Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Grand Theft Auto 4 patch: multiplayer and freezing fixes promisedhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/grand-theft-auto-4-patch-multiplayer-and-freezing-fixes-promise/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/grand-theft-auto-4-patch-multiplayer-and-freezing-fixes-promise/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/grand-theft-auto-4-patch-multiplayer-and-freezing-fixes-promise/#commentsFiled under: ,


Nearly two months after dragging reviewers out of their parent's cars and beating perfect 10s out of them, Rockstar has released a patch for Grand Theft Auto 4 targeting both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. This patch notably addresses the oft-heard early complaints of "multiplayer connectivity issues" and "freezes during certain modes." There's a full list of 11 total fixes so, if you've been having trouble getting things done in Liberty City, Rockstar wants to offer you an apology and recommends taking this patch out for a test drive.

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]]>BreakingNewsGrand-Theft-Auto-IVGTAIVRockstarChristopher Grant2008-06-23T12:39:00+00:00The Onion investigates Liberty City cops' incompetencehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/09/the-onion-investigates-liberty-city-cops-incompetence/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/09/the-onion-investigates-liberty-city-cops-incompetence/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/09/the-onion-investigates-liberty-city-cops-incompetence/#commentsFiled under:


We've been railing against the LCPD for years, so it's nice to see a more mainstream publication like The Onion finally notice what we've been saying all along: Liberty City's cops are the absolute worst. Just look at this statistic: "Since the surge in crime, which began on April 28 at midnight, more than 830,000 civilians have been murdered-nearly one-tenth of Liberty City's total population." Unacceptable.

It's even threatening to drive some people out of town! "Sure, we have excellent radio stations and an incredible range of things to see and do here," public defender Kiki Jenkins says. "But if I were younger, I'd move to Mario World in a second." We hear you Kiki, we hear you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]

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]]>grand-theft-auto-ivgta-ivgtaivthe-onionJustin McElroy2008-06-09T10:30:00+00:00The Naked Gun intro reborn on Grand Theft Auto IVhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/the-naked-gun-intro-reborn-on-grand-theft-auto-iv/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/the-naked-gun-intro-reborn-on-grand-theft-auto-iv/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/the-naked-gun-intro-reborn-on-grand-theft-auto-iv/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Believe it or not, there once was a time when Leslie Nielsen's resumé wasn't pockmarked with terrible, low-budget parody movies. No, the silver-haired comedy legend reached the pinnacle of his career by starring in, well ... fantastic, low-budget parody movies. Those who can recite "Airplane!" verbatim, or can fondly recall the misadventures of Detective Frank Drebin will probably recognize the above Grand Theft Auto IV machinima as the intro sequence for "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad" (those who don't recognize it can watch the real deal after the break and pretend that they do).

It's an impressive, near shot-for-shot remake of the classic opening credits sequence -- sans the shower room scene, of course. That kind of vulgarity would never be allowed in a Rockstar title.

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]]>grand-theft-auto-ivgtaivleslie-nielsenleslienielsenmachinimanakedgunopening-creditsparodythe-naked-gunGriffin McElroy2008-06-08T17:00:00+00:00Take-Two: 'Portfolio balancing' drove GTA IV DLC delay, partnerships possiblehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/take-two-portfolio-balancing-drove-gta-iv-dlc-delay-partners/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/take-two-portfolio-balancing-drove-gta-iv-dlc-delay-partners/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/take-two-portfolio-balancing-drove-gta-iv-dlc-delay-partners/#commentsFiled under: ,


In the same conference call that gave us this head scratcher, Take-Two reps tap danced over a number of other issues, including their official reason for delaying GTA IV's hotly anticipated DLC, as well as any potential partnerships that may be lurking on the horizon.

Regarding the company's resolution to keep the GTA IV downloadable content out of players' hands until sometime between November 1 of this year and January 31, 2009, Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick calmly stated that the decision was based on "portfolio balancing," and that the delay was "not based on development issues." Even as our hearts ached for additional Liberty City shenanigans, Take-Two reps on the call remained enthusiastic, and for good reason, given that during the last quarter the GTA brand made up an impressive 78% of the firm's total publishing revenue.

Switching grears, and looking to the ongoing drama between Take-Two and EA, Zelnick expressed pride in his company, stating that "despite distractions, everyone had their heads down and a smile on their faces and were getting the job done." The exec added, however, that Take-Two is on the lookout for any potential fits for the company in terms of partnerships, adding that "we have our eyes open to anything to maximize stockholder value, including remaining independent."

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]]>breakingnewsdlceagrand-theft-auto-ivgrandtheftautoivgta-ivgtaivpartnershipstake-twotakeovertaketwoJason Dobson2008-06-05T18:50:00+00:00GTA IV ships over 11 million copieshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/gta-iv-ships-over-11-million-copies/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/gta-iv-ships-over-11-million-copies/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/gta-iv-ships-over-11-million-copies/#commentsFiled under: , ,


As part of Take-Two's glowing second quarter financials, the publisher confirmed that Grand Theft Auto IV has been flying off shelves (GASP!), announcing that as of May 31, more than 11 million copies "have been sold in to retailers," while nearly 8.5 million units "have been sold through to consumers."

Take-Two further puffed out its financial chest this afternoon concerning the high profile title, boasting that GTAIV surpassed all-time entertainment records for day one and week one sales, selling about 6 million units worldwide and filling company wallets with more than $500 million in its debut week.

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]]>breakingnewsfinancialfinancialsGrand-Theft-Auto-IVgtaivrockstartake-twoJason Dobson2008-06-05T17:02:00+00:00Grand Theft Auto IV DLC delayed until Fiscal Q1 2009http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/grand-theft-auto-iv-dlc-delayed-until-fiscal-q1-2009/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/grand-theft-auto-iv-dlc-delayed-until-fiscal-q1-2009/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/grand-theft-auto-iv-dlc-delayed-until-fiscal-q1-2009/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Those waiting for more Grand Theft Auto IV content will have to wait a little bit longer. According to Take-Two's Fiscal Q3 2008 report, the first batch of GTA IV downloadable content will be coming in Q1 of fiscal 2009, instead of the originally planned Q4 of fiscal 2008. In real calendar terms, that means the DLC, which is rumored to include whole new cities, is due between November 1, 2008, and January 31, 2009.

The reason behind the delay, according to Take-Two, was to "provide a better balance in Take-Two's release schedule." The statement specifically mentioned Xbox 360, with no talk of content for the PS3.

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]]>breakingnewsdlcgrand-theft-auto-ivgtaivtake-twoRoss Miller2008-06-05T16:28:00+00:00Age of Conan dethrones GTA IV in Europehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/31/age-of-conan-dethrones-gta-iv-in-europe/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/31/age-of-conan-dethrones-gta-iv-in-europe/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/31/age-of-conan-dethrones-gta-iv-in-europe/#commentsFiled under: ,


With the amount of hype, advertising, positive reviews and media attention Grand Theft Auto IV has received over the past few months, we wholly expected it to remain on top of the software sales charts until our video game consoles grew sentient and attempted to purge humanity from the planet. Strangely enough, a dark horse recently overtook Rockstar's well-received crime drama in many European territories -- a horse mounted by a brawny, rippling Cimmerian.

Yes, Funcom's decapitation-rich MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures recently outsold GTA IV in a number of European locations, including Germany and Sweden. Since Rockstar's latest opus is still selling like freshly baked hotcakes in North America, we can't help but wonder if GTA's themes of living the American dream and hooker brutalization got lost in translation as the title crossed the Atlantic -- or whether Age of Conan's musclebound mascot reminds German gamers of a certain pop culture icon who is quite revered in their country.

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]]>age-of-conanage-of-conan-hyborian-adventuresageofconanconaneuropefuncomgermanygrand-theft-auto-ivgta-ivgtaivmmommorpgrockstarswedenGriffin McElroy2008-05-31T19:00:00+00:00Chart-Track UK: 360 outselling PS3 following GTA IV launchhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/29/chart-track-uk-360-outselling-ps3-following-gta-iv-launch/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/29/chart-track-uk-360-outselling-ps3-following-gta-iv-launch/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/29/chart-track-uk-360-outselling-ps3-following-gta-iv-launch/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Proficient purveyor of sales data, Chart-Track, has informed Eurogamer that the Xbox 360 has established an 18% UK sales lead over the PlayStation 3, following the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV. Rockstar's open-world crime romp is said to have sold over 1.3 million copies in the UK, with 57% of sales in the first four weeks going to the Xbox 360. That obviously leaves 72% 12% 43% on the PlayStation 3.

While the sales traction gained in GTA IV's wake has been more dramatic for the Xbox 360, year-to-date sales still place the PlayStation 3 ahead in the UK. According to Chart-Track's 2008 figures, there still remains a 10% gap between the two rivals.

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]]>Chart-TrackGrand-Theft-AutoGrand-Theft-Auto-IVGTAIVMicrosoftRockstarSonyUKLudwig Kietzmann2008-05-29T09:00:00+00:00Grand Theft Auto IV featured on Will It Blendhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/25/grand-theft-auto-iv-featured-on-will-it-blend/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/25/grand-theft-auto-iv-featured-on-will-it-blend/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/25/grand-theft-auto-iv-featured-on-will-it-blend/#commentsFiled under: ,

Update: Apparently, this particular blending mystery was solved a while ago -- however, Tom Dickson promised us a free Blendtec blender if we brought it up again. We apologize for our unquenchable thirst for outrageously overpowered kitchen appliances.

Considering that Blendtec's doomsday device has already proved its ability to obliterate bricks, fake diamonds, small buildings and many large breeds of dogs, it should come as no surprise that (spoiler alert) it can chew through a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV with ease. What is surprising is host Tom Dickson's incredibly short fuse -- apparently, when something provides him with the smallest amount of displeasure, it finds itself on the business end of the appliance's screaming blades. For the sake of Tom's children (who likely have perfect grades and manners out of fear of a liquefying punishment), we remind the charismatic host that with great blending power comes great blending responsibility.

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]]>blendtecgrand-theft-auto-ivgta-ivgtaivrockstarrockstar-gamesrockstargamestom-dicksonwill-it-blendwillitblendGriffin McElroy2008-05-25T15:30:00+00:00Today in Joystiq: May 22, 2008http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/23/today-in-joystiq-may-22-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/23/today-in-joystiq-may-22-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/23/today-in-joystiq-may-22-2008/#commentsFiled under:

What better way to use your Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition tin box that turning it into a functional PC? You can see the whole project at mini-itx (via OXM; thanks, PrivateRyan). Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Joystiq hands-on: Alone in the Dark (360)
Law of the Game on Joystiq: Used to be Fair
Meet the Team: Ludwig Kietzmann
Metareview -- Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One (PC/360)
The Best Of Big Download: May 16-22, 2008
X3F Week in Review: May 16, 2008 - May 22, 2008

News
GameTap Thursday: Dangerous Waters of The Chosen
Crimson Skies return uncertain, Dark Void for now
KingsIsle casting MMO spell on kiddos with Wizard101
PS3 Guitar Hero III getting free God of War track in June
See first screens from Guitar Hero: World Tour
Sublime joins Guitar Hero: World Tour, Activision confirms previous acts, details
BioShock officially coming to PS3
Bethesda and Splash Damage team up, make googly eyes
Castlevania, Pac-Man film adaptations (re)appear on radar
Team Fortress 2 DLC coming to Xbox 360, maybe not PS3
Squad commands axed for Gears of War 2, other answers
GameStop keeps the cash faucet on full blast for Q1
A cleaner look at next-gen, cel-shaded Prince of Persia
Microsoft: No spring dashboard update this year
Xbox.com 'tool' to fix XBLA DRM fiasco next month
Xbox Live size limit upped to 350MB, price limit to 1600 MS points
Underperforming XBLA titles to be delisted
PSN Thursday: Oh boy ... well, there's The Con
Finally: WiiWare to get beer pong game
Riccitiello buys $1 million in EA stock
Wii gives shelved Xbox title a second chance
New Oddworld game in the works, may be 'years' off
Lego Batman: Joker, Harley, Scarecrow and Two Face trailers
Film-focused game dev Brash loses president, hope

Rumors & Speculation
Japanese songs may hit Rock Band soon
Microsoft: PGR5 could be driven by Forza dev

Culture & Community
Zero Punctuation pops old Painkiller for fun
Tim Schafer had a baby! (not literally)

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]]>casecase-moddailyrecapgtaivmodRoss Miller2008-05-23T00:35:00+00:00Niko Bellic has second career as folk singerhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/20/niko-bellic-has-second-career-as-folk-singer/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/20/niko-bellic-has-second-career-as-folk-singer/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/20/niko-bellic-has-second-career-as-folk-singer/#commentsFiled under: ,

We imagine many of you are probably suffering Grand Theft Auto IV withdrawal, having rushed through the main campaign only to learn that Niko Bellic is, in fact, the great-grandfather of both Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance. Luckily for you, we've got a great way to comfort yourself: Letting the music of the notorious hooker beater Niko soothe your savage craving.

You can hear it right now on the MySpace page of voice actor Michael Hollick, the man who lent his larynx to Rockstar for GTA IV's lead. We'd suggest "Out of the Blue" to really complete the Niko crooning vibe. Just don't blame us when you can't take him quite as seriously when he's mowing down pedestrians.

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]]>grand-theft-auto-ivgta-ivgtaivmichael-hollickniko-bellicrockstarJustin McElroy2008-05-20T16:00:00+00:00April NPD: GTA IV, Mario Kart Wii race to the tophttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/15/april-npd-gta-iv-mario-kart-wii-race-to-the-top/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/15/april-npd-gta-iv-mario-kart-wii-race-to-the-top/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/15/april-npd-gta-iv-mario-kart-wii-race-to-the-top/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Things that won't surprise you

April proved to be yet another lucrative month for the ol' gaming biz, with total industry sales reaching $1.23 billion, reports GameDaily. Software sales in particular grew to $654.7 million, an increase of 68% carried on the fine leather seats of Grand Theft Auto IV's recently stolen convertible. Rockstar's urban riffraff romp sold 2.85 million copies -- that's 1.85 million on Xbox 360 and 1 million on PS3 -- while Nintendo's Wii took the top spot in hardware sales. Mario Kart Wii, however, had to settle for second place.

Things that will surprise you

It was a photo finish for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but the photographers had likely packed up and left for the day by the time the steeds reached the finish line. Selling 188K and 187.1K units respectively, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were thoroughly bested by the systems that didn't have GTA IV. We'd feel a bit silly if we were them.

- Wii: 714.2K 6.8K (0.94%)
- DS: 414.8K 283.2K (40.6%)
- PSP: 192.7K 104.3K (35.1%)
- Xbox 360: 188K 74K (28.2%)
- PS3: 187.1K 69.9K (27.2%)
- PS2: 124.4K 91.6K (42.4%)

You'll find the top ten in software sales after the break.

April Software

1. GTA IV - Xbox 360 - 1.85 million*
2. Mario Kart Wii - Wii - 1.12 million
3. GTA IV - PS3 - 1.00 million*
4. Wii Play w/ remote - Wii - 360K
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii - 326K
6. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue - PS3 - 224K
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness - DS - 202K
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time - DS - 202K
9. Guitar Hero III - Wii - 152K
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Xbox 360 - 141K*

* includes bundles, collector's editions, GOTY editions

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]]>BreakingNewsGTAIVMario-Kart-WiiMicrosoftNintendoNPDRockstarSonyLudwig Kietzmann2008-05-15T19:45:00+00:00PS3 firmware 2.35 released, improves stability of 'some PS3 titles' but not GTA IV [update]http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/ps3-firmware-2-35-released-improves-stability-of-some-ps3-titl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/ps3-firmware-2-35-released-improves-stability-of-some-ps3-titl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/ps3-firmware-2-35-released-improves-stability-of-some-ps3-titl/#commentsFiled under: , ,

PlayStation 3 firmware update 2.35 is now available. According to the US PlayStation Blog, v2.35 is "a relatively minor update to improve stability of some PS3 titles." We're willing to wager a handful of stolen cars that "some PS3 titles" is a better way of saying Grand Theft Auto IV, whose compatibility with older PS3 models has become a topic of discussion and a sore spot for early adopters of Sony's console. An alleged Take-Two email yesterday hinted at a Sony firmware update.

Download now and let us know if the game's technical hiccups (for those that had them) have been eradicated.

Update: As noted in the comments of the blog by Sony's Al de Leon, this upgrade does not fix GTA IV. Said de Leon, "I just want to clarify that this upcoming firmware update isn't related to GTA IV. For those of you who may still have an issue playing the game on your PS3, we have identified a solution that should resolve the issue. You can contact SCEA Consumer Services for support."

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]]>2.35breakingnewsfirmwaregtaivsonyRoss Miller2008-05-14T23:32:00+00:00Readers pick best webcomic: I'd be less nervoushttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/readers-pick-best-webcomic-id-be-less-nervous/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/readers-pick-best-webcomic-id-be-less-nervous/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/readers-pick-best-webcomic-id-be-less-nervous/#commentsFiled under: , ,

It's simple, though not hand-drawn. Still, it gets the point across. We loved A Softer World's entry in this week's webcomic wrapup and, lo and behold, so did you. Congratulations on top honors.

Second and third place go to Super Effective and Penny Arcade, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!

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]]>a-softer-worldgrand-theft-autogrand-theft-auto-ivgtaivpenny-arcadesuper-effectivevg-catswebcomicRoss Miller2008-05-14T23:15:00+00:00In pictures: GTA IV's Liberty City vs. Earth's New York Cityhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/in-pictures-gta-ivs-liberty-city-vs-earths-new-york-city/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/in-pictures-gta-ivs-liberty-city-vs-earths-new-york-city/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/in-pictures-gta-ivs-liberty-city-vs-earths-new-york-city/#commentsFiled under: , ,

There it was. A quiet, thoughtful moment, right in the midst of our rat-a-tat assault. There's not much room for unnecessary thought during a drive-by shooting -- aim and pull the trigger, aim and pull the trigger -- but this one provided an odd moment of stillness and clarity. As time slowed to a crawl and a prostitute's unlucky encounter with our front bumper became a slow-motion aerial ballet, we saw the world. Peering out the window at our decaying urban surroundings, we could think of only one question. "What would this be like ... in a game?"

Grand Theft Auto IV attempts to answer that question, reshaping New York City into the architecturally approximate, but satirically scathing Liberty City. Flickr user (and blogger) Matthew Johnston has created a photo set that compares the Big Apple to its rotten, in-game core, with various real and virtual landmarks placed side by side. We think you should check it out.


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]]>ComparisonFlickrGrand-Theft-Auto-IVGTAIVRockstarTake-TwoLudwig Kietzmann2008-05-14T21:15:00+00:00Zero Punctuation enjoys Grand Theft Auto-roticahttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/zero-punctuation-enjoys-grand-theft-auto-rotica/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/zero-punctuation-enjoys-grand-theft-auto-rotica/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/zero-punctuation-enjoys-grand-theft-auto-rotica/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Zero Punctuation takes on Grand Theft Auto IV this week, but if you're one of the five people who didn't buy the game and are hoping for some ZP hate-fest on par with the Super Smash Bros. Brawl review ... then you have another thing coming. Yahtzee doesn't exactly suck GTA IV's "thumb" -- like he does Valve's -- but the issues he grasps onto are relatively minor points about getting lost in the side stuff. Not really full of his trademark, hyperbolic bile then. Shockingly, he even says that after finishing the review, he went back and played the game some more. It appears Niko Bellic has found a friend in Yahtzee.

Find this week's NSFW relative non-hate review of GTA IV after the break.

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]]>escapistgrand-theft-autogrand-theft-auto-ivgrandtheftautograndtheftautoivgta-ivgtaivyahtzeezero-punctuationzeropunctuationAlexander Sliwinski2008-05-14T16:45:00+00:00Suprising no one, GTA IV blendshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/suprising-no-one-gta-iv-blends/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/suprising-no-one-gta-iv-blends/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/suprising-no-one-gta-iv-blends/#commentsFiled under: ,

We love hit web show Will It Blend?, but we're a little worried about this new iteration featuring a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV. All we're saying is that we're going to be heartbroken if a team of moms and politicians re-dub the video to turn it into anti-game violence propaganda. ("Why am I blending GTA? So my kids won't kill people!") But just remember, gang: Tom Dickson would never say that, because he is right and pure and good. So don't be confused.

Also: Of course it blends. What, are you kidding? It. Always. Blends.

[Thanks, Chris]

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]]>grand-theft-auto-ivgta-ivgtaivwill-it-blendJustin McElroy2008-05-14T13:00:00+00:00Grand Theft Auto IV's Niko pops up on SNLhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/grand-theft-auto-ivs-niko-pops-up-on-snl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/grand-theft-auto-ivs-niko-pops-up-on-snl/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/grand-theft-auto-ivs-niko-pops-up-on-snl/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

We talked before about the late-night media frenzy surrounding Grand Theft Auto IV's release, since it was kind of hard to miss GTA if you watch TV between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. It gave us no small satisfaction to see the game pop up on one of the late-night comedy stalwarts as Niko and Vlad (played by Bill Hader and Fred Armisen) appeared on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update. You can see the clip from last Saturday above.

Now, is it ... funny, per se? Well, our ribs have been more fiercely tickled, that's for sure. But they're trying. Isn't that the important thing?

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]]>grand-theft-auto-ivgta-ivgtaivsnlJustin McElroy2008-05-14T02:00:00+00:00Rumor: Sony may update PS3 firmware for GTA IV problemshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/rumor-sony-may-update-ps3-firmware-for-gta-iv-problems/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/rumor-sony-may-update-ps3-firmware-for-gta-iv-problems/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/rumor-sony-may-update-ps3-firmware-for-gta-iv-problems/#commentsFiled under: ,


It looks like help may be on the way for those of you who are still experiencing some freezing problems with Grand Theft Auto IV on PS3. One user on the official PlayStation forums said he received an email from Take-Two stating the issue was "with the launch edition of the PS3 and this game" and that "the game was checked over and passed as 100% compatible with the current version of the PS3."

As for the fix, the alleged Take-Two staffer reportedly wrote that "Sony are aware of this difference and are looking into producing a new firmware just for the earlier version of the PS3." Wow, a whole new firmware update? For one game? We hope the swelled head doesn't affect Niko's balance when he's bludgeoning and murdering hookers.

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]]>firmwaregrand-theft-auto-ivgta-ivgtaivrockstarJustin McElroy2008-05-13T12:45:00+00:00GameStop GTA IV data: 360 easily outsells PS3, not per console thoughhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/12/gamestop-gta-iv-data-360-easily-outsells-ps3-not-per-console-t/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/12/gamestop-gta-iv-data-360-easily-outsells-ps3-not-per-console-t/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/12/gamestop-gta-iv-data-360-easily-outsells-ps3-not-per-console-t/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Preliminary numbers news now: gaming mega-retailer GameStop shared some Grand Theft Auto IV sales data with N'Gai over at Newsweek, who in turn breaks it down relative to the install base for each platform. Of course, these numbers only account for GameStop sales and, as Sony's Peter Dille points out, "GameStop probably does a little bit better with the early adopter crowd." That would be the same early adopter crowd who may know about GTA IV's 360-exclusive DLC.

Another limiting factor: these numbers don't account for console sales for the month of April, so any GTA-infused boost may skew the numbers further. But don't let those sobering facts stop you from enjoying our fancy chartification of GameStop's data. Note: Despite selling nearly twice as many copies, GTA IV performed better (at GameStop) on a per-console basis on the PS3 than it did on the Xbox 360.

# CONSOLES SOLD % TOTAL CONSOLES % GTA IV GAMESTOP SALES
Xbox 360 9.9m 70.7% 64%
PlayStation 3 4.1m 29.3% 36%

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]]>GameStopGrand-Theft-Auto-IVGTAIVChristopher Grant2008-05-12T18:58:00+00:00