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Take-Two looks to the PSP for comfort
Take-Two, the company behind the mega-popular brand Rockstar Games, is facing some troubles. Although the company has greater revenues this year than last, Take-Two is facing some serious issues. Firstly, the company has "received additional grand jury subpoenas issued by the District Attorney of the County of New York requesting documents ... regarding stock options and other equity based compensation." Also, Wall Street analysts think that the stock for the company is overvalued: "the current analyst consensus EPS estimates for its third quarter, and revenue and EPS [earnings per share ]estimates for its fourth quarter are too high."With plummeting stock prices, Take-Two looks towards the PSP for solace. The company speaks of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and "a Rockstar PSP title based on a premier brand out of the fourth quarter" as upcoming releases that should more than move a few units. The company hasn't revealed what the mystery PSP title is, but it appears that all bets are on Sony's handheld for the company now.See also:TTWO shares drop on earnings warning, stock option investigation[Via Gamespot]
TTWO shares drop on earnings warning, stock option investigation
Take Two just warned Wall Street analysts that their estimates for Take Two earnings in upcoming quarters are "too high," and disclosed new subpoenas from the NYC district attorney's office for documents related to stock options grants. Company shares dropped over 8% to $11.20 in after-hours trading. Some gamers might be tempted to shrug off all this bad news and what it's done to Take Two's shares, figuring that what happens on Wall Street doesn't matter so long as Take Two delivers the goods next October with Grand Theft Auto IV. But Take Two's financial woes do matter because the company uses its stock as compensation. When the company's shares drop, employees take a de facto pay cut, making it more difficult for the company to motivate and retain the brains that create hit titles. In the software and creative industries, it's said that 100% of company value walks out of the door every evening. If this keeps up, Take Two's going to have a harder time convincing employees to return the next morning. [Disclosure: I own way too many shares of Take Two. My wife reminds me of this almost daily.]
Custom Rockstar Table Tennis 360
Give Llamma.com credit for coming up with a Rockstar-commissioned Table Tennis case mod that goes beyond the usual paint job and faceplate. One of these babies is destined for a future give-away, but if you have the time and desire to build your own ping pong prize, they provide a list of supplies and directions.[Thanks AoE]
Vice City Stories to be PSP exclusive
The latest episode of the 1UP Yours Podcast held an interesting revelation about the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Some fans felt burned by Rockstar's decision to bring the beloved Liberty City Stories over to the PS2 in a direct port. Well, according to the podcast, an editor that had a chance to play the game found out that Vice City will not makes it way to the PS2. Why? Because the game's going to be completely optimized for the handheld, making it more difficult to do a straight port Considering how Liberty City sold 2.2 million copies worldwide, it doesn't seem like a bad decision at all. [Via IGN Boards]
Bully controversy gets thoughtful consideration
For those of you who weren't satisfied by last night's bluster-fest of an interview on G4, the Rocky Mountain News' FreePlay blog has an interesting summary piece on the controversy surrounding Rockstar's recently resurfaced game Bully.On one side are bullying experts and school board members who think the game will lead directly to an increase in violence in schools. On the other side, industry/social critics like Clive Thompson and Alice Taylor argue that these games are simply misunderstood by a generation that didn't grow up with them.The Rocky handles both sides with respect and thoughtfulness, and even throws in some good historical context -- after all, the classic novel Ulysses was once derided for its sexual content. Or, as Adam Sessler might put it, there was media controversy "before Pong."[via Kotaku]
Rockstar's Soft Serve tour in Philly tonight [update 1]
Rockstar's "art, music, video & clothing installation" is going down in the City of Brotherly Love today at Jinxed Clothing, on 4th St. just south of South St. Not sure what to expect? Check out pictures from the Miami, Orlando, and Tampa stops. Not helping? Check out the featured artists who'll be, uh, arting at the event. Still not sure? There's going to be Table Tennis tournaments. Yup, the show isn't just about the uber-hip art world, but it's also about the uber-nerdy video game world and, try as Rockstar may to meld the two, we're like oil and vinegar, baby! We'll come together for little events like this, then be on our separate ways, back to our artist's communes/parent's basements respectively. As soon as I can figure out what time things are supposed to go down, I'll update the post and let y'all know. Philly Weekly has a writeup of the event listing 7pm as the start time and $0 as the cost. Anyone planning on attending? Want to meet there and beat my ass at Table Tennis? [Update: added event details.]
GTA Vice City Stories: first screens, details exposed
GTAPortable.com has posted the first screenshots, scanned from GamePro (Australia), of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. In addition, the GamePro article reveals a number of new gameplay details, including the game's lead role, Victor Vance. Remember him?Vic, Lance's brother, is a 28 year-old Marine, and unlike Tommy Vercetti, he can swim (hint, hint). He was gunned down in the beginning of Vice City. So, as speculated, VCS occurs before the original Vice City. In fact, VCS is set in 1984. Expect subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in the city you conquered four years ago on PS2.
Rockstar presents "an art, music, video & clothing installation"
The bad boys at Rockstar sent word of their latest and greatest: "a traveling group art show that features all sides of the art world, including but not limited to: painting, music, video, screen printing, drawing, wheat pasting, clothing, photography & more." So, just art and fashion and music, brought to you courtesy of Rockstar Games? Of course that's not it, there's also going to be "a fast-paced and action packed tournament courtesy of Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis." The "installation" winds its way across the country, hitting hot spots like Columbus and Louisville, ultimately ending in The Town That Loved E3, Los Angeles. A notable omission: hipster-haven and Rockstar's 'hood, New York City. No bother here, I'll hit up the Philly show and embarrass the Joystiq name with my sorry Table Tennis skills ... I'm not even color-blind.
Plight of the color blind gamer
Joystiq has an interesting post on the unique challenge facing color blind gamers as they strive to conquer Rockstar Presents Table Tennis.
Table Tennis demo now available on Live Marketplace [Update 1]
If your eyebrow is still in a raised position with regards to Rockstar's foray into the explosive, prostitute-less world of Table Tennis, be sure to grab the newly served demo from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Coming in at 526MB, the curtailed code should give you fine opportunity to beat innocent balls senseless and engage in more back-and-forth whacking than a Sopranos episode. Feel free to gawk at the shiny graphics and the ball physics, but don't make the crucial mistake of forgetting to press the green button. You can be sure that Conrad's sister will capitalize and promptly crush your ego in the palm of her adorable hand. Update: Major Nelson made this addition to his blog: "Hey, I forgot to post that this is a limited time demo. (sorry about that) That means that you can only download it and play it until the end of August. After that...the title will not work, even if you have already downloaded it! So get it and play it while it lasts!" Looks like someone's worried the demo might be a little too good.
Get your Table Tennis (demo) on
As many of you have already pointed out, the Table Tennis demo has hit Marketplace (even in Europe). If you'd like a description of the game, please see the above picture. That's really all there is to it. Clean, simple fun. If you haven't tried it out, give it a spin and tell us what you think.Note: not available in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore or Taiwan.
Rockstar Table Tennis demo coming soon
Major Nelson conquered his fear of calendars to report that Rockstar would be serving up the long-awaited Table Tennis demo "very, very soon." That was three days ago. Now he better Prey it shows up.[Thanks X Budd}
Airborne is online
A trailer for Medal of Honor Airborne is now available on marketplace. I have not had the luxury of checking it out yet so, somebody get busy describing it in the comments. Why haven't I gotten it yet, you say? I was doing my patriotic duty, or jury duty to be more specific. In other news, expect a demo of Rockstar's Table Tennis soonish. The demo is set to feature two-player but no Live play. If you haven't experienced the joy of "Pressing the green button," I hope you'll try it out.[Thanks, X Budd]
Grand Fake Auto II
Xboxygen is sporting what they identify as another fake GTAIV screenshot. No telling how many of these we'll have to wade through before the real thing shows up.
Warriors actor sues Take-Two
Adding another issue to Take-Two's already-full plate, actor Roger Hill is suing the publisher for the publisher's alleged use of his likeness in the game The Warriors. Hill is seeking $250,000 and a court order barring the use of his likeness, according to the New York Daily News. In the film, Hill plays Cyrus, the leader of the Gramercy Riffs and is subsequently assassinated by the leader of the Rogues, who frames the Warriors for the murder. Hill, who now works at a Manhattan business college library, claims Take-Two approached him about using his voice and likeness, but he rejected the offer and the publisher never renegotiated. A spokesman for Take-Two claims that the company "has a valid third-party license for the rights to use Roger Hill's likeness and the character of Cyrus in The Warriors videogame and related marketing materials."[via GamesIndustry.biz]
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.
Rumor control: First look at GTA4 screenshot
So you've probably seen the new 'mace-toting-chick' screenshot of GTA4 that everyone's talking about. No one ever really tipped us off as to which system it was running on, and the graphics don't really convey much either. Well Eurogamer got the skinny and here it is: the image is a fake. Hopefully you don't need a defibrillator after hearing this. They say, "Rockstar told us this afternoon. It really is a hoax."It's pretty unlikely that they're just trying cover it up too. The "disgruntled Rockstar Games employee" submission should have tipped off everyone to begin with. Here's until the next fake screenshot surfaces.
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?
