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Rockstar Games weekend sale now live on Steam
Rockstar Games steps into the spotlight for a weekend-long Steam publisher sale, bringing price drops for L.A. Noire and the Grand Theft Auto series, among other deals. Starting today, Steam members can pick up the DLC-bundled Complete Edition of L.A. Noire for just $7.49. The four-game (plus DLC) Grand Theft Auto Complete Pack is up for grabs at $9.99, while the entire Max Payne series (including Max Payne 3's Rockstar Pass) is priced at $9.89. Other sale highlights include Midnight Club 2 for $3.29, Bully: Scholarship Edition for $4.95, and Manhunt for $3.29. Sale prices remain in effect through March 17. [Image: Rockstar]
Rockstar Games to receive 'wholly deserved' BAFTA fellowship
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced plans to award a fellowship to Rockstar Games for its contributions in bringing video games to the mainstream, and more specifically, for its wildly successful, critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto franchise. "It is hugely exciting to be able to recognize the amazing contribution made by Rockstar to the games industry over the past 16 years," stated Harvey Elliott, chair of the BAFTA Games Committee. "The creativity and passion exhibited by the Rockstar teams have inspired a generation of game developers to raise the bar in every aspect of game development. From design and mechanics, through to storytelling, cinematics and audio immersion, and in the process creating games that compete so profoundly on a global stage across all entertainment media." "We have long believed in the potential for videogames to become a new form of cultural expression and worked to show that in our games, so for us accepting the BAFTA Fellowship is incredibly humbling," said Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser, who now joins Shigeru Miyamoto and Will Wright on the short list of gaming industry figures to receive BAFTA fellowships. The British Academy Games Awards is scheduled to take place on March 12 in London. Those interested in attending can purchase tickets from BAFTA, while the rest of us will have to settle for streaming the show on Twitch. [Rockstar Games]
Rockstar verifies ten more fan-crafted jobs for GTA Online
Another month, another chance for Rockstar games to highlight ten of the best community creations found in Grand Theft Auto Online by adding them to the ranks of the "Rockstar Verified." Five of these newly verified jobs are the result of an event Rockstar held in late December that sought to reward the best community creations with a unique license plate and $1 million of in-game currency. The list of winners includes a shotgun-pocked deathmatch arena in the middle of the desert, a GTA Online remake of the famous Laguna Seca racetrack and "4 Way Madness," a high-speed track that culminates in a wildly dangerous four-way jump. While the remaining additions to the Rockstar Verified roster will not earn their creators a fortune in virtual cash, they're no less intriguing. For example, "Twists And Twirls" is a picturesque race through the hills separating downtown Los Santos from the arid desert of Blaine County, while "Classy Construction" drops a gangwar into the game's most wealthy neighborhood Full details on each winning map can be found on the Rockstar Games Social Club along with all the information you'll need to play these new jobs in GTA Online.
Infinite money exploit plagues GTA Online
Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto Online is beset with hackers flooding the game's economy with billions of ill-gotten dollars. Kotaku reports that a networking exploit leads to "infinite amounts of cash," and that dupers have taken to gifting huge windfalls to random players. This is of course problematic since Rockstar flags accounts "holding obscene amounts of money" during its banning sweeps. The company has yet to offer a comment on or a fix for the issue. Meanwhile, some players have taken to hard resetting their consoles so that the gifted money doesn't save.
Daily iPhone App: Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is just as fantastic as you remember
Oftentimes, older video games are looked upon with rose-colored glasses thanks to the magic, memory-altering powers of nostalgia. I was a bit worried that today's release of the PlayStation 2 classic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas -- which, upon its release in 2004, quickly became one of the most popular games of all time -- wouldn't be quite as fantastic as history would have us believe. Fortunately, that's not at all the case. Like the rest of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, San Andreas is set in a fictional region modeled heavily after real-life counterparts. In this case, you'll be exploring various cities and suburbs drawn from the cultural memory of early '90s Southern California and Las Vegas. The story is long and winding, touching on everything from gang rivalries and police corruption to the street car-tuning scene. Just like in the original console release, there's really nothing you can't do within the confines of the game's setting. Want to grab a burger, hit the gym, start a police chase or simply take a scenic drive? Go for it. San Andreas is yours to explore, and it looks fantastic on a Retina display. The game is compatible with iPhones starting with the 4s, and tablets starting with the iPad 2, so there's a chance you may not be playing this on a Retina device. But if you are, you're in for a treat. The buildings, vehicles, foliage and just about everything else look quite good and remarkably sharp. Unfortunately, the character models -- which, keep in mind, were designed for the PlayStation 2 -- can appear a bit awkward at times, and this is only magnified by the HD resolution we are now treated to. This isn't anywhere close to being a deal breaker, but you may occasionally get a laugh out of a strange gait or goofy facial expression. Music is another high point, with classic '90s tunes filling the fictional radio stations. There are almost too many songs to even keep track of, but if, for some reason, you want to listen to your own tunes, you can do that as well through the game's custom playlist feature. San Andreas offers a few different control options, including virtual analog sticks, virtual digital buttons and so on. The game also features MFi controller support for devices like the Logitech PowerShell and MOGA Ace, though I haven't yet been able to test this feature (we'll be running some comparisons soon, so stay tuned). The virtual analog method feels the most comfortable of the options available, and with a little practice, it's easy to replicate the feeling of using a proper gamepad. Whether you're a seasoned GTA veteran or you've never touched the franchise before, GTA San Andreas is the perfect place to start, and it's practically flawless on iOS. The game is US$6.99, which is a bargain considering you could play the game for well upwards of 50 hours.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas begins assaulting citizens tomorrow
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be following the path of its predecessor and making the leap to iOS devices on December 12. The game, which is widely considered to be one of the best of the Grand Theft Auto series, has been revamped for its iOS debut and comes complete with higher-resolution graphics, cloud saved support and custom playlist support. San Andreas will also be one of the first big releases to support the iOS controller framework at launch, which is great since the open-world nature of the GTA series makes fiddling with virtual touchscreen buttons a bit of a hassle. The game will set you back US$6.99 when it launches tomorrow.
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Seven zombie-infested MMOs for the survivalist in you
Let's talk zombies and post-apocalyptic futures. Sure, the undead have become an overused and watered-down genre, but it's easy to see just why it's so successful -- it practically has something for everyone. The horror fans love it for obvious reasons; there's nothing scarier than the reanimated dead. Sandbox fans and survivalist maniacs love that it represents what happens to society when everything -- and I mean everything -- breaks down. MMO fans adore it because it's all about teamwork and developing a society from the ground up alongside other people. So even though the genre is getting spread a bit thin, it's still as promising as any other. I thought it'd be a good idea to round up many of the current zombie MMOs and pseudo-MMOs so that over the holidays you can celebrate by ignoring your family to bash in a few previously deceased skulls. You can thank me later when all of the training you receive while playing these games helps you survive the coming zombie apocalypse.
GameStop sales up 18.8 percent, owing primarily to GTA, Nintendo handhelds
The third quarter of the financial year was a profitable one for GameStop, with sales jumping 18.8% to $2.11 billion and net earnings increasing by 45.3% over the prior year. Key to this growth was the release of Grand Theft Auto 5, a game we awarded 4.5/5 stars. According to GameStop's latest financial report, new software sales increased by 43.1% during the quarter. Hardware sales are likewise up, with the Nintendo 3DS and 2DS handhelds cited as the impetus for a 15.3% gain over last year. The one dark spot in GameSpot's financial report is a quick note that pre-owned game sales fell by 2%. This however is handily offset by the gains of GameStop's mobile and digital sales, which are up 14.4% and 8.6%, respectively. Riding these gains into the next-generation of gaming consoles, GameStop is confident in its position. "Our strong third quarter sales results give us great momentum as we enter the new console cycle," stated CEO Paul Raines. "Consumer appetite for the new consoles is very strong judging by last week's successful PS4 launch and the excitement for tonight's Xbox One launch event. Globally, we are executing our unique playbook to maximize our position of strength."
Newegg slashes prices on nearly all Rockstar games
Need a copy of Max Payne 2 or LA Noire on the cheap? Newegg's got you covered. A visit to the online tech retailer reveals the ongoing "Rockstar Catalog Sale," a promotion that reduces the price on almost everything Rockstar Games has created by up to 76 percent. As a result of this sale, you can now purchase Manhunt for $3, Bully: Scholarship Edition for $5.10 or Grand Theft Auto 4 for $6. Before you get too excited, there are caveats to keep in mind here. First, these are all PC games (with occasional Mac compatibility), and these sale prices only apply to direct downloads. Second, there's no word on when this sale might end. Scouring Newegg's site offers nothing, and our attempts to contact the retailer went unanswered. If you want to take advantage of these prices, we'd suggest you do so soon. The biggest caveat however, is that this sale only applies to "almost everything" Rockstar has ever created. The first two Grand Theft Auto games are missing, as are the first and third Midnight Club entries. Grand Theft Auto 5 also fails to appear, but that's to be expected given that no PC version of GTA 5 yet exists.
GTA Online stimulus package delayed, persistent bugs to blame
Grand Theft Auto Online players will not be receiving a $250,000 infusion of virtual cash this week, despite Rockstar announcing such plans only a few days ago. That $250,000 deposit marks the first half of a payout designed to soothe the rage of players after the rocky launch of Grand Theft Auto Online earlier this month. Four days ago Rockstar claimed it would be issuing these piles of virtual cash to players this week. That never came to pass, and now Rockstar has offered another announcement regarding the stimulus package. "We know many of you are anxiously waiting for us to show you the GTA$ Stimulus Package money we announced a couple weeks back," reads the Rockstar Games website. "As mentioned in that post, we of course want to ensure that game progress loss issues are sufficiently sorted before distributing the GTA$ to everyone. We have a few more tweaks and fixes to make in a new title update that will hit sometime next week and then we will distribute the cash." Rockstar has offered no word on when we can expect the newly-delayed payout.
GTA Online players to see $250,000 payout this week
Apparently crime does pay, as Rockstar is rewarding Grand Theft Auto Online players with the first installment of a $500,000 in-game payout later this week. This sudden infusion of $250,000 serves as a mea culpa for the rocky GTA Online launch. Reports of players going missing and cars vanishing appeared frequently following the game's debut, and while Rockstar has issued patches to amend these issues, the company has also decided to reward player patience with a fat stack of virtual bills. As far as when your character might receive his or her cash, that remains unknown. Rockstar tweeted its plans this morning, but offered no more specificity than, "sometime this week." In the meantime, make sure you qualify for the handout by reading through these eligibility guidelines.
Grand Theft Auto creator rebuilds the original game for 2013
1997's Grand Theft Auto was presented as a two-dimensional, top-down sandbox title, but Michael Dailly hopes to rejuvenate the franchise's humble origins in full 3D. Fortunately for Dailly, the original GTA world map was created in 3D. Most players would have missed this due to the game's 2D aesthetic, but a proper 3D map was the simplest method for the developers to show height in the game's buildings, and the only way to allow players to traverse bridges and tunnels. Its even possible to alter the game's code and play through the original GTA from a ground-level perspective, not unlike more recent entries in the franchise. Before you get your hopes up for a new, fully-fledged GTA entry hot on the heels of Grand Theft Auto 5, it should be mentioned that Dailly currently has no plans to implement Grand Theft Auto-style gameplay within his game, nor any definitive idea of what he'll do with this project once it's complete. Instead, his goal appears to be a simple proof of concept. As head of development at YoYo Games, Dailly has been using the company's flagship GameMaker software to rebuild the GTA engine, and if nothing else he hopes his remake will serve as evidence of what's possible with YoYo's software.
Rockstar still tending to GTA Online connectivity issues
When Grand Theft Auto Online made its debut yesterday, the game was immediately overshadowed by myriad technical issues which prevented (and in some cases, still prevent) players from connecting to the game. Rockstar has heard the pleas of its fans and assures players that the development team is hard at work on solutions to all of the issues that have cropped up so far. In the meantime, the company offers an update on the current status of the game's PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 incarnations: For PlayStation 3 users, a PlayStation Network server issue was detected that was limiting the amount of possible concurrent users. This was preventing most players from accessing GTA Online altogether and as of this morning, that problem was resolved. There is an issue that is preventing some players from getting through the first tutorial mission across both platforms. Many players have been able to get through this with repeated retries, and we are working on unblocking this for everyone as soon as possible. This morning, we experienced some instability across the GTA Online services which is affecting even people who have progressed beyond the tutorial mission. We are identifying these issues now and are working to restore stability for users as soon as possible. For the time being and until we have been able to get everybody access to GTA Online and things are running smoothly, we have disabled the option of purchasable GTA$ cash packs. Players can however keep on earning GTA$ by pulling off Jobs and other profitable gameplay activities rather than purchasing cash packs.
You can now turn your iPhone into the iFruit from GTA V
Grand Theft Auto V does a great job of skewering modern tech culture, as well as Apple itself, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the "iFruit" smartphones that are seen in the game. Now, with the help of a handy skin from Mobile Fun, you can turn your iPhone 4, 4s, 5 or 5s into an iFruit too. The covering is pretty basic, with the key changes being the name "iFruit" replacing the "iPhone" moniker on your smartphone's backside, along with the fruit bowl logo. The skin is made of vinyl and retails for a reasonable US$12.99. [via Inventor Spot]
Rockstar patches GTA 5's rotten iFruit companion app
Rockstar Games has issued a patch for its iFruit app, which it hopes will improve the program's ability to connect to its online servers. Since the debut of Grand Theft Auto V, the iFruit app has had major issues. Ideally, the program would allow players to train their in-game dog and customize their signature vehicle, but the massive success of GTA 5 quickly overwhelmed Rockstar's servers, and the iFruit app couldn't handle the stress of so many people attempting to connect simultaneously. Rockstar has remained relatively quiet on the issue, until today, when it announced the patch via Twitter. Rockstar has yet to offer concrete details on what it has changed in version 2.0 of the iFruit app. The patch notes merely mention improved connectivity, then thank fans for their patience and support. As with all iOS patches, you can update your iFruit app by visiting the App Store's "Update" section (or, if you've already enabled automatic updates in iOS 7, by doing nothing at all).
GTA Online riches available for cash
Players looking forward to Grand Theft Auto Online, available on October 1st, are probably already contemplating ways to get and spend their in-game funds for the myriad of customization goodies within the persistent world of Rockstar Game's GTA5's multiplayer mode. Well there's a new addition to the acquire list: microtransactions. Eurogamer.net shares a find that was first caught on Reddit, namely a publicly viewable XML file on the game's online store that shows in-game cash cards in denominations of $100K, $200K, $500K, and $1.5M $1.25M for purchase with real-life cash along with a description inviting players to solve their in-game money problems by buying these packs. The prices for these cash cards, however, are not stated. The same file shows items from the special and collector's editions, indicating that this exclusive content may also be made available to all for purchase later. [Thanks Potaco for the correction.]
gdgt's best deals for September 18th: Klipsch Image E1 In-Ear Headphones, Jabra Wave Bluetooth Headset
Ready to save some cash on your tech buys? Then you've come to the right place. Our friends at sister site gdgt track price drops on thousands of products every day, and twice a week they feature some of the best deals they've found right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won't last long. Today we have not one but two headsets going for half their regular prices. The Klipsch Image E1 In-Ear Headphones are good for listening to media on the go, while the Jabra Wave Bluetooth Headset offers a less conspicuous design than most other earpieces we've seen. Also, in especially timely news, it's worth noting that Sprint is offering new customers the iPhone 5c for free and the iPhone 5s for $99.99. Join gdgt and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your "Want" list. Every time there's a price cut, you'll get an email alert!
Original Grand Theft Auto devs dish on rough road to launch
Despite the Grand Theft Auto series' lurid flag firmly planted atop Games Mountain, it would seem the series wasn't always destined for massive success. Many developers espouse the idea that the first game was pretty much a hot mess – it took about four years of iteration for the game to become something worthwhile. So say many of the developers who worked on the first game and happily offer their own skewed trips down Memory Lane in this special piece from The Guardian. In fact, the game was originally meant to be a cops and robbers affair, but nobody ever wanted to play the cops, so it became a game just about crime. Apparently parent company Take-Two wasn't too keen on Grand Theft Auto at first either. The developers would have to essentially argue its merit on a weekly basis and it didn't help that many of the people working on GTA never even shipped a game before. But the team eventually figured it out and a game took shape – one that would go on to become arguably the most influential video game series of all time.
Grand Theft Auto V pre-orders ship early, Amazon UK learns crime doesn't pay
Amazon could find itself struck off Rockstar Games' Christmas card list after it delivered Grand Theft Auto V preorders to customers in the UK in advance of its September 17th release. Some customers reported receiving shipping notifications over the weekend, with additional reports suggesting the game had made it to some doorsteps as early as Saturday. Games Industry says that the company is already investigating these early sales, although we wouldn't put it past some silent, rogue type like Claude from GTA 3. Microsoft is reportedly banning Xbox Live accounts belonging to those that shared early footage of the game, so if you did receive an early copy, make sure to refrain from sharing your impressive bank heists on social media and video sites until release day.
The Soapbox: That's not an MMO
You may not be aware of this, but Massively is a website focused primarily on massively multiplayer online games. It's kind of what we do. However, the world of MMOs in 2013 is far different from the world of MMOs in 2007, when the site was founded. The niche has changed and the games industry has evolved. There was a time when "online" told you everything you needed to know about a game because there was really only one type of online game. You knew in picking up an online game that you and some friends would be leveling, looting gear, and slaying dragons. It took a while for developers to notice that online play was actually a thing that could work in more than one particular format. Nowadays, online games range from traditional MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2 and RIFT to MOBAs like SMITE and League of Legends. There's no clear definition for what an MMO is or isn't because so many games are massive, multiplayer, and online. Maybe it's time to embrace MMO as a broader term than previously thought.
