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According to a post on GTA4.net, a new update for the Games for Windows version of Grand Theft Auto IV has added Achievements from the Xbox DLC, The Lost and Damned. If the details of the update are accurate -- and users on the GFW forums indicate they are -- it looks like the DLC's long touted Xbox 360 exclusivity may be drawing to a close. Of course, as Games for Windows is also a Microsoft platform, it doesn't necessarily mean that PS3 owners will be joining in anytime soon.

We've contacted Microsoft for clarification on the update and will update this post when we receive new information.

[Via CVG]

In case you'd forgotten, Major Nelson reminded us this morning that this week's Xbox Live Deal of the Week is the Grand Theft Auto IV expansion, The Lost and Damned. Rather than running you the standard price of 1600 ($20), the motorcycle gang-themed DLC will only cost 1200 ($15) this week.

Considering how many games have already headed into the "early 2010" release window, we wouldn't be surprised to see the retail compilation of The Lost and Damned with The Ballad of Gay Tony slip to next year. Hopefully this week's discount on the former is a precursor to the latter getting a release date or, well, any info at all since it was announced back in May. In the meantime, at lease we're getting a discount!

The second episode of Rockstar's promised downloadable expansions to Grand Theft Auto IV has been announced! The cheeky developer revealed the DLC as The Ballad of Gay Tony, which places you in the (assumed) fancy shoes of Luis Lopez, a "part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince" (or "Gay Tony"), the titular bar mogul who made a number of appearances in GTA IV.

While we're sure to hear more about the particulars of Gay Tony during E3, the method of the game's release should prove to be interesting as well. Not only will the expansion hit Xbox Live this fall for $19.99, it'll also appear on a retail disc with The Lost and Damned. This retail disc, titled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, won't contain the core GTA IV game -- nor will it require GTA IV to play. It'll hit store shelves in the fall, selling for $39.99. We'll let you know more when we know more!

DLC can expand a game in many ways. Not only can it expand the experience offered by a title, but it can also expand your wallet, take out your money, and place it in the hands of publishers and developers. And, by 2010, EEDAR predicts that "the average AAA title should be able to earn an additional 10% in revenue by releasing additional content through digital distribution."

It's not a hard pill to swallow; DLC packs such as The Lost and Damned and Call of Duty: World at War's Map Pack 1 have been selling like virtual hotcakes, and Sony has been milking LittleBigPlanet in all the appropriate ways. Also, let's not forget about Criterion Games, the company that has been adding value consistently to its Burnout Paradise game. Of course, gamers have been complaining about paid DLC just as consistently.

Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) analyst Jesse Divnich's crystal ball predicts brick-and-mortar retail sales of GTA IV's expansion, The Lost and Damned, to be less than $3 million. He believes current global sales from customers who purchased it across Xbox Live to be around $18 million. This latest bit of analyst prognostication comes following Pachter's missive (translated from an Illuminati memo) that GTA's biker expansion could sell upwards of two million units by year's end.

Although the 6-to-1 online vs. retail ratio seems dramatic, is it really surprising when The Lost and Damned was promoted as a DLC pack anyway? In this case, retail was just a middle man, as those who purchased the "game" at their local bodega received a card with a code to download the expansion. All we really know at this point is that the game is selling very well.

Wedbush Morgan soothsayer Michael Pachter foresees the next console Grand Theft Auto releasing next year and estimates sales of DLC The Lost and Damned reaching two million units by year's end. Pachter feels Take-Two remains a "one-hit wonder" with Grand Theft Auto, that one franchise has been (putting it mildly) immensely successful.

Although Take-Two has yet to announce a new GTA, Pachter believes the next installment in the crime series will pull up to retail next year and likely outsell GTA IV by 50 percent, due to the greater next-gen console install base by next year. Although there are currently no solid numbers to support Pachter's belief that The Lost and Damned DLC will sell two million units this year, we do know a lot of people got on their hogs for biker-based adventure.

Move over Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, because there's a new top earner on Xbox Live, and it's GTA IV's "The Lost and Damned". Rockstar's Xbox 360-exclusive DLC pack featuring Johnny and his crazy motorbiking buddies has set a record on the service, as its first-day sales revenue has eclipsed all other titles that have debuted on Xbox Live (note: at $20, The Lost and Damned is also more expensive than the previous record holders). Sadly, exact sales figures aren't given, so we don't know how much Microsoft and Rockstar have made off the DLC yet. When we know, we'll be sure to let you know.

GTA IV's "The Lost and Damned" DLC pack is available now on Xbox Live Marketplace for 1600.

Digital dong appreciators in Singapore rejoiced today as government officials have OK'd the digital distribution of the Grand Theft Auto IV 360-exclusive expansion, "The Lost & Damned." Regardless of the "controversy" surrounding the expansion's full-frontal male nudity, Ernest Khoo, Singapore's head of video games and media content at the Singapore Media Development Authority, has deemed the DLC safe enough for consumption in the country.

Approaching the nudity issue head on, Mr. Khoo says, "[the scene is] non-sexual and can hence fall within the M18 rating." Expanding on the M18 rating, he explained, "only those 18-years-old and above will be buying the game and its expansion pack." Hopefully, the army of Media Development Authority workers manning individual Xbox 360s in Singapore will be checking IDs.

[Via GamePolitics]

Many of Liberty City's proxy residents who'd returned to the crime-riddled metropolis following the release of The Lost and Damned were recently perplexed by what appeared to be some random acts of censorship that tagged along with the expansion -- certain European versions of GTA IV suddenly lacked the game's most NSFW elements. Namely, bullet infused corpses no longer spilled excessive pools of blood, and when in the company of a paid escort, camera control was stripped of the player while said escort performed the services she was contracted to execute. (Hooker sex, people. We mean hooker sex.)

This censorship seemed an odd addendum to an expansion which unapologetically brought us a faceful of prong -- as it turns out, the censorship was indeed accidental. At least, that's the claim of Rockstar, who attribute the "error" to the game's latest title update. Why the changes were incorporated into the update in the first place, or why only certain copies of the game were affected is still a mystery, but Rockstar is hoping to release a quick de-censoring patch "within the next few hours."

So, you want to join The Brotherhood? This week Joystiq is gifting one lucky reader with a code to download the Xbox 360-exclusive DLC for Grand Theft Auto IV, otherwise known as The Lost and Damned. If you're eager to revisit Liberty City, but the return trip ticket is out of your price range, this is the Joyswag for you (thanks to Jade and Jake from the Xbox Canada Community Blog!). Here's how you can win:

• Leave us a comment telling us the first thing you'll do when you step back into Liberty City
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
• You may enter once per calendar day
  
• This entry period ends at 3:00PM ET on Friday, February 20. We'll randomly select one (1) winner at that time to receive Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (ARV: $20). Please check your e-mail!
• For a list of complete rules, click here

Best of luck to all and make sure to check out Joystiq's review of The Lost and Damned -- thanks for reading!

Typically, when Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification (the game rating board for the Land Down Under) is criticized for shoddy job performance, the attacks are coming from ... well, people like us. This is because the board's highest rating is MA15+, meaning games containing similar content to games rated Mature by the ESRB are often refused classification and sent back to the developer for content cuts.

However, the OFLC has recently come under fire from its harshest critics, not due to its refusal to classify certain games, but rather, because of its rating for the recently released expansion to GTA IV, The Lost and Damned. These critics take issue with the fact that the expansion earned a rating from the OFLC without undergoing any content cuts, while GTA IV was forced to clean up its act before getting approved. These critics claim the similarities between the core game and expansion are evidence of major disparities in the Australian rating board.

These critics might have a point -- the OFLC could be taking on a more lax approach to their classification of mature content titles. However, it's just as likely that Rockstar made content cuts to Lost and Damned before the first submission in order to avoid a refusal of classification -- and a costly resubmission. There's only one way to tell: Australian readers, we need you to boot up the game and, well, check for any and all wangs. We know, it's a lot to ask.

Rockstar's ambitious Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable expansion, The Lost and Damned, tells a new tale in Liberty City, focusing on the vice president of The Lost Motorcycle Club, John Klebitz. Fans of the GTA series need no introduction to the content within this episode and will likely relish the opportunity to fulfill more of the series' staple quests. For those of you who couldn't care less about the franchise, however, know that Rockstar has set a wonderful precedent for the quality and size of a DLC offering with The Lost and Damned. It's practically a game within a game.

Now, here's the part where you make your choice: "Continue" on to read our full review or jump to our video review below and give your reading eyes a rest. [And don't forget to enter for your chance to win The Lost and Damned right here!]

Contextually appropriate character idiosyncrasy, or questionably shaped carrot dangled in front of the gaming press? Either way, Rockstar's latest addition to the Grand Theft Auto franchise -- one of controversy's more intimate acquaintances -- roasts yet another wiener on the fiery debate over mature content in games. Though we're certain most players were expecting a fair amount of dicks in The Lost and Damned's cast, the presence of a penis may come as a surprise.

The folks at 1UP (NSFW) have captured the scene between protagonist Johnny Klebitz and massage-loving exhibitionist Mr. Stubbs in all its full frontal glory. If you're going to watch it, be prepared to have an important thought rushing to your head: Is Rockstar cheekily pushing our beloved medium forward, or simply erecting another financially beneficial controversy trap?

We're inclined to think that IT'S A TRAP.

Source [NSFW]

Microsoft has added a touch of leather to the Avatar closet, delivering biker themed clothing to celebrate the release of Grand Theft Auto IV's The Lost & Damned downloadable content.

As has been the norm, all clothing is free and denoted by a yellow star in the Avatar customization application. Sadly, there is no miniature Avatar motorcycle to go with the new biker duds.

• Guys: Rocker Jacket, Pixie Boots, Grunge Pants, Metal Combats, Top Hat, Skull Ring, Leather Biker Gloves, Left Feather Earring, Right Feather Earring
• Gals: Punk Tee, Black 60's Boots, Leopard Print Leggings, Biker Jacket, Biker Gloves, Skull Wrist Band, Left Feather Earring, Right Feather Earring

If you're hesitant to drop a Jackson on tomorrow's expansion for Rockstar's magnum opus, a recent UGO preview of The Lost and Damned might have a few tidbits that'll make you renew that studio apartment lease in Liberty City. In addition to the lengthy new campaign, the add-on will apparently ... add on a few chopper-centric multiplayer modes.

Some modes are simply bike-infused rehashes of the original gametypes, but a few stick out like a sore, awesome thumb -- namely, Chopper vs. Chopper, in which one player rides through checkpoints around the city on a bike while his opponent chases him down in a gun-toting helicopter; and the revamped Race mode, which arms competing bikers with clubs, which they can use to take out other players in a brutal, Road Rash-esque fashion. We'll let you know if these new gametypes are worth the price of admission once we've had a chance to get lost in The Lost and Damned.

[Via Evil Avatar]