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Achievement unlocked: GTA IV 'Key to the City'
We suppose a physical award is more satisfying than the typical on-screen, pop-up Achievement or Trophy, but then, what use, really, is a giant key engraved with the Rockstar and GTA IV logos? Fine, we admit it! We're jealous. There was simply no hope in us ever completing 100 percent of the Big Apple-sized sandbox (and by May 19th, no less). In fact, we're not certain we even finished a single mission. We just couldn't pry ourselves away from the pool halls, dart boards and internet dates -- just how we always imagined the lazy, urban underbelly of society. Gallery: GTA IV: Key to the City
Chinatown Wars in Feb-April; GTA IV DLC end of Jan, tentatively
Speaking at the BMO Capital Market conference today, Take-Two fitness guru Strauss Zelnick posed some new release dates for the next entries in Rockstar's sprawling crime epic, Grand Theft Auto. All signs point to peace in the streets as we approach Chinatown War's previously marked release in late January. Strauss has pushed the downtown conflict into Take-Two's second fiscal quarter, which runs from February through April.Possibly joining the isometric pocket pusher in Q2 will be the overdue GTA IV DLC for Xbox 360. Strauss still has his heart set on January, though, as the total package is "close to completed."
Houser unsure if GTA IV DLC will release this year
Rockstar Games' Dan Houser isn't positive that the exclusive Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content for Xbox 360 will make a 2008 release. In an interview with Variety, when asked directly if he expects the DLC to release this year, the Don of GTA fesses up he's "not sure" and hopes to announce a release date in the next few weeks.Despite Microsoft's reassurances, a delay to early next year wouldn't be wholly unexpected, with the rumor mill spewing forth a January or February release date. Really, though, does anybody have time for another romp through Liberty City when there's Sera, The Ishimura, Africa and our imaginations to visit?
Grand Theft Auto IV is number 1 in Japan
Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV is making a big splash over in Japan, according to the weekly software ranking published by Famitsu. The big budget sandbox title is debuted at the top of the charts, while LittleBigPlanet and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: Spec III took third and seventh place, respectively. The exact numbers should be released tomorrow, along with hardware sales (unconfirmed word on the street is the PS3 is number 1). It's really refreshing to see games on the PS3 do so well -- we'll keep you updated when the exact numbers are published! Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One (DS) LittleBigPlanet (PS3) Grand Theft Auto IV (360) Wagamama Fassion Girls Mode (DS) Pokemon Platinum (DS) Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: Spec III (PS3) Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS) Chocobo's Dungeon DS+ (DS) Wii Music (Wii) [Thanks, Zack!]
Rockstar: GTA IV PC delayed to Dec. 2
Rockstar has confirmed the delay of the PC release of Grand Theft Auto IV, reflected on retailers' sites earlier this week. The game has been pushed from November 18th to December 2nd. The developer did not cite particular reasons for the hold up, reports IGN, but we can assume it's due in part to typical, last minute bug squashing and system optimization. On that note, Rockstar did finally release official system specs:Minimum System Requirements OS: Windows Vista (Service Pack 1) / XP (Service Pack 3) Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz / AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4 Ghz Memory: 1.5 GB RAM; 16 GB hard drive space Video card: 256 MB NVIDIA 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900 Recommended System Requirements OS: Windows Vista (Service Pack 1) / XP (Service Pack 3) Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4 Ghz / AMD Phenom X3 2.1 Ghz Memory: 2 GB (XP) / 2.5 GB (Vista) RAM; 18 GB hard drive space Video card: 512 MB NVIDIA 8600 / 512 MB ATI 3870
And now, a post about 'sick' GTA IV sneakers
Yes, the sole reason we're posting about footwear is because some industrious chap went to the trouble of embedding Grand Theft Auto IV iconography -- our second-favorite kind of 'nography -- into a pair of snazzy sneakers. Described as "sick customs" over at NikeSB.org, these asphalt kickers come courtesy of site member "SEANYA." We'd normally work in a few more shoe puns at this stage but, quite frankly, we overstepped the boundaries of good taste last time.[Thanks, Sid]
Grand Theft Auto IV PS3 Trophies coming Oct. 27
Someone give Rockstar a trophy ... for finally bringing PlayStation Trophies to the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV. According to the latest GTA mailing list email, the update will be available for download on Monday, Oct. 27.Rockstar has promised 51 Trophies in total, including: "One Man Army" (survive a six-star wanted level for five minutes); "Dare Devil" (execute all of the city's unique stunt jumps); "Chain Reaction" (blow up 10 cars in under 10 seconds); and "Liberty City Minute" (complete the game in less than 30 hours).The official GTA IV site will be updated Monday to include the full list of Trophies ... which, given the ones announced today, will likely be identical to the list of Achievements available in the Xbox 360 version.
Rumor: GTA IV DLC to bring quarantine, zombies [update]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/GTA_IV_DLC_could_be_a_zombie_outbreak'; Update: It most definitely is a zombie outbreak, but it's a multiplayer tweak and not the enigmatic DLC, Rockstar confirms.Original:A new Eugenics Inc. "ad" has appeared on RockStar Social Club, issuing a vague quarantine order locking down the mysterious company's compound due to a contagious disease outbreak. Eugenics Inc. is a physical location in Grand Theft Auto IV, located in Bohan, though it doesn't play into any part of the game ... yet.The quarantine announcement is actually the second Eugenics Inc. display to appear on Social Club, following a "Sperm for Cash" ad posted in April (now removed), which, to date, has never been an actual in-game activity. Obviously, Rockstar is proliferating the company's existence for some purpose, right?Last we heard, Microsoft confirmed the exclusive GTA IV DLC for this fall -- so, any day now. The quarantine posting (unobstructed text after the break) has sparked some speculation that the DLC could be tied to Eugenics' mess. Namely, a potential zombie outbreak! With art assets already in place, what's to stop Rockstar from turning GTA IV into a "28 Days Later" scenario? Keep your eyes peeled.[Thanks, Alexander]
Trophies: Grand Theft Auto IV
1 Platinum3 Gold5 Silver42 Bronze Difficulty: Very Difficult Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 100 hoursDLC Trophies? No View Trophy List Read More About the Game %Gallery-3566%
Don't forget to get your GTA IV on, this weekend
Looking for a good change of pace to your regular Xbox Live schedule this weekend? Remember Rockstar is hosting a Grand Theft Auto IV weekend which began Friday, September 26 at 12:01AM EST and runs through to Sunday, September 28 at 11:59PM EST.The weekend affords gamers the opportunity to school or be schooled by a Rockstar employee in some GTA IV multiplayer madness as well as win a truck-load of prizes just for playing the game. It's play and win in GTA IV this weekend and Rockstar has a ton of treats to go around. A full listing of Rockstar employee gamertags are available after the jump.
NPD: Top 5 best-selling PS3 games from January to August 08
The NPD, in collaboration with Gamasutra, disclosed the top 5 bestsellers for each platform today, including the PS3. Without further ado, let's take a look at what they are: Grand Theft Auto IV Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Madden NFL 09 Gran Turismo 5: Prologue Note that specific sales numbers were not provided and the final tally does not include any collector's editions, games sold via digital distribution or games bundled with a system. No one is really surprised that GTA IV, MGS4 and Madden 09 made it to the top of the charts. However, Gamasutra remarks on the tremendous momentum Call of Duty 4 has had so far in 2008, especially considering the game was released early November of 2007. They were also surprised to see Gran Turismo 5: Prologue beating out Devil May Cry 4; they even speculate that if the sales on the PS Store for Gran Turismo 5: Prologue were counted, it might have even trumped the sales of the PS3 version of Madden 09. Did any of these games surprise you guys? Is there a game you would have liked to see on the chart? Fire away in the comments below.
NPD reveals Top 5 console games of '08 ... so far
As we head into the last stretch of the year, which is synonymous with a glut of titles flooding the market, it's worth seeing what the top titles in 2008 were up to this point. Gamasutra, using data from NPD, has posted the Top 5 titles for consoles up until August. Don't expect any surprises: Grand Theft Auto IV is in the top spot for PS3 and Xbox 360, while Super Smash Bros. Brawl is champion on the Wii.The Wii certainly is the most interesting of the lists, with four out of the five SKUs belonging to games with included with some sort of peripheral (Mario Kart, Wii Fit, Wii Play and Guitar Hero III). Gamasutra also estimates that the software sales of the top five Wii titles combined is about 12 million units, nearly double that of the top five on the other consoles (separately). Of course, the year isn't over yet.
Microsoft confirms GTA IV DLC for Fall 2008
At last, confirmation that doesn't come from a nebulous internet entity or a gravelly voiced figure in a trench coat. Not that we have anything against those two fine and often charismatic sources of information, but we're just a teensy bit more confident in Microsoft's confirmation (and corroboration) to us that "exclusive episodes for 'Grand Theft Auto IV' will be available on Xbox 360 starting fall 2008." That's quite a bit better than the rumored January, we think.Details regarding the crime caper's new episodes are still officially non-existent, but nebulous internet entities and gravelly voiced figures in trench coats all agree: it'll likely involve car theft and other illegal shenanigans.
Slowing GTA IV sales could complicate Take-Two/EA negotiations
A story by Dow Jones speculates that the slowing sales of GTA IV may hurt Take-Two's chances of getting a good buyout deal from EA. The two companies are currently in behind-closed-doors negotiations following several months of failed hostile takeover bids by EA for the GTA publisher.GTA IV came out of the gate strong when it premiered in April, earning $500 million in its first week and going on to sell 8.5 million units so far. However, August NPD data shows the game has slipped to the 46th best-selling game spot for the month, which is another notch down the ladder from its 45th place in July.[Via GI.biz]
Rumor: GTA Wii project in the works
With recent details dropping about the DS game, GTA: Chinatown Wars, the relationship between Take-Two and Rockstar with Nintendo was on the mind of the press. Take-Two CEO, Ben Feder, addressed the idea of Rockstar and its publisher bringing something to the Wii, namely its big franchise, Grand Theft Auto."Without commenting on whether GTA is coming to the Wii or not, Nintendo and Take-Two work very well together; Nintendo and Rockstar work well together, and we are continuing to grow that relationship," said Feder. He also commented that the relationship is not "one-way." He wants everyone to know that GTA: Chinatown Wars "is not even the first step, but an important step, in continuing to develop that relationship."So, the substance to back this rumor is kind of light. Feder addressed the idea, but not really. When you think about it, though, Take-Two and Rockstar, as well as Nintendo, are in this for the money. And what could be a better cash generator than bringing one of gaming's most popular franchises to a console that has a humongous base?See also: GTA usurps Ocarina of Time
Take-Two fiscal Q3 sales led by (GASP!) Grand Theft Auto IV
Take-Two Interactive's third-quarter fiscal results have proven that crime really does pay, with law-breaking blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV leading sales, alongside Top Spin 3 and Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution. The three-month financial period, ended July 31, 2008, saw the publisher rake in net revenues of $433.8 million, nearly double the $206.4 million it earned during the same, GTA-less quarter of 2007. If you're reading this paragraph, we can only assume that you're keen on seeing even more numbers. Like $51.8 million, Take-Two's net income for the quarter and a considerable improvement on last year's net loss of $58.5 million. In terms of notable expenses, Take-Two burned through $12.6 million in "stock-based compensation," $1.8 million for "business reorganization" and $5.4 million for "professional fees and legal expenses," primarily aimed at warding off the advances of EA. Finally, net revenues for Take-Two's first three quarters in total were just over $1.2 billion, versus $689.2 million for the same period a year ago.In summary: Grand Theft Auto IV = money.
Rumor: GTA IV DLC actually, really coming this November
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Rumor_GTA_IV_DLC_Actually_Really_Coming_This_November'; When our parents split up, both of them tried to convince us that the other would just be "devastated" if they didn't get to have custody of us. (Puzzlingly, each insisted that the other had just bought a pony and ice cream farm, which doesn't even make sense.) Why are we choosing this Thursday morning to flashback to that awkward moment? Once again, we don't know who to believe. Last month, VG247 had a super secret Rockstar source telling them that the Grand Theft Auto IV DLC wouldn't be available until January. Now, Eurogamer has a different super secret source saying that things are still on track for a November release. We don't know which one is telling the truth, and we don't care ... we just want one of them to love us. For more timeless tales in carjacking and homicide, check out all our Grand Theft Auto IV coverage.
Rumor: 360's GTA IV DLC to hit in Jan/Feb '09
Although Microsoft has hinted at an autumn arrival for the 360's long-awaited, exclusive GTA IV downloadable content, a "source close to Rockstar" has told VG247 "nuh-uh." The quote the site actually got was, "It'll be in January or February."For those keeping record, the GTA DLC was originally supposed to hit in Q4 2008 (so, before this November), but was delayed due to some corporate numbers mumbo jumbo that we couldn't care less about ... except that it resulted in having to wait longer for more frolicking fun in Liberty City.
Quartermann: Rockstar's PS3-exclusive title
Hey there gossiping gaming grunts, the often correct rumormonger known as EGM's Quartermann is back again and this time with a juicy piece of wishful thinking for PS3 owners. Says Quartermann in the October issue of EGM, Rockstar Games and the team who've brought you Grand Theft Auto IV are working on an unannounced PS3-exclusive title. While that's all the info on that for now, we'd like to point out that this is the same sort of thing we've heard a year ago. We're experiencing a bit of de ja vu just now. While no one knows for sure what the new game is about, we'd like to chance a guess. Most likely, it will be a title that will include everything on Rockstar's design document checklist: excessive profanity, excellently warped humor, and the casual 'beating up hookers' mini-game. If not, they have to at least include the last part for fan service's sake.
GC 2008: GTA IV adds replay editor, polish on PC
Rockstar has laid out details on some of the additions and improvements in store for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV. Eurogamer reports that the version it was shown at Leipzig featured more realistic lighting, animation, and "a much higher level of detail on both characters and environments."More intriguing is a replay editor. According to Rockstar, the PC version of GTA IV is always recording the previous 30 seconds worth of gameplay, so you can pause at any time and really soak up the calamity that's just transpired. It will also be possible to tweak the footage by means of filters, cuts, and repositioning of the camera. The completed clip can be combined with other 30 second snippets into one long, personal crime epic to share with friends via the Rockstar Social Club website. The PC version will also expand on the consoles' 16-player online component, although the extent of what's planned is largely unknown beyond there being more filters for finding specific match types.
