GTA IV Latest News
Latest News
Thursday, May 8th, 2008Official GTAIV site updated
The official GTA IV website has received what will probably be its last update today. The multiplayer page is now complete and new wallpapers have been added, the Outdoor Series II. There has also been a few screenshots added although you've probably seen these before from IGN, GameSpot etc.
GTA IV steals #1 spot on Xbox Live
Xbox Live’s Major Nelson revealed Tuesday that GTA IV stole the top spot on the list of activity on Xbox Live the first week it was released. Obviously this was expected (by me at least), nearly half of my friends list is constantly playing the game so it really is no surprise. Below’s the full list:
Lets see how long GTA IV can remain king on the Xbox Live activity list!
Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 GTA IV
2 Call of Duty 4
3 Halo 3
4 Guitar Hero III
5 Gears of War
6 Rock Band
7 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas 2
8 Iron Man Demo
9 FIFA 08
10 Forza Motorsport 2
1 GTA IV
2 Call of Duty 4
3 Halo 3
4 Guitar Hero III
5 Gears of War
6 Rock Band
7 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas 2
8 Iron Man Demo
9 FIFA 08
10 Forza Motorsport 2
Lets see how long GTA IV can remain king on the Xbox Live activity list!
GTA IV on 220 million pixels
Some amazing gaming is being done down at UC San Diego, with the guys there re-engineering their massive HIPerSpace monitor array to play GTA IV. This system has 220 million pixels and is attached to a "graphics super cluster" that relies on eighty NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 GPUs.
220 million pixels is roughly equivalent to a 20480×10800 display, a hundred times bigger than the highest-resolution screens we have these days, and 200 times bigger than hi-definition 1080p.
It doesn't look like they're utilising anything more than 1080p whilst playing GTA IV, and the black gaps between monitors is annoying, but it still looks awesome. Anybody think they can match that?
More pics @ engadget
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008GTA IV v1.01 patch for PS3 arrives
After debunking several rumours posted on our forums in the last few days, an official patch is now actually here for PS3 owners. Just a heads-up for next time you're online and start up GTA IV - you'll be prompted to download the v1.01 update, which is 18MB in size.
Also, no word on a patch for Xbox 360 gamers yet, we'll keep you updated if we find out anything though.
Rockstar Games has released a GTA IV patch for Playstation 3 today that prevents GameSpy’s servers from being overloaded and therefore reduces the impact on those servers that were causing the game to stutter and lock up. We continue to monitor the performance of the game both on and offline and will provide further updates as necessary. We want to assure everyone that, together with our hardware partners, we continue to strive to give our fans the best possible interactive entertainment experiences possible. This update will ensure that everyone will experience Grand Theft Auto IV the way it was intended. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.
Also, no word on a patch for Xbox 360 gamers yet, we'll keep you updated if we find out anything though.
Grand Theft Auto IV breaks entertainment launch records
We posted about the UK's 'day 1' sales figures for GTA IV last week, and now Take 2 have published a press release concerning overall worldwide sales data so far, the figures are amazing.
So there you have it. 6 million units in just the fist week, and over half of those were on the first day!
Link: Take2 Press Release
New York, NY – May 7, 2008 – Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), said today that Grand Theft Auto IV has surpassed all-time entertainment records for day one and week one sales by dollar value. Released on Tuesday, April 29th, Grand Theft Auto IV, the critically acclaimed video game, has sold through to consumers approximately 6 million units globally with an estimated retail value of more than $500 million in the first week. Grand Theft Auto IV sold approximately 3.6 million units on its opening day with a retail value of approximately $310 million globally.
"We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player's experience, with its compelling story line, extraordinary gameplay and action that ranges over a broad urban canvas. Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well. Grand Theft Auto IV's first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date. We congratulate the entire Rockstar team on creating a must-have experience that takes the legendary Grand Theft Auto franchise to a new level," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.
"Rockstar's goal is to make each new title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise even better than those that preceded it, and Grand Theft Auto IV is a smashing success on that score. Grand Theft Auto IV makes full use of the power of next generation technology, and offers players an experience unique in the interactive entertainment medium. This game sets a new standard in the industry, with critics hailing it as both an artistic and technological masterpiece," said Ben Feder, Take-Two's Chief Executive Officer.
"We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player's experience, with its compelling story line, extraordinary gameplay and action that ranges over a broad urban canvas. Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well. Grand Theft Auto IV's first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date. We congratulate the entire Rockstar team on creating a must-have experience that takes the legendary Grand Theft Auto franchise to a new level," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.
"Rockstar's goal is to make each new title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise even better than those that preceded it, and Grand Theft Auto IV is a smashing success on that score. Grand Theft Auto IV makes full use of the power of next generation technology, and offers players an experience unique in the interactive entertainment medium. This game sets a new standard in the industry, with critics hailing it as both an artistic and technological masterpiece," said Ben Feder, Take-Two's Chief Executive Officer.
So there you have it. 6 million units in just the fist week, and over half of those were on the first day!
Link: Take2 Press Release
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008GTA IV 100% checklist
Following on our tradition of making 100% checklists for the GTA games, I have uploaded our Grand Theft Auto IV one today. An HTML version is viewable on the website for those of you just wanting a quick look to see what you've got left to do, a printable .pdf file is also available for those of you who want to print it out and tick off everything you've done so far. The checklist is (as far as we know) the most complete on the web right now and we believe it is entirely accurate. If you do think there are any mistakes anywhere, please point them out to us so we can fix them - some minor cosmetic changes are due to be made to the file anyway. Hopefully you'll find it useful!
Links: GTA IV 100% Checklist and printable .pdf version
Take-Two sues Chicago Transit Authority
An article on Reuters is reporting that Take-Two, publishers of Grand Theft Auto IV, are suing the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), "accusing it of pulling ads promoting the blockbuster without explanation".
The article goes on to say that the suit says "the advertisements were removed following a report by a Fox News affiliate that questioned why the ad was allowed to run after a wave of violent crimes in Chicago". Unbelievable.
Great to see T2 fighting back over this farce, let's hope they win this one.
Thanks Jordan for the heads-up.
The video game's publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. sued the transit authority in Manhattan federal court for violating its free speech and contractual rights, saying it pulled its posters within days of the ads first appearing on April 22.
Take Two accused the authority and its sales agent, Titan Outdoor LLC, of violating a $300,000 (150,000 pounds) ad campaign agreement that included running "Grand Theft Auto 4" poster ads on the sides of buses and transit display spaces throughout the Chicago transit system scheduled for six weeks between April and June.
The suit seeks an order for the transit authority to run the ads as well as monetary damages of at least $300,000.
Take Two accused the authority and its sales agent, Titan Outdoor LLC, of violating a $300,000 (150,000 pounds) ad campaign agreement that included running "Grand Theft Auto 4" poster ads on the sides of buses and transit display spaces throughout the Chicago transit system scheduled for six weeks between April and June.
The suit seeks an order for the transit authority to run the ads as well as monetary damages of at least $300,000.
The article goes on to say that the suit says "the advertisements were removed following a report by a Fox News affiliate that questioned why the ad was allowed to run after a wave of violent crimes in Chicago". Unbelievable.
Great to see T2 fighting back over this farce, let's hope they win this one.
Thanks Jordan for the heads-up.
Zombies appear in GTA IV multiplayer
An interesting article appeared on Kotaku yesterday, reporting on zombies appearing in GTA IV's multiplayer gameplay, wearing nothing but yellow underpants, sporting the R* logo of course.
The player says he thinks he unlocked the outfit by killing a R* developer online (on the Xbox 360 you unlock an achievement for doing this, so it's possible this may be a PS3 exclusive). You can see some lovely photos of this over at Kotaku.
Let us know if you've come across this by posting in our forums.
Source: GameTrailers thread and blog post
There are a few comments indicating gamers have seen zombies in online play, but nothing about transforming into one yet. Theories range from getting killed by a Rockstar employee, to killing a Rockstar employee, to getting the highest ranking.
They quote the official strategy guide (I don't have it) "If you see unclothed characters, look out! Only players who have reached the max ranking of 10 and a few other "special" people get the honor of shooting in their skivvies." But this player says he's only at Level 2. The user's name in the forums is GTA. I couldn't find a PSN ID for him.
They quote the official strategy guide (I don't have it) "If you see unclothed characters, look out! Only players who have reached the max ranking of 10 and a few other "special" people get the honor of shooting in their skivvies." But this player says he's only at Level 2. The user's name in the forums is GTA. I couldn't find a PSN ID for him.
The player says he thinks he unlocked the outfit by killing a R* developer online (on the Xbox 360 you unlock an achievement for doing this, so it's possible this may be a PS3 exclusive). You can see some lovely photos of this over at Kotaku.
Let us know if you've come across this by posting in our forums.
Source: GameTrailers thread and blog post
Thursday, May 1st, 2008Kikizo's GTAIV review and free Pißwasser
The lucky guys at Kikizo were the recipients of some free Pißwasser beer from Rockstar today, pictures of the stuff can be seen in their article. More importantly, their review is also finally out. They, like most other sites, have given the game an amazing 10/10 across all areas, but unlike other reviews, they've actually had time to go through and complete the game, and have kept their review spoiler free so it's okay to read.
Check it out, Kikizo's GTAIV review.
The Final Word: Yes, it's worth all the hype and more. I absolutely love this game, and I can't WAIT for the episodic updates. Just make sure you get both of those endings! And don't even think about using cheats until you've done it properly.
Check it out, Kikizo's GTAIV review.
GTAIV becomes UK's fastest selling game ever
ELSPA sent out a press release today with some amazing statistics on how Grand Theft Auto IV sold in the UK on day 1. The previous day 1 record was held by GTA San Andreas, which back in 2004 saw a total of 501,000 copies sold. GTA IV has "comfortably eclipsed" that record, selling a total of 609,000 units (combined PS3 and Xbox 360 totals) in it's first 24 hours.
Of these 609,000 units, 335,000 were the Xbox 360 version of the game - beating out the previous record holder Halo 3, which had managed 266,000 on it's release day. Similarly, the game set a new record on PS3 with the game selling 274,000 units, easily beating out the previous record holder Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, which managed just 80,000 sales. The figures show that the Xbox 360 version is slightly more popular at the moment with 56% of the share, while the PS3 version therefore has 44%.
ELSPA managing director, Mike Rawlinson, commented "The scale of GTA's day one sales are phenomenal and reflect a vibrant market which continues to grow".
Statistics for the United States and other territories should be available soon, where we expect the game to have sold equally as well.
Source: ELSPA (via GamesPress.com)
Of these 609,000 units, 335,000 were the Xbox 360 version of the game - beating out the previous record holder Halo 3, which had managed 266,000 on it's release day. Similarly, the game set a new record on PS3 with the game selling 274,000 units, easily beating out the previous record holder Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, which managed just 80,000 sales. The figures show that the Xbox 360 version is slightly more popular at the moment with 56% of the share, while the PS3 version therefore has 44%.
ELSPA managing director, Mike Rawlinson, commented "The scale of GTA's day one sales are phenomenal and reflect a vibrant market which continues to grow".
Statistics for the United States and other territories should be available soon, where we expect the game to have sold equally as well.
Source: ELSPA (via GamesPress.com)
