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"Just press the green button", I said
"Just press the green button" Oh, those fateful little words. How naive I was to think that they wouldn't affect the ability that my sister was soon to display in a casual game of Rockstar's Table Tennis.
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.
Take-Two pledges support for Wii
According to Take-Two president and CEO Paul Eibeler, the publisher was impressed with Nintendo's E3 showing and is now committed to producing a range of titles for Wii beginning in late 2007.Eibeler focused on Wii's potential to expand Take-Two's 2K Sports series, specifically MLB. 2K is also responsible for a slew of non-sports titles, including BioShock, CivCity: Rome, Dungeon Siege, Family Guy and Prey, which may or may not find a home on Wii. Eibeler made no mention of the availability of current or future Rockstar titles for the Wii platform.
Rockstar bringing another game to PSP this year
In reporting their second-quarter fiscal year, Take-Two Interactive revealed that they have an as-yet unannounced title heading to the PSP based on a major brand. What could this game possibly be? Are they planning on bringing Table Tennis to the PSP?"Additional products planned for 2006 from Rockstar Games include Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for the PSP, scheduled for October release, an additional PSP title based on another premier brand, and Bully."Let the speculation begin![Via PSP World]
Overheard in New York...
Overheard in New York (City) poster, Everclear, caught this snippet of a conversation on the 2 train near Borough Hall:SAT* prepping kid #1: What's 'hydrolysis'? SAT prepping kid #2: Dude, don't you play Grand Theft Auto? Hydrolysis is what makes the cars bump up and down. SAT prepping kid #3: Um ... Hydrolysis is the splitting of things in water. SAT prepping kid #2: Whatever. Same thing.*standardized test[Thanks Lex!]
Metareview - Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Xbox 360)
When Rockstar announced their top secret new game, gamers were floored that the San Diego branch of the house that GTA built had traded in their baseball bats for ping pong paddles with Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis. Big question is, how did they do with this smaller-scale, (relatively) budget-priced title? According to the reviews that are beginning to appear, pretty darned well. The complaints focus on the title's sparse feature set while the praise focuses on the Xbox Live integration and the tight, elegant gameplay. Seriously, read through the reviews if you have a particular affinity for the words "subtle" and "nuanced." According to the reviews, Table Tennis provides a streamlined sports sim that's short on features but full of subtle gameplay, reflected in the (next-gen) budget price of $39.99. IGN (78/100) - "If you want a table tennis game that's strictly focused on great mechanics and addictive gameplay, but that lacks a reasonable single-player mode and is shockingly sparse, Rockstar Presents Table Tennis is your game." GamePro (85/100) - "The best thing about the gameplay is that it's all about reflex and intuition -- accessible to all, but hard to master online competitive play. Setting up power shots, killer topspin, and hitting the corners of the table becomes easy in short amount of time. This game is an instant classic and is guaranteed to please the masses." Eurogamer (90/100) - "It's the sign of a great sports game when you can't think of anything you'd want to change in the next version. It doesn't need another version."
Xbox 360 releases for the week of May 22nd
Two new Xbox 360 games this week! Sorta. Call of Duty 2: Game of the Year Edition is, of course, the further milking of the Xbox 360's best FPS. Is it me, or does it seem too early to have a game of the year edition of anything for the Xbox 360? We also have Rockstar Games' Table Tennis which claims to "recreate the tension of professional table tennis." Whew! My palms are already sweating. Xbox 360 Releases Call of Duty 2: Game of the Year Edition Rockstar Games Table Tennis As always, availability is subject to manufacturer delivery.
GTA Vice City Stories announced for PSP [update 1]
In case you missed the press release - we did - Rockstar announced Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in the midst of last week's chaos. The title (and Rockstar) was conspicuously absent from the E3 showroom floor, despite being targeted for an October 17 release (in North America). Still, this is far from a surprise revelation - and it's a game that has been rumored to exist since Liberty City Stories debuted. Now, it's just official.Update: added official logo.[Thanks, Soulo]
Grand Theft: MS robs Sony of GTA exclusivity
Console war vets nearly spilled their hot coffee Tuesday morning when Peter Moore's GTA tattoo-baring stunt at Microsoft's E3 keynote was over-zealously interpreted to imply exclusive rights to Grand Theft Auto IV. It quickly became clear that Sony didn't get jacked quite that badly. The first next-gen installment in Rockstar's amazingly popular yet politically touchy series will be released on both consoles simultaneously in October 2007. It's still great news for 360 owners, who won't have to wait an extra 12 months to run over high-polygon hookers. Conversely, it's a potentially signifcant blow to the golden kneecaps of the pricey PS3. Loyal Sony fanboys who go into usurious debt in order to purchase that caviar console would presumably prefer a little alone time with those dead prostitutes, at least until they get their credit card paid off. So much for what was once a major selling point. Sony may not have an edge when it comes to grand thievery, but they still have a license to steal -- from their customers.
Rockstar's Table Tennis trailer in HD
We know Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis is no joke. Apparently there's a pretty good game to be had once you get over the whole ping pong thing. Check out the HD trailer Rockstar is hosting on their site if your computer can handle it. Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis HD trailer [.wmv]
Rockstar playing it low-key at E3
After reviewing the E3 2006 floor plans, it's clear that Rockstar will not be renting a showroom booth this year. Over at Planet Grand Theft Auto, Jordan speculates that Take-Two's prized developer might be stowed away in a small, perhaps private meeting room. According to the floor plans, Take-Two has reserved room 150C in the Concourse Hall.Rockstar's absence on the show floor likely means that the next GTA installment will not make the PS3 launch — or, if the franchise is going to defect, the Xbox 360's holiday lineup. Still, we can't help but wonder what might be previewed behind closed doors. Let's hope it's not just a high-stakes Table Tennis tournament.
MS trying to score a GTA exclusive?
The latest issue of Game Informer stands by the mag's last bombshell rumor and adds a new one. Xboxic has a summary:GI is standing by their April issue in which they revealed Forerunner, a new title in the Halo series. Now this month in their Loose Talk section, they reveal Project Orion. According to GI, Bungie and Ensemble Studios are teaming up to make a Halo FPS MMO. They claim this project is in “planning stages” just like Forerunner, so things could “change.”Microsoft is currently trying their hardest to secure the next version of GTA as an Xbox 360 exclusive. They claim MS is going full out in this. Even if MS does not secure it as a full exclusive, they will try to get it as a timed exclusive (similar to Sony last gen).That should get the PS3 fanboys' coffee percolating.
Joystiq says Grand Theft Ping Pong is no joke
Don't miss Joystiq's hands-on preview of Rockstar Presents Table Tennis:If you're a ping pong addict, this is another opportunity for you to deepen your involvement with a hobby you already love. This game will satisfy you because -- at least to this ping pong amateur and the two legit ping pong players I brought along with me -- it feels authentic....About four hours after the event started, the three folks I had dragged along with me were still eager to continue to play, and none of them consider themselves gamers; none of them own an Xbox 360 or any prior-generation console. If this admittedly small sample size has any predictive power, Rockstar's got a hit on their hands.Vlad's sentiments seem to echo the IGN hands-on we saw last week. This game already looks like a Gump-like smash with ping pong addicts, however many exist, and apathetic wives. Now what about the hardcore gamers who haven't played an "authentic" game of table tennis since 1993 and can barely feel their own pulse if a game doesn't involve sex or violence?
Rockstar's Table Tennis is no joke
Rockstar's second-floor party pad sits at the top of a long flight of stairs just off of Bowery in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood. As I climbed those stairs on my way to an invitational afternoon of beer, food and Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis this Saturday, I half expected the door to burst open and a bunch of clowns to yell "April Fools!" It just didn't make much sense that famously reticent, infamously too-cool-for-the-media Rockstar had actually invited members of the press to see their latest game, nevermind a lowly blogger. But for once, they're probably happy to be talking about something other than whichever version of their marquee Grand Theft Auto series has been released, been hacked, been banned, been recalled, been reissued, been whatevered. Instead, when the door to the flat opened I was greeted by a bevvy of Rockstar marketers, three huge HD displays, and three Xbox 360s spinning a pre-release version of Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis. Turns out the game is no joke and that Rockstar's serious about seeing that the game sees the exposure they believe it deserves.
ZOMG GTA Chicago! Skepticism overwhelms us
Sure, it's not April 1st yet, but that hasn't stopped some guileful folks from getting a jump start on their annual trickery. Take, for example, the suspiciously timed appearance of a website ostensibly promoting Rockstar's latest and greatest: no, not Table Tennis, but Grand Theft Auto: Chicago of course!Why does this GTA: Chicago thing smell fishier than a two week old tuna sandwich left in your high school locker? Let us count the ways: The previous GTA games have eschewed real cities, opting instead for fictional cities closely inspired by actual ones. Liberty City ~ New York City; Vice City ~ Miami; San Andreas ~ Los Angeles. Chicago doesn't sound right. Suspicion triggered. It doesn't look right either. That font is seriously dubious. Rising. Why announce a game on (or a day before) April 1st? Why announce a huge title like GTA just several weeks before E3 and a week after GDC? Why take the focus off the other title you're busy promoting, Table Tennis? Suspicion reaching the boiling point. The site was registered through GoDaddy.com, who in turn report the registrar as an anonymous service called Domains by Proxy, Inc.. Suspicion nearing dangerous levels. All of Rockstar's other GTA domains have been registered through Network Solutions to Rockstar directly. Check LibertyCityStories.com, ViceCity.com, and GTASanAndreas.com. Suspicion core overload. Evacuate Zebes. Oh April Fool's Day pranksters, you'll have to do better than that. [Thanks, Buttonbasher]
Thompson's Rockstar mad-on intensifies
"I am become Jack Thompson, the destroyer of worlds." Apologies to the Bhagavad-Gita, but the paraphrasing seemed appropriate in light of the Florida attorney and anti-game activist's most recent comments regarding his personal nemesis, Rockstar Games. In an interview with GameSpot, Thompson commented on the ongoing litigation in the Alabama GTA murder case, stating that it would "destroy Rockstar" and "change the face of the entertainment industry."You can say one thing for him, he's persistent. He's also more attention-starved than Kathy Griffin. Although I'm starting to wonder if all of this video game violence has started to rub off on Jack, judging by his choice of words. Instead of simply "putting them out of business," you almost get the impression he wants to bomb the Rockstar corporate offices into oblivion. Hey, maybe Jack would make a good game designer after all!UPDATE: Here's another image of Jack Thompson in all his video game-hating glory. Apologies for offending anyone with the previous image.
Grand Theft Ping Pong hands-on
IGN has a hands-on preview of Rockstar Presents Table Tennis that confirms two things: It's a Ping Pong game and there are no dead hookers:There's a kind of Geometry Wars learning curve at work where you get better and better and the game gets more addicting and more addicting. No, it's not going to ever replace real ping pong, but the game does replicate that same intense feeling of a long intense rally, and that's really all Rockstar was trying to do. Take this as you will, but the preview build of Table Tennis came closer to replicating the feel of the real-life sport than maybe any sports game in history.There are plenty of people who still think this whole charade is promoting a mini-game in GTA Next-Gen: Sluts of Shanghai, but it looks like Grand Theft Ping Pong is just that: Ping Pong. Any time the words Geometry Wars crop up in reference to simple yet addictive gameplay the Joystiq crowd gets excited. If Rockstar really has created the ultimate replication of a rec room paddle war, and avoided the Medusa-like stare of Hillary Clinton for at least one game, who can complain?
GTA TV could be headed to Spike TV
According to Variety.com, Spike TV is undergoing a "macho makeover," which will include the addition of new dramas and action-adventure series geared towards male audiences. Among the proposed concepts, is a live-action take on Grand Theft Auto that could premiere as early as Summer 2007. It's unclear if the show would be a licensed adaptation of the game or simply inspired by the content featured in Rockstar's franchise.[via Gamecloud]
More on Grand Theft Ping Pong
A lot of people are convinced that Rockstar Presents Table Tennis is some sort of early April Fools prank, but Tommy Vercetti & Co. don't seem to be in on the joke. Totally360 got a hold of some previously unseen screenshots that show off Grand Theft Ping Pong's graphical prowess, if not its Rockstar attitude. I'll be damned—they also have a case cover shot. Maybe table tennis really is the sport of cocaine kings.[See also: Has Rockstar gone soft?]
Rockstar presents Grand Theft... Ping Pong?
It's been revealed unto us: the "unexpected" new 360 game that IGN promised to unveil is none other than... Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis! Yup. The bad boys behind Grand Theft Auto are intent on delivering a game experience that puts you inside the seedy, gritty world of underground table tennis... actually, it's not like that at all. Rockstar's Sam Houser says:"We wanted to create a sports game with the intensity of a fighting game and the sense of speed and control that would make playing it a more intense and more visceral experience than has previously been possible with sports games. It's not just about looking better, feeling better or animating better but about using the power of the hardware to make a game that engages with you on a different physical and emotional level."We knew they were working on a new franchise for the Xbox 360, but this isn't quite what we expected from them. Wait--franchise? There're going to be more than one. I can see it now: Table Tennis 2K7. The first version of Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis is due in May for a refreshing $39.99.[Thanks, Matt]
