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GTA IV Looks Great, But Is It Worth A Full 10?

Authored by Jay Baage on April 28, 2008 - 7:53am.


Tomorrow April 29, one of the most anticipated video games of the year, Take Two Interactive (NSDQ: TTWO) and Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto IV," will hit store shelves. Analysts predict that it will top last year's record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Bungee Studios' first-person shooter "Halo 3", according to the Associated Press.

tags: Games | Video | Marketing | IGN | Reviews | Rockstar | GTA IV |

Analyst says PS3 to Blame for Grand Theft Auto IV Delay

Authored by dmw on August 6, 2007 - 10:35am.

GamePro analyst Michael Pachter says it was development difficulties on Sony’s PlayStation 3 that forced Take-Two to delay Grand Theft Auto IV for both PS3 and Xbox 360.  "We think it is likely that the Rockstar team had difficulty in building an exceptionally complicated game for the PS3, and failed to recognize how far away from completion the game truly was until recently," Pachter said in a statement.

tags: Games | Sony | PS3 | Rockstar | Video Games | Take Two | GTAIV |

Rockstar Games to Ship "Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix" in March

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2006 - 6:34am.
San Diego - Rockstar Games, a unit of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive, announced on Friday that it plans to ship "Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix" for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in March. Developed by Rockstar San Diego, the title features new vehicles, terrain and music, and will sell for the discounted price of $19.99 as part of the PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits and Xbox Platinum Hits programs.
tags: Games | Ship | March | Rockstar | Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix |

L.A. City Attorney Sues "Grand Theft Auto" Makers Take-Two, Rockstar

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2006 - 8:15am.
Los Angeles - Take-Two Interactive, publisher of the "Grand Theft Auto" video game franchise, and developer Rockstar Games have been sued by the Los Angeles City Attorney's office for its alleged hiding of pornographic material in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." The game received a stricter "Adults Only" rating and was removed from store shelves last year, after it was discovered that a sexually explicit mini-game hidden in the title's source code could be unlocked with an Internet download. The lawsuit alleges misleading marketing and unfair competition, accusing Take-Two of hiding the fact that the game contained pornographic content to receive a less strict rating, and later trying to claim the offensive mini-game was created by hackers and not its employees. "Greed and deception are part of the 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' story -- and in that respect, its publishers are not much different from the characters in their story," Delgadillo said in a statement. "Businesses have an obligation to truthfully disclose the content of their products -- whether in the food we eat or the entertainment we consume." The lawsuit demands Take-Two and Rockstar return $10 million in estimated profits from sales of the game in California, pay fines and cease marketing the game to children. Delgadillo said the Take-Two lawsuit is part of a larger investigation by the L.A. City Attorney's office into the marketing of video games.
tags: Games | Take-Two | Grand Theft Auto | Rockstar | Los Angeles | Attorney |

Rockstar Games Plans London Development Studio

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 22, 2005 - 11:02am.
New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive's Rockstar Games unit, creators of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, plans to open a new game development studio in London, GamesIndustry.biz reported. New York-based Take-Two's Rockstar also has U.K. studios in Leeds and Edinburgh.
tags: Games | London | Rockstar | Development |

Sen. Clinton Asks FTC to Investigate Rockstar, Promises Game Legislation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2005 - 10:05am.
Washington -- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Thursday asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to look into whether a sexually explicit mini-game tied to the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" was created by the game's developer, or is only available as a modification downloadable online. Rockstar Games has said previously that hackers developed the mini-game, and that the code comprising it is not included on retail copies of GTA. Clinton's inquiry follows actions taken in Australia toward banning the game, and criticism of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) by a California state lawmaker. Clinton asked the FTC to determine whether the game should be given a rare "AO" (Adults Only) label, instead of the current "M" (Mature) rating. Clinton also said she would introduce legislation that would slap a $5,000 fine on retailers who sold violent or sexually explicit games to minors. "The disturbing material in Grand Theft Auto and other games like it is stealing the innocence of our children and it's making the difficult job of being a parent even harder," said Senator Clinton. "I am announcing these measures today because I believe that the ability of our children to access pornographic and outrageously violent material on video games rated for adults is spiraling out of control."
tags: FTC | Rockstar | Sen. Clinton | Game Legislation | Promises |

Rockstar Games Sets October Release for "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 1, 2004 - 7:21am.
New York -- Rockstar Games, the video game publishing unit of Take-Two Interactive responsible for the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, announced on Monday that it will release the next game in the series, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" for PlayStation 2, on Oct. 19 in North America and Oct. 22 in Europe. New York-based Rockstar said that over 30 million units of the Grand Theft Auto franchise have been shipped to date, including over 11.5 million units of "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and over 10.5 million units of "Grand Theft Auto 3." The games have also been a continuous source of controversy for their violence, prompting an outright ban in Australia, protests over the treatment of Haitians within the game, and impetus for U.S. lawmakers in several states to attempt to impose penalties on the sales of such games to minors.
tags: Games | Grand Theft Auto | Rockstar | Releases |

New Zealand Bans Rockstar Games' Violent Video Game "Manhunt"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 12, 2003 - 5:17am.
Wellington, New Zealand -- The country of New Zealand has banned video game publisher Rockstar Games' ultra-violent PlayStation 2 title "Manhunt," calling the game "injurious to the public good." Similar attempts to ban the sale of violent video games in the U.S. have run afoul of First Amendment free speech protections. The game, developed at Edinburgh, Scotland-based Rockstar North, is the first video game to be outright banned in New Zealand. "It's a game where the only thing you do is kill everybody you see," said Bill Hastings, chief censor for New Zealand's Office of Film and Literature Classification, which imposed the countrywide ban. "The only way you can accommodate the game's images is by an attitudinal shift… You have to at least acquiesce in these murders and possibly tolerate, or even move towards enjoying them, which is injurious to the public good." Controversy is not new to the company, as earlier this week it announced it would remove the line, "Kill all the Haitians" from its "Grand Theft Auto" title after complaints from Haitian groups and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. http://makeashorterlink.com/?O2F962BC6  http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=ret&aid=2707  http://www.take2games.com
tags: Games | New Zealand | Video Game | Rockstar | Manhunt |

Rockstar Games to Remove "Kill Haitians" Dialogue from "Grand Theft Auto"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 10, 2003 - 6:10am.
New York -- The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Rockstar Games, a unit of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive, has said it will remove dialogue contained in its popular "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" video game that instructs players to, "kill all the Haitians," after complaints from Haitian groups and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. "We are aware of the hurt and anger in the Haitian community and have listened to the community's objections to certain statements made in the game," Take-Two said in a statement. "Accordingly, we will remove the objectionable statements from future copies." Mayor Bloomberg condemned the game while speaking at a Haitian church on Sunday, calling it "disgraceful" and "vulgar."
tags: Games | Grand Theft Auto | Rockstar | Kill Haitians |