GTAIV
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Just watch this Just Cause video
A new trailer of Just Cause has popped up. Filled to the brim with all kinds of derring-do, it's sure to get your heart pumping. In a funny way, it seems to be the opposite of GTA, as the focus seems to be getting out of vehicles rather than getting in. Check it out, tell us what you think.[Thanks, bv]
Captain Obvious says GTA IV to have exclusive content on 360
Surely this will come as no shock to Joystiq's highly-intelligent gaming readership, but Microsoft has posted up some news that Grand Theft Auto IV for the Xbox 360 will feature "exclusive episodic content for Xbox Live." Slated for launch on Oct. 16, 2007, for both the 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, one has to wonder if the PS3 will get the same sort of exclusive treatment through their own snazzy online service.What's funny though, is that in the press release, Microsoft calls this deal a "strategic alliance." As if the console wars really are serious, life-losing conflicts.[Thanks, Alex Belling]
Crack open some new Crackdown videos [update 1]
We received some fresh Crackdown videos yesterday. The first of the pair (seen above) demonstrates mass carnage with a rocket launcher. For a supercop, this guy seems to destroy a lot of civilian property. The end of the video is especially brutal, as some poor thug gets rocket juggled into the stratosphere. The second video showcases a gun battle inside a villa -- presumably owned by some nefarious drug lord in a white suit. Check it out after the break. Update 1: Embedded second video after the break.
Imagine Publishing behind GTA4 hoax
QJ reports that they have discovered the nefarious creator of the fake GTA4 screenshot. It turns out that the infamous email from a "disgruntled Rockstar employee" came from the mail servers of none other than Imagine Publishing. Imagine is responsible for several UK gaming mags including X360 and Retro Gamer. So why in the world would a publishing company release a fake screenshot? I think QJ has the right answer: Imagine wanted a story for their next issue. What do you think? Was it a prank gone too far or a diabolical corporate scheme?
GTA4: Girl Theft Auto [update 2]
According to 360Era.com this just might be a screen from Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV (click for an embiggened pic). Hmm, looks about on par with Table Tennis to me. So, is it real? Fake? Frankly, anything with a girl wielding a morning star has my approval. Update 1: It's fake. From Eurogamer: "Rockstar says that an image circulating around web-forums this afternoon, supposedly showing a TV screen running a debug version of Grand Theft Auto IV, is a hoax ... The image ... first showed up in the inboxes of various media organisations this morning under the subject line 'From a disgruntled ex-employee of Rockstar...' ... But that's not the case, Rockstar told us this afternoon. It really is a hoax." Man, fake news travels fast. This screen was circulated and debunked in a matter of hours. Simply amazing. Thanks, Josh. Update 2: It looks like QJ discovered the perpetrator behind this heinous crime. You won't believe who it is. Read the full story here.
Sony: We don't need no stinkin' GTA
Sony is so confident that their next-gen console is going to be such a smash hit, that the loss of exclusivity of their huge PS2 and PSP top-seller, Grand Theft Auto, will be no skin off their bones. In an interview with TheStreet.com, Jack Tretton, executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, was asked if the loss of GTA as an exclusive franchise would hurt the PS3. His response: "There's no question that having the Grand Theft Auto franchise helped us a lot and helped us sell some units, but I don't think the battle would be any different with or without Grand Theft Auto."Completely dumbfounded by Tretton's response, TheStreet asked one more time, just to be sure. "No, I don't think it hurts us. No, I really don't," Tretton said. Whatever the execs at Sony are smokin', please let me know because I would love some of that. Exclusivity is pretty much the one thing that Sony really has going for it. To dismiss the true effectiveness of holding titles in your hands like Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy or God of War is just complete ignorance. I don't believe for one second, however, that Tretton or any Sony exec truly doesn't care about losing GTA. Whether they want to admit it or not, it hurts.[via Team Xbox]
GTAIV will share the Table Tennis engine
There's a rumor floating around these here internets suggesting that the next iteration of Rockstar's money-printing machine known as Grand Theft Auto will be using their own in-house RAGE engine (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine engine), recently seen in Table Tennis. Gamespot's Rumor Control traces the rumor to a TotalVideoGames.com post which mentioned, but neglected to link to, an MTV News report from over a month ago. That report stated, "The Rockstar reps explained that the game was running on RAGE, the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine. This is the graphics technology gamers are to expect from future Rockstar games, including the next GTA." I contacted MTV News' Stephen Totilo to see just how definite this was, and he returned, "I met with Rockstar publicists and producers for Table Tennis twice prior to the game's release. Both times they volunteered that RAGE would serve as the engine for all next-gen Rockstar games. 'Including GTA?' I asked both times. Including GTA they said both times." So there you have it folks. Following EA's acquisition of GTA's old-engine, Renderware, Rockstar has went and made their own. Sure, Table Tennis looks great but really, anything's better than the dated engine they're using now.
GTA IV dumps renderware, picks up RAGE
Rumor has it that Grand Theft Auto IV (or GTA4 as the kids call it) will be using Rockstar's RAGE engine (that's Rockstar Advanced Game Engine). Many of you are already familiar with the RAGE engine if you own a copy of Table Tennis. The previous engine, Renderware, is seriously showing its age, and I doubt many will lament its loss. And it doesn't hurt that Table Tennis already looks mighty fine. Is there any chance we might see Tommy Vercetti both pinging and ponging?
Rockstar vets enlisted for GTA IV
According to IMDb, Rockstar President Dan Houser and GTA/Manhunt veteran James Worrall are the principal writers for Grand Theft Auto IV. Lazlow Jones, who wrote for GTA III & Vice City and did voice work for Liberty City Stories & San Andreas, is listed as a cast member, along with Navid Khonsari who has voiced characters in almost all of Rockstar's titles, including his role as Porn Host in Max Payne 2.Grand Theft Auto IV will debut October 16, 2007 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In addition, Rockstar will create downloadable episodic content for the Xbox 360 version.
