Today we answer one of life's most important questions that, for the last few weeks at least, has been eating away at our subconscious like an irritating little brother who constantly whines about not getting the last freezy pop. The question is simple, yet at the same time perplex ... will Grand Theft Auto IV blend? Yes, we're well aware that anyone who made it out of pre-school alive knows the answer, but for the sake of entertainment, we'll let the Blendtec 'experts' show you. Poor GTAIV ...
Posted May 9th 2008 12:30PM by Dustin Burg Filed under: News
If your Grand Theft Auto IVplaying habits have been ritualistic in nature lately, all in an effort to complete the game to earn a key to the city as part of the 100% Club contest, then we say keep up your hard work. There's still time to succeed.
Rockstar's 100% Club contest, where anyone who beats GTAIV 100% earns membership into the 100% Club AND is sent a real key to Liberty City, has been extended! That's right, the contest was initially scheduled to have already ended, but Rockstar wants to make sure "everyone has a chance to get in on the action" and extended the contest until Monday, May 19th. So, get your GTAIV gaming on, complete the game 100% and earn your key to Liberty City!
In rumor news that initially seems a bit far fetched but eventually turns into a rumor that sort of makes sense, Realtime Worlds' recently purchasedAll Points Bulletin MMO may be up for sale with the targeted purchaser being none other than Rockstar. Yup ...
Rumor has it that Realtime may have secured the APB license not only to distribute it as they wish, but possibly to re-package it and sell it to Rockstar as GTA Online. Thus far, Realtime has downplayed the whole idea of an APB re-sell, but did confirm that one reason for their recent APB acquisition was "to look for another partner; someone else who may well be interested and have the infrastructure [to support it]." Interesting stuff. Seeing that GTAIVis all the hawtness right now and from what we've seen of APB, a re-worked GTA Online MMO may not be all that bad of an idea. But only time will tell.
Yesterday, we brought you some of Grand Theft Auto IV's stellar salesfigures, which we have to admit were ... uhh, stellar. Now today, courtesy of team Microsoft, we bring even more GTAIV facts and figures specific to the Xbox 360, including estimated 360 sales and how many achievements have been unlocked to date.
Speaking of achievements, Microsoft revealed that in the first week, 2.3 million gamers unlocked upwards of 12 million GTAIV achievement, worth somewhere around 100 million Gamerscore. Yowzaz! We also learn that retailers report that 60% of all GTAIV software sales were the Xbox 360 version which MS estimates increased 360 hardware sales by 54% week over week. Double yowzaz! Still not enough stats and figures for you? Head towards the break to view Microsoft's bragging list of GTAIV sales and Xbox Live stats.
Posted May 7th 2008 10:45AM by Dustin Burg Filed under: News
Holy record breaking Grand Theft Auto IVsales Rockstar! We knew GTAIV would be a sales behemoth, but never did we think it would rack up hundreds of million dollars in sales its first week on U.S. shelves. But that's exactly what it did.
Rockstar and Take-Two just announced that U.S. GTAIV sales reached $500 million in sales the first week, which means 6 million copies were purchased from retailers nationwide. GTAIV also shattered Halo 3's $170 million twenty-four hour sales record, ringing up some $310 million in sales on April 29th alone. We guarantee it's all smiles over at the offices of Take-Two and Rockstar, though truckloads of cash tend to do that to a person.
Update: Comments for this story confirm that using some of these cheats will not allow you to unlock certain achievements.
Having a tough time getting your revenge on in Liberty City? Thankfully Game Trailers user GhettoChild discovered the cheat codes in Grand Theft Auto IV for everything from restoring health to spawning an Annihilator helicopter. Using the in-game cell phone you dial the phone numbers to activate the code. While we haven't been able to confirm it, we assume using any cheats will no longer allow you to unlock any achievements and based on Rockstar's past with using codes, you may be unable to watch the final cinematic in the game.
Don't say we didn't warn you. Codes after the jump.
Oh how we love Conan O' Brien and iconic string dance ... it's epic stuff. But that's not why we bring up Mr. O' Brien's name, the real reason is because the other night he debuted the newest edition of Grand Theft Auto IV. A friendlier, happier and much less controversial edition of GTAIV so that parents and critics can play free of the mature content. Ah heck, just watch the clip, laugh if you want or be a Conan hater. All we have to say is WE LOVE SPRINGTIME!
Recently, a countdown clock over on Rockstar's official Grand Theft Auto 2 website caused a rumor to Spring up speculating that, when the countdown expired at the end of May, Rockstar would announce that GTA2 would be releasing to the XBLA. But, sadly, that isn't the case.
IGN confirmed with Rockstar that the countdown clock in question isn't counting down to any new announcement and is actually quite old. It was used once, way back in the 1990s to countdown to GTA2'srelease onto the PS1. But why the 2008 countdown expiration? Simple. The countdown code is messed up because it doesn't understand how to take into account the 2000s. So, no GTA2 for the XBLA, no new announcement, just an old clock that should have been removed ages ago.
If you had to take a guess, how high would you sayGrand Theft Auto IV's development budget went? We'll wait for your answer ... Have a guess? Good. Now this is where we tell you that GTAIV's producer Leslie Benzies "hazards a guess" that GTAIV took around $100 million to create. A number that, if true, would make it the most expensive game to develop ever beating out longtime record holder Shenmue which rang up a $70 million development bill back in the Dreamcast days. But don't feel bad for team Rockstar and their (potential) $100 million GTAIV development debt, because it's 98.5% certain that they already made their money back plus a hefty profit. Liberty City works money magic.
So begins the discovery of Grand Theft Auto IV Easter eggs with the big lady herself, the Statue of Happiness who we recently found to be very collectible. This Easter egg (embedded above) shows us what's really hidden deep inside the chest of Liberty City's Statue of Happiness and really, it's exactly what we expected. A giant, bloody pumping heart that's held in place by a few chains. Very sexy. You'll have to fast forward to the end of the video to see the Easter egg, but it's worth it in a gory, disgusting yet very loving way.
Cruisin' the streets of GTAIV's Liberty City, one will come across a few of the city's unique attractions and landmarks, some being interesting and some iconic. Liberty City's Statue of Happiness falls both under the interesting and iconic categories. Her overly large smile, green complexion and hand holding a Rockstar cup is a sight to see. That's why when we came across a really real and uber collectible Statue of Happiness promotional ... uh, statue, we just had to share. Isn't it delicious? If you're reading this Rockstar, we beg you. Send us a case full of happiness. We promise to treat each one with the love and care they deserve to keep the smile on each Statue of Happiness' face.
Being fanboys, we just can't 't be satisfied with a great gaming experience like Grand Theft Auto IVwhen it's a multi-platform game and comparisons between a 360 and a PS3 version can be made. It'd go against the fanboy code of conduct and be an opportunity that'd be inexcusably wasted. So, today we bring you a GTAIV comparison video that puts both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions head to head ... erm, side by side. Pull out your magnifying glass, count each pixel and scrutinize the anti-aliasing, because there are comparisons to be made and a fanboy tradition to be upheld. For the most committed, watch the comparison video in full HD for a better analysis.
Posted Apr 29th 2008 2:00PM by Dustin Burg Filed under: News
As copies of GTAIV fly off retail shelves in what's nearly guaranteed to be an all-time video game sales record, Take-Two's CEO thinks analysts have underestimated GTAIV's sales.
Take-Two's own Ben Feder talked to Reuters about their internal GTAIV sales estimates saying that "our expectations are very high, higher than analysts give the game credit for" and that "all the analysts had a (sales) number, give or take, and I think we will be on the upside of that rather than the downside." Lofty goals Mr. Feder, but we have a funny feeling your excessive optimism is actually warranted this time.
If you haven't done so already, we advise signing up for GTAIV's Social Club right this very moment (well, after you finish reading all the goodness X3F has to offer) because it's open for business and ready to enhance your GTAIV experience.
Just like any new fangled website that features video game integration, GTAIV's Social Club allows you to register an account, link your Xbox Live gamertag and let you seamlessly experience website to Xbox Live connectivity bliss. Once your gamertag is attached to your Social Club account and you've played GTAIV over Xbox Live, you'll then be able to keep tabs on multiplayer stats, earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, view the LCPD Police Blotter, be a part of the Story Gang, compete in the Liberty City Marathon and potentially earn your way into the uber l33t 100% Club. So go already, sign up for the Social Club and get your GTAIV game on. No true GTAIV enthusiast would be without a membership.
Posted Apr 27th 2008 10:45AM by Dustin Burg Filed under: News
Get ready fanboys, because today at around 12 noon eastern time the Grand Theft Auto IV review embargo will be lifted as numerous gaming sites publish their official reviews of GTAIV. Not that we don't already know that the game will kick a bunch of bum. As of this posting, GTAIV is sitting a solid 100 average on metacritic after four reviews from sites like IGN and OXM UK, so it'll be interesting to see how the average moves as the day goes on. Keep your eye on the GTAIV metacritic site, put on your reading glasses and get comfy, because a wall of review text is coming. The other option is to visually take in GTAIV by Googling your way to some leaked GTAIV gameplay videos. That's always fun ...
