IGN analyzes the GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony announcement
by David Hinkle 
{ May 27th 2009 at 5:40PM } 
When The Lost and The Damned released, it included updates to Liberty City's LCHC and Liberty Rock stations, and IGN expects the same to happen for K109, Electrochoc and The Vibe, which hold Liberty's club-dwelling populace's interest.
There's a good chance that The Ballad of Gay Tony will mostly take place in Algonquin, IGN writes. Considering that Lopez's Dominican friends operate out of Northern Algonquin, and Gay Tony's empire spanned most of the south eastern part of the island, it's a safe bet to assume Luis will be handling business in the area when the DLC releases this fall.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Rob Accomando @ May 27th 2009 5:48PM
I have 2 friends at work. Tony Lopez and Luis Prince.
They thought I made the whole thing up when I told them about the game and even printed the news page.
Too funny
Ejab @ May 27th 2009 7:49PM
I lol at gays.
acedzero @ May 27th 2009 5:50PM
They'll have to change the name. Microsoft doesn't allow the word gay to be used. :)
BUGz @ May 27th 2009 5:53PM
Yup it's gonna be Controversial.
The Dark Wayne @ May 27th 2009 5:54PM
if it's far enough along for an official announcement im pretty sure it's been approved
Snowblind @ May 27th 2009 6:04PM
In all fairness, gamer profiles are not the place to be discussing sexual views. I'm fairly sure Nintendo or Sony wouldn't allow it either.
BUGz @ May 27th 2009 6:39PM
Give it time maybe near release day and the tittle will be changed, But it's a Video Game so i Doubt it.
Aaron @ May 27th 2009 6:49PM
Yeah ...no "Gay" on XBL, definitely smell trouble here.
Snowblind @ May 27th 2009 7:30PM
Anyone want to explain why I was voted down, or was it just because I gave a logical explanation of what happened, rather than mindlessly bashing Microsoft?
Like my other comments show, I'm very much in favour of homosexuals expressing themselves.. but there's no way you can argue that a gamer profile is the place to do so.
Dartmerc @ May 27th 2009 7:31PM
Okay, argue why a gamer profile ISN'T the place for it.
Snowblind @ May 27th 2009 7:34PM
It's a GAMING profile, it shouldn't be being used as a blog for sexual views of any kind.
nofriendo @ May 27th 2009 7:58PM
Apparently you cant use "gay" on your gamer tag but its perfectly fine to use drug lingo like "chronic" or "toker"
Why is that ok?
-Vexx- @ May 27th 2009 8:37PM
Or Lesbian for that matter
KeenCommander @ May 27th 2009 8:47PM
Because Fox News hates the real world, but has no problems with drug addicts. Or, in short, because Republicans still have this mistaken belief that their views matter.
WREturns @ May 27th 2009 10:17PM
Yeah, all the Republicans got the gay word banned on Live. What kind of parallel dipshit Universe do you live in? Is it almost E3 there, too?
BananaBoat @ May 28th 2009 12:18AM
Why do you guys have a problem with Tony being gay? Do you want him to be melancholic or possibly disconsolate? Shame on all of you.
tonyyyyy @ May 28th 2009 5:33AM
The new name will be GTA IV: The Ballad of Hot Man on Man Sex Lovin' Tony
uncle jesse @ May 27th 2009 5:54PM
New tunes that suit the content?
Outrunning the cops with 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing' by the Scissor Sisters blasting would be amazing!!
Moptimus Slime (PhilosoRaptor is the new Keyboard Cat) @ May 27th 2009 5:56PM
Naw,
NEEDS MOAR RAINING MEN
The Dark Wayne @ May 27th 2009 6:01PM
i hope the third DLC really is the four leaf clover thing that was rumored, that sounded really cool Ive been looking for a great irish mob thing ever since The Black Donnellys went off the air
BUGz @ May 27th 2009 6:42PM
i wanna see DLC were we go back to San Andreas:) Best GTA ever!!
Devin @ May 27th 2009 7:33PM
How bout they just redo San Andreas? I don't think they fleshed it out as much as they could have. By the sounds of it, come to think of it, this DLC is pretty much eliminating a possibility of a Vice City remake. THANK GOD.
PedoJokerBear (aka Deeznuts) @ May 27th 2009 9:04PM
+10000 for black donellys
PSN: John-Paul-Jones @ May 27th 2009 10:15PM
GTA IV sucks because it's exactly like real life, especially when all of the missions are over you have absolutely nothing fun left to do, as opposed to the previous GTA games where it had an arcadey style to it. I play video games to escape a bit of reality here and there. Same thing with Far Cry 2, like wow. It sucks when you're getting shot at and when your health is low you think you're administering a health pack but you're actually removing bullets from your body and then it's game over. Also, don't get me started on malaria and how far you have to travel to get to your destinations. I could go on and on but I'll save that for a different discussion :D
headkicker @ May 27th 2009 6:06PM
I love that logo lol
ArchiGamer @ May 27th 2009 6:13PM
THIS. WILL. BE. FAB-U-LOUSSSSS!!!
*does jazz hands*
ChuckJ @ May 27th 2009 6:20PM
Ah yes, must be controversial to sell something. I guess Rockstar was running out of ideas so they dug this up. I loved their games, dont get me wrong. But maybe they just feel that there is no more shock to what theyve been doing.
SO they come out with this. They could of very easily made it "The Ballad of Tony". Why throw the 'gay' in there. For a society that wants to move past racism and the gay controversy, we keep letting it drag on because of stuff like this. For instance, the latest nominee for the Supreme Court by Obama. He, the Dems, and the media, are making sure everyone knows the woman is Latina. Like it matters! Seriously, enough already with this garbage. They keep doing that to continue courting latino votes. Just as Rockstar is doing this to drum up controversy. They, like politicians, do things for all the wrong reasons.
ArchiGamer @ May 27th 2009 6:24PM
Aren't you the one who said that the acts of homosexuality are tasteless to begin with?
headkicker @ May 27th 2009 6:27PM
It's called The Ballad of Gay Tony because that's the characters name
djhindsight @ May 27th 2009 6:33PM
@ArchiGamer
exactly... Chuck is a hypocrite. "we keep letting it drag on because of stuff like this." ... no it's because of people like you.
BUGz @ May 27th 2009 6:41PM
@ChuckJ
Shut The Fuck Up.
ChuckJ @ May 27th 2009 6:49PM
God forbid someone have a personal view on something. Yes, PERSONALLY, I believe the UNNATURAL acts of gays is distasteful. I dont hate people who are gay not do I care if they spend there lives together. You dont have to like MY personal view of certain unnatural acts. What they do in the privacy of their own home, i dont care about, but I still view it as unnatural. Ive told a couple friends I had that were gay how I view what they do. Im not going to lie about my view nor not be friends with someone jsut because they are gay. Well take that back, I dont think I could get along with someone who is flamboyant about it, thats just annoying.
I disagree with forcing controversy over race or gays which is all this is seemingly trying to do. Could you imagine a game called The Ballad of Straight Tony? They didnt put it in there because it's his name, they did it to stoke more interest.
ChuckJ @ May 27th 2009 6:50PM
Wow, you people sure get offended easily. Politically correct crowd. You guys crack me up.
ArchiGamer @ May 27th 2009 6:57PM
Do you really think all gay people are "flamboyant"?
And you are wrong again Chuck, the character's name IS Gay Tony, they aren't choosing it for mere controversy.
What exactly is unnatural? If I'm correct, I'm part of nature, as everyone else, so unnatural is but a weak word, if not utterly incorrect. It's not that your views are hurtful, for lack of a better word, but wrong and ignorant.
ChuckJ @ May 27th 2009 7:02PM
Archi,
No, I know they arent all flamboyant. Like I said, two friends of mine, are gay. They are far from flamboyant and you cant really tell they are gay just by talking and hanging out with them.
Their acts, which will go unnamed, are not natural. I could get into the who why we have sexual organs as humans in the first place. Ill just say, the sole purpose is for creation of life. That's the main purpose. Ill go no further.
I dont hate gays, im not a bigot. I just view things differently I guess. I dont have a problem with people being gay, it's their life and that doesnt harm anyone. Its when its forced upon others and that forcing never ends. Some people just want to shove it in everyones face. It's like enough already.
If Gay Tony is just his name, then fine. But this is Rockstar. I find it hard to believe they would call it that, and have the guy not be gay. Which isnt an issue, its using the 'gay' to stoke controversy which I see as a tired out issue.
Snowblind @ May 27th 2009 7:03PM
Without trying to turn this into a political debate..
How is it "unnatural". I'm not gay myself, but people who are, don't just choose to be, it's how they are. The only reason it's percieved as wrong, is because of the way we're brought up and our culture. And what about the fact even animals can be homosexual? Perhaps it's your views that are unnatural.
More on topic, I find it amazing that you're complaining about something you clearly know nothing about. The Mafia, and similar organisations always use names like this.. Remember the Family Guy episode about "Big Fat Paulie"? are you going to try and argue that he wouldn't have been called "Thin Paulie"?
You're also ignoring the fact "Gay Tony" was in the original GTAIV, and it was fairly obvious they were setting up Luis, his bodyguard, as the next playable character. Obviously they're using this in the name to get attention, but you're reaction only proves that it works - you're giving them exactly the kind of attention they want.
waves @ May 27th 2009 7:11PM
Don't feed the troll guys. When a comment goes from GTA DLC to Obama's Supreme Court pick, you know you're dealing with some 1st class crazy.
The Dark Wayne @ May 27th 2009 7:13PM
hey the supreme court pick is my allergists sister. Completely off topic but makes me feel cool
ArchiGamer @ May 27th 2009 7:21PM
The main goal of animals is to produce an offspring for the sole purpose of continuation of said existence and in some mammals, establish a chain of offspring that bare the donor's blood. The mere idea that we reproduce to create life alone is misleading. Furthermore, most animals then to be asexual, specifically insects and the like, they don't need to have sexual organs as mammals do. And there may even be examples of animals that share homosexual acts, an example would be monkeys from Asia that show dominance in males, I wont go further in detail.
Life, the act of creating, is the reaction, to some extent, of reproduction not the purpose.
But back on topic, the character in GTAIV, his name is Gay Tony, so the title is justifiable in that regard.
Dartmerc @ May 27th 2009 7:31PM
So Chuck, the way we as a society should move past this issue is by pretending it doesn't exist?
Robert Maynard @ May 27th 2009 10:48PM
The presumption that our bodies and their components are "for" something implies a belief that they were specially designed for some kind of higher calling - in this case the "creation of life" - and it is a dereliction of DUTY to not use them that way. This is metaphysical blubbering - our sexual organs evolved around performing their core functionality, but this does not imbue them with an "intended purpose". That assumes an intelligent artificer operating at a higher level than evolution and natural selection, and that my friend is stupid creationist talk. Which would explain a lot about an objection to teh gayz and their apparently unspeakable acts, but whatever.
The cavepersons that believe in the natural, intended purpose of things are usually blissfully unaware of all the homosexual activities that can occur amongst other animal species (whom we must now sadly inform are "unnatural", whatever that even means by that point) - this includes gay sex, gay adoption, gay life partners. All of this occurs among other animals. What are you going to even use as a reference for what is "natural" if not things in nature? Or are you now going to make an appeal to the natural state of animals before The Fall? If so this can only get funnier.
BUGz @ May 27th 2009 11:55PM
How the hell did this turn into a Gay Lecture.
Robert Maynard @ May 28th 2009 12:25AM
This specific thread deserved it because ChuckJ is clearly nutshit crazy, and basically whinging about "reverse discrimination".
Also because I own a PS3 and can't get any GTA DLC. :(
Jerk Face @ May 27th 2009 6:33PM
I love you Rockstar.
headkicker @ May 27th 2009 6:39PM
I hope they have more episodes of Republican Space Rangers!
Jonathan @ May 27th 2009 6:52PM
I don't remember Gay Tony at all. I remember seeing Luis in both the main game and The Lost and Damned, but I don't remember Gay Tony.
I agree with the other guy about the race thing. The fact that she is Latino should not be news. What's she has done as a judge is the only thing that should be mentioned.
Now if the aforementioned guy is a homophobe, I don't agree with him there. I have nothing against anyone of differing colors, sex, sex preferences, etc...
Only douchebags do.
Devin @ May 27th 2009 7:40PM
When you saw Luis the second time at the ship yard in front of the platypus he was with Gay Tony.
Personally I love the shock factor in the name of this title. I laughed really hard when I saw it, Rockstar has balls, and its a slap in the face to Jack Thomson types.
headkicker @ May 27th 2009 6:59PM
@ ChuckJ If we were all PC we wouldn't be excited about a GTA game
ChuckJ @ May 27th 2009 7:03PM
Good point. Cant argue with you on that
jmood88 @ May 27th 2009 7:03PM
I don't remember either of these guys but I can't wait to play more GTA.