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Grand Theft Auto lead buys a big, beautiful church
Rockstar North President Leslie Benzies purchased St. Stephen's Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, with the intent to prolong its role as a community venue for arts, theater and music gatherings. St. Stephen's Church is just half a mile from Benzies' home, and the purchase was "entirely philanthropic," spokesperson Philip Johnston told Edinburgh News. The deal was thought to exceed £500,000. Benzies is the lead developer on the Grand Theft Auto series, from Grand Theft Auto 3 onwards. "The preservation of St. Stephen's church as a community center meets a pressing need as well as protecting an important historical building," Johnston said. "We are delighted that we can help bring the church back to its former glory, securing its future whilst providing a renovated local and performing arts centre that will benefit the wider community." The church features the longest clock pendulum in Europe and a 160-foot tower, with performance space that can hold 800 people. Edinburgh News reported that St. Stephen's Church had been a community center for the past 20 years, but recently, it'd been used less. Benzies out-bid more than 50 other potential buyers, some of whom wished to turn the church into bars, restaurants or private residences. "We will engage with the community as the plans progress and look forward to welcoming local residents and groups back to the centre in the very near future," Johnston said. [Image: Malcolm McCurrach]
Grand Theft Auto masterminds crash into AIAS Hall of Fame
Rockstar heads Leslie Benzies, Dan Houser and Sam Houser are the 18th, 19th and 20th inductees into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, joining previous winners Gabe Newell, Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, John Carmack, Mark Cerny, Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuck, and Tim Sweeney, among other luminaries. The Houser brothers founded Rockstar Games in 1998 and acquired Benzies' studio, DMA Design, in 1999. It became Rockstar North, the hub of Grand Theft Auto development. Microsoft Corporate Veep Phil Harrison will present Benzies and the Housers at the DICE Awards on Thursday, February 6. "A rare combination of cultural savvy, technical prowess and a deep passion for interactive entertainment has made Rockstar Games a global success story that has helped propel the games medium forward," Harrison says in a press release. "I am proud and honored to present Leslie, Sam and Dan with this award on behalf of the entire industry." AIAS calls out specific franchises as examples of Rockstar's impact on the industry, as both developer and publisher: Grand Theft Auto, Bully, Red Dead Redemption, Manhunt, The Warriors and LA Noire. We'll be running a liveblog of the DICE Awards on Thursday, starting at 7:30PM PT. [Image: Rockstar Games]
Take-Two renews employment agreement with Rockstar bosses
As part of its latest financial report, Take-Two announced that it has renewed its employment agreement with "key members of the creative team of Rockstar Games." Namely, both Sam and Dan Houser, along with Leslie Benzies, have renewed their agreements on "substantially similar economic terms." Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke highly of the Rockstar team, alluding to it as "the best creative talent in the industry." He added that Take-Two looks forward to working with Rockstar for "many years to come." In other words, it looks like Take-Two is holding on tightly to what is undoubtedly its biggest gun.
GTA IV could be most expensive game ever made
As we wait to hear about the bagiggles of cash Grand Theft Auto IV is making out in the land of retail, we wondered how much the production actually cost. Speaking with The Times, GTA IV producer Leslie Benzies "hazards a guess" that the game cost $100 million to make, with about 1,000 people working on it.If true, GTA IV would be the most expensive game ever made according to the Guiness World Records Gamer's Edition, which has Shenmue on the Dreamcast as the most expensive, at a cost of $70 million to develop (we don't know if that takes inflation into account). Whatever the cost of GTA IV, we're sure Rockstar will make (or have already made) it back.
