The Xbox-exclusive downloadable content for open-world action game Grand Theft Auto IV will be out by Christmas, according to Microsoft. What the content will consist of hasn't been announced yet, although it's rumored to consist of "at least two" ten hour episodes. We'll let you know more when we know more, but until then, enjoy the waiting game!
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Citing a "source close to RockStar North," gaming website Eurogamer reports that Grand Theft Auto IV's downloadable content is on track for release in November. The content is said to consist of "at least two" 10-hour episodes. It is exclusive to the 360.
No word yet on what the content will consist of. or whether it will include new real estate and/or new characters. We don't know what it will cost you, either, but we have heard speculation about what it's costing Microsoft to have this exclusive DLC: The rumor is: Microsoft paid 50 million. Not 50 Million Microsoft Points, but 50 million U.S. dollars! Wow!
Another rumor for you this morning: Video Game site RPG-TV is reporting that the downloadable content coming this fall for Grand Theft Auto IV will add 15 hours of play-time to the game. Whether the DLC will include extra real estate, a new protagonist, or just some new plot development remains to be seen, but when we know anything, we'll tell ya!
X-Play's Abbie Heppe got her lucky hands on Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC, and here's what she thought...
Rockstar shows their love for the PC again with a massively up-res’ed version of Grand Theft Auto 4 due out in November, and the improvements and extra features might be enough to inspire even diehard console gamers to jack a computer and give Liberty City a visit on the PC.
The most noticeable difference between the PC version of the game and the console versions are the graphics. GTA IV PC outputs at 2560x1600 with improved textures and draw distances, meaning that even on a 106” television the graphics are downright breathtaking. In the “3 Leaf Clover” mission shown behind closed doors at the Leipzig Games Convention, the improvements are most noticeable when speeding over the bridges into the towering downtown environments. While the port is a work in progress, the best basis for graphic comparison is this: The trees lining the city streets haven’t been redone for PC yet, and basically look like square paper collages compared to the rest of the game, again on a television larger than the walls of many New York, I mean, Liberty City, apartments.
According to Microsoft (via IGN) downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV is coming this fall. Here, word-for-word, is what M'Soft said:
"In autumn there will be news from Liberty City; the first episodes of GTA IV will be available for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE, underlining Xbox 360's leadership role in the field of digital entertainment."
Tantalizingly lacking in details, eh, gamers? Like, what kind of content? What will it cost? Etc. We'll let you know as soon as we know, of course.
According to a Nielsen survey, 17 percent of Grand Theft Auto IV buyers were under 17. Among the 17 percent that were underaged, 61 percent bought it themselves and 39 percent had a friend or relative do it for them.
Rating games is becoming similar to rating movies. All it does is serve to placate conservatives and people who can't help but tell you how to live your life. No one at the point of purchase cares how old the customer is and the only people who want to enforce the laws are the out of touch fools that push them through.
G-Phoria is over and we've got the winners! The past twelve months have been unprecedented in terms of quality games coming out for home consoles.
Halo 3 narrowly topped the competition and won Game of the Year in the closest vote in G-Phoria history.
Check under the cut for the full list of winners from G-Phoria 2008.
You played, you voted, and now the results are in! Tonight, X-Play Present G-Phoria, the videogame awards where the gamers pick the winners. Adam and Morgan will be bringing you the results for all categories, including Best Graphics, Best Voice Acting, Best RPG and much much more!
Don't the all the big winners as we lead up to the big announcement of the evening, Game of the Year!
Who will take home the big prize? Grand Theft Auto IV? Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Find out Tonight as X-Play Presents G-Phoria 2008 at 8PM ET, only on G4!
A Thai distributor has yanked popular road rage crime game Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PS3) off store shelves after a teenager claimed the game inspired him to commit a murder/robbery.
"We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games," Sakchai Chotikachinda of New Era Interactive Media told Reuters.
The18-year-old suspect faces the death penalty for robbing and stabbing a 54-year-old taxi driver to death. The high school student told police that he did not plan on killing the victim until the driver fought back.
"He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game," said a Thai chief police investigator.
Damn.
Edge-online.com: GTA IV Sales Suspended in Thailand
Have you voted in G-Phoria yet?
This is your chance to help determine which games were the standouts of last year. Help us pick the games that came in first in action, sports, and shooting. These awards are decided entirely by popular vote, so your vote could mean the difference.
Voting ends this Sunday at 11:59 PM, so don't waste any time.
Go to G-Phoria now!
Tune in for the results as X-Play presents G-Phoria 2008, August 7th @ 8PM.
Countering the fears of some investors, Take Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said his game publishing company can be a profitable even in years where this no Grand Theft Auto release.
"I feel very good that we can deliver on that goal of a profitable enterprise even in non-GTA years," Zelnick told Venture Beat, a financial website. "Look at our array of hits and owned intellectual property. We have 30 million-plus selling titles, 15 of which are fully owned... It's just not true that we are only about GTA."
In the interesting, wide-ranging interview, Zelnick names Bioshock and Carnival Games, both massive sellers for Take Two, as examples of profitable titles from the company. He also categorizes the attempted takeover of Take Two by EA as "business. It’s not personal."
Check it out below:
VentureBeat: E3 perspective: Q&A with Chairman Strauss Zelnick on the future of Take-Two Interactive
Grand Theft Auto IV's first batch of DLC content for the Xbox 360 is already rumored to introduce a brand new biker character, according to EGM's Quartermann section this month. No updates yet on any PS3 content, but again, the 360 update is just the latest rumor, nothing's been confirmed yet. Hit the jump for the EGM info.
This article in today's Wall Street Journal eerily mirrors some discussions we've been having around our office about Grand Theft Auto and the nature of Art.
The WSJ's Junot Diaz points out that while Grand Theft Auto IV is a great game, it does not (as some critics have said) rise to the level of great Art from other genres. It is not the Godfather. It is not Ragtime.
Junot focuses on the game's plotline, drawing attention to the difference between the story and great stories from other genres. He (rightly) concludes that the game's story is "more an example of our evasions as a culture, more of a fairy tale, more of a story of consolation than a shattering cultural critique or even, dare I say it, great art." It is pulp. Well-done, compelling pulp, but pulp anyway.
The Summer Solstice has passed and you know what that means! That's right, the coming of Summer means that X-Play Presents G-Phoria is right around the corner. We can't wait to bring you all the award winners for what has turned out to be one of the greatest years in gaming history. We only have one problem...
There are simply too many great games.
That's why X-Play needs your help in narrowing the field of nominees for Game Of The Year! So, please, do us a favor and go to our G-Phoria site and vote for your favorite game of the last 12 months. Help us, X-Play fans! You're our only hope!
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