rockstar-social-club posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Rockstar revamps Social Club's online leaderboards and stat tracking for Gay Tony

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 29th 2009 at 3:45PM }

With the release of this week's second Grand Theft Auto IV expansion The Ballad of Gay Tony, the game's developer has decided to update the online multiplayer statistics tracking in order to reflect the new multiplayer game types. The addition of "BASE Jump" to the mulitplayer as well as "new, tighter Deathmatch arenas" helped spur the leaderboard overhaul, according to the developer blog. The various new additions being made due to the DLC will even get their own section on the Rockstar Social Club, presumably for the four of you tracking your new GTAIV DLC stats after Modern Warfare 2 releases in a couple weeks.

Rockstar Social Club adds new features for Chinatown Wars PSP

by Justin McElroy { Oct 20th 2009 at 5:00PM }

Even if you're playing Grand Theft Auto on a portable system, the Rockstar Social Club is waiting to welcome you with open arms ... and flying ducks. The online hub has just added new features to mark the launch of GTA: Chinatown Wars on PSP.

Aside from some new downloadable papercrafts (joy!) the site has added a minigame called Peking Duck Hunt which you can play to earn in-game cash. Just between you and us though, you'll probably have more fun just skipping straight to the real game.

GTA Chinatown Wars features Wi-Fi connection, but offline multiplayer

by Andrew Yoon { Feb 9th 2009 at 6:33PM }

There appears to be some confusion over what multiplayer options will be included in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. The DS game will feature support for Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, but the connectivity does not expand to multiplayer.

Instead, multiplayer is limited to local system play. A flyer from New York Comic Con (via GoNintendo) shows the game will include competitive and cooperative modes -- although no other details were revealed.

While Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection won't be used for multiplayer, it will allow players to communicate and interact with their friends. For example, you'll be able to share favorite locations, chat live through in-game instant messaging, and trade in-game items. Stats can also be uploaded to Rockstar's Social Club site. Through the Social Club, Rockstar is promising "special contests, events, and promotions," although what those will entail is still unclear at this moment.

Achievement unlocked: GTA IV 'Key to the City'

by James Ransom-Wiley { Nov 13th 2008 at 5:46PM }

We suppose a physical award is more satisfying than the typical on-screen, pop-up Achievement or Trophy, but then, what use, really, is a giant key engraved with the Rockstar and GTA IV logos? Fine, we admit it! We're jealous. There was simply no hope in us ever completing 100 percent of the Big Apple-sized sandbox (and by May 19th, no less). In fact, we're not certain we even finished a single mission. We just couldn't pry ourselves away from the pool halls, dart boards and internet dates -- just how we always imagined the lazy, urban underbelly of society.

Gallery: GTA IV: Key to the City

Rumor: GTA IV DLC to bring quarantine, zombies [update]

by James Ransom-Wiley { Oct 23rd 2008 at 11:53AM }

Update: It most definitely is a zombie outbreak, but it's a multiplayer tweak and not the enigmatic DLC, Rockstar confirms.

Original:

A new Eugenics Inc. "ad" has appeared on RockStar Social Club, issuing a vague quarantine order locking down the mysterious company's compound due to a contagious disease outbreak. Eugenics Inc. is a physical location in Grand Theft Auto IV, located in Bohan, though it doesn't play into any part of the game ... yet.

The quarantine announcement is actually the second Eugenics Inc. display to appear on Social Club, following a "Sperm for Cash" ad posted in April (now removed), which, to date, has never been an actual in-game activity. Obviously, Rockstar is proliferating the company's existence for some purpose, right?

Last we heard, Microsoft confirmed the exclusive GTA IV DLC for this fall -- so, any day now. The quarantine posting (unobstructed text after the break) has sparked some speculation that the DLC could be tied to Eugenics' mess. Namely, a potential zombie outbreak! With art assets already in place, what's to stop Rockstar from turning GTA IV into a "28 Days Later" scenario? Keep your eyes peeled.

[Thanks, Alexander]

Continued →

Crime in Liberty City up nearly 900 million percent

by Xav de Matos { Apr 29th 2008 at 1:00PM }

It seems crime has taken a serious jump in the last few hours and the only place affected has been the little known city called, Liberty City. According to the LCPD Crime Blotter, crime is up nearly 900 million percent from yesterday alone! While we could only speculate what could have caused the spike, we think it's safe to say that it's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.

In all seriousness, the LCPD Blotter (which tracks multiplayer statistics in Grand Theft Auto IV; available on the Rockstar Games Social Club) showcases some huge numbers for a title inching-in on its first 12 hours of release (more in the European/Australian region).

Some of the more interesting numbers include:

Crime rate up 848,780,099% from previous day
24,700 criminals have been arrested
781,556 cars have been stolen
8,241,576 call outs have been made
221,525 N.O.O.S.E. call outs have been made

Remember kids, crime doesn't pay. Unless you rob them after you hit them with your car that is.

Rockstar Social Club is down for some [update]

by Justin McElroy { Apr 29th 2008 at 12:00PM }

We've gotten reports from several of you that the Rockstar Social Club, the company's online hub for leaderboards and stat tracking, is down for the count. Though we haven't been able to access it, Rockstar PR tells us that the site was up earlier in the day. Apparently a few people have been trying to log on. We can't imagine why.

This sounds like we're all gonna need persistence or patience if we want to join the club today. Luckily, we imagine that several of you have a certain new game filled with certain new hookers to beat and certain new innocents to indiscriminately kill to help you pass the time.

[Update: All's well now.]

Enter Rockstar Games' new Social Club

by Andrew Yoon { Apr 17th 2008 at 8:15PM }

If you're one of the three or four people picking up Grand Theft Auto IV when it releases, you'll want to check out the Rockstar Games Social Club. Now finally open for registration, it will allow members to view leaderboards, track all sorts of statistics and numbers, and connect fans of Rockstar's upcoming games. Perhaps it'll be through the Social Club that PS3 fans and Xbox 360 fans will finally get together in peace, love and harmony.

Or not.

[Thanks, Tom!]

Rockstar's Social Club is Live!

by Terrence Stasse { Apr 17th 2008 at 7:30PM }

In anticipation for some time now, and even pushed back a bit, the Rockstar Games Social Club is now open for pre-registration. For those not in the know, the Social Club will allow registered players to view leaderboards, track stats, and generally be connected to Rockstar's community. We're glad to see that more developers are giving their community better tools to provide them with content, as well as keeping interest for their game high. If you're going to be playing a lot of GTA IV (who isn't?) you could do worse than heading over there and setting up a profile. Hell, we did that very thing before you even read this!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

GTA IV to allow real-world music downloads with Amazon

by Justin McElroy { Mar 28th 2008 at 9:30AM }

Aside from being able to murder innocent people in cold blood, the soundtrack has to be one of the best parts of the Grand Theft Auto experience. Now, you'll be able to take those tracks with you back into the real world without shelling out the bones for boxed soundtrack collections, thanks to a cool new service that will let you mark tracks for download in game.

It works like this: You hear a song you like, you'll call an in-game service called "ZiT" on your mobile phone to mark it. You'll get a text message with the song and artist name, as well as an email if you're a member of the Rockstar Social Club. Said email will contain a direct link to download the song from Amazon's music site for $0.89 to $0.99. What's more, there's no DRM, so you can do whatever you like with them.

While we're usually not a big fan of extra ways to monetize games, this actually seems like a pretty ingenious way to integrate the service. This is pure conjecture, but wouldn't it be interesting if the songs in-game (and available for purchase) continued to be updated? ... That Rock Band money has to be pretty hard to ignore.