 2008 figures, there still remains a 10% gap between the two rivals.
Points>Life: Recap Edition
Each week, X3F tips gamers to the tricks of the trade of Achievement hoarding in Points>Life. Every week a new achievement is unlocked to help you continue your unhealthy obsession with the Xbox 360 meta-game. This week on Points>Life we're giving you nothing! Well, actually what we're doing is going back and recapping the tips we've given you and added a little postmortem comment. After releasing each feature the X3F Army shared best practices on other methods to obtain similar achievements. This week we go back to the last eight weeks of tips and tricks, so if you're new to Points>Life ... today is your day!
The voice of GTAIV's Roman is broke, rent him
Those keeping up on Grand Theft Auto IV (that's all of you, right?) will remember that a few weeks ago Michael Hollick, best known as the voice of Niko Bellic in GTAIV, was covered by the New York Times in an article pointing out that the actor will receive no residuals or royalties of any kind for his performance. It's important to note that he doesn't point the finger at Rockstar but rather the Screen Actors Guild, which does not have specific rules regarding electronic performances. While Hollick may have landed the New York Times, Jason Zumwalt, the voice of Niko's cousin Roman, has turned to YouTube. Where it could be argued that Hollick's approach to the matter had a certain degree of tact, Zumwalt's approach is a bit ... different. Essentially, he's asking gamers to "Rent Roman." It's all a little hard to explain. Maybe you should just watch the video. Find it after the break (NSFW thanks to some salty language).
Grand Theft Auto IV featured on Will It Blend
Update: Apparently, this particular blending mystery was solved a while ago -- however, Tom Dickson promised us a free Blendtec blender if we brought it up again. We apologize for our unquenchable thirst for outrageously overpowered kitchen appliances.Considering that Blendtec's doomsday device has already proved its ability to obliterate bricks, fake diamonds, small buildings and many large breeds of dogs, it should come as no surprise that (spoiler alert) it can chew through a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV with ease. What is surprising is host Tom Dickson's incredibly short fuse -- apparently, when something provides him with the smallest amount of displeasure, it finds itself on the business end of the appliance's screaming blades. For the sake of Tom's children (who likely have perfect grades and manners out of fear of a liquefying punishment), we remind the charismatic host that with great blending power comes great blending responsibility.
GTAIV papercraft is adorable, violent
We always felt something was missing from Grand Theft Auto IV and we couldn't seem to put our finger on it, thankfully Tubbypaws blog has shown us the way. Combining two-parts street with one-part adorable, the GTAIV papercraft really captures the raw essence of Grand Theft Auto. Come on. Look at it. The entire papercraft screams "murder simulator!" Note to you big handed people looking to get all Martha Stewart with this papercraft, be patient because it's smaller than it looks (instructions at the source).
Niko Bellic has second career as folk singer
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/GTA_IV_s_Niko_Bellic_is_also_a_folk_singer'; We imagine many of you are probably suffering Grand Theft Auto IV withdrawal, having rushed through the main campaign only to learn that Niko Bellic is, in fact, the great-grandfather of both Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance. Luckily for you, we've got a great way to comfort yourself: Letting the music of the notorious hooker beater Niko soothe your savage craving. You can hear it right now on the MySpace page of voice actor Michael Hollick, the man who lent his larynx to Rockstar for GTA IV's lead. We'd suggest "Out of the Blue" to really complete the Niko crooning vibe. Just don't blame us when you can't take him quite as seriously when he's mowing down pedestrians.
Reminder: X3F LIVE tonight!
We're thirty minutes from another, but not frequent enough, gaming session with our awesome community. A few people have mentioned problems adding the X3FLIVE gamertag to their friends list so we've come up with an idea to fix that issue.At around 8:45PM tonight we're going to go through our X3FLIVE friends list and drop a handful of people who aren't online. If you'd like to join us just fire up your Xbox to stay on the list and for those of you who are getting request bounce backs will be able to add us.We're going to go through our list and play with a handful of people and then end the session and play with others. We'll send out the invites, so if you're interested in playing make sure to be in GTAIV (that way we know not to disturb a Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3 session). If you don't get an invite right away join up with other people on our Friends of Friends list and we'll try to get to you.We know this isn't the best system, but its the fairest way around the 100 friend limit on Xbox Live.We're going to do sessions of Cops vs. Crooks with Auto-Aim disabled, so bring your 'A' game--cuz we sure as hell won't! We look forward to stealing your car and running you over with it later tonight!
X3F LIVE visits Liberty City [Update 2]
Update 2: Our community friends list is currently full. Tonight at 8:45PM EST we will be deleting some people who aren't online to make room for any last minute people who would like to add us and get into the game.Update: Our community gamertag, X3FLIVE, has been cleared of all friends and are now accepting requests for the event beginning at 9PM EST. If you've had issues adding us in the past it should be all cleared up now. In order to play with as many people as we can, who are interested that is, we're alternating players between rounds. We like to be fair! We look forward to shooting you in the face.Original Post: You've been asking for it and now we're delivering. On Monday, May 19, at 9PM EST until 11PM EST join the Xbox 360 Fanboy crew of hooligans as we paint Liberty City red.On the agenda is a healthy dose of Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer where we'll invite new players every round.Make sure to watch out for the Gamertag X3FLIVE, add it to your friends list and join us for an X3F Approved Crime Spree!
NPD: April sees Wii on top (yet again)
Well, you should all be used to this by now. Sound the trumpets and all that, Nintendo dominated the U.S. market yet another month, proving Pachter's prediction right. Even though that Grand Theft Auto IV game released in April, Mario Kart Wii was still in the running. But, before we get to software sales, we should probably check the hardware charts.Hardware sales- Wii: 714.2K 6.8K (0.94%) - DS: 414.8K 283.2K (40.6%) - PSP: 192.7K 104.3K (35.1%) - Xbox 360: 188K 74K (28.2%) - PS3: 187.1K 69.9K (27.2%) - PS2: 124.4K 91.6K (42.4%)%Gallery-4772%
