gta-iv posts

As promised, Rockstar Games has now released the PC port of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. The port of the Xbox 360 open world action game comes in two versions. One is a stand alone game that you can purchase in retail stores as well as via download from outlets like Steam and Direct2Drive for $29.95

If you own the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV already you can use the Games For Windows Live client and download the two "episodes" (The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony) as separate expansion packs. Each episode cost 1200 Microsoft points (about $15).

Ever since the fairly disastrous release of the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV last year, we have heard rumblings that the game's downloadable expansion packs might be released for the PC as well. Publisher Rockstar Games has previously said that the two GTA IV episodes (The Lost and The Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony) would be Xbox 360 exclusives.

Now fan site GTAIV.net claims that a new update to Microsoft's Games For Windows Live client has added PC achievements for The Lost and The Damned. They include a screenshot (presumably taken from the PC GTA IV port) that shows the new achievements with the "TLAD" acronym beside them. So far Rockstar has yet to confirm anything about the expansion moving to the PC so this is definitely in the "rumor" column for now.

[Via Computer and Video Games]

It has not been a good week for PC fans of the Grand Theft Auto series. The latest title in the open world crime action series, Grand Theft Auto IV, has been plagued with bugs since its release. It's gotten so bad that folks who purhased and downloaded the game via Valve's Steam service can now ask for a refund, something that Valve rarely offers (head to Voodoo Extreme for details on how to get a refund).

Meanwhile, Nvidia has released a new beta graphics driver for its GeForce products for not just GTA IV but also for SLI improvements in Left 4 Dead and issues with World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. The 180.84 beta drivers are in Windows XP and Vista versions (both 32 and 64-bits). Thanks FiringSquad. An ATI driver update is expected next week.

Finally the normally media shy Rockstar Games folks agreed to a Q&A session with IGN specifically to talk about the GTA IV PC issues. The Rockstar reps are clearly on the defensive throughout the interview saying things like, "The only thing we really have to go on in that regard is support calls we've been getting which have been quite low or as expected, which I think is roughly around one percent...It seems like maybe these forum posters are the more outspoken percentage of the players."

However they do admit that a patch for the game is coming, adding, "A lot of these issues obviously we haven't seen in our testing and we're working to reproduce them and find workarounds for those issues." There's no word on when the patch will be released.

While Rockstar Games never got back in touch with us about the apparent delay in the release of Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC, they apparently had time to call back IGN. They confirmed what we reported on previously this week that the game's release date would in fact be pushed back two weeks, from Nov. 18 to Dec. 2.

The news story also has some updated system requirements for the PC port of the open world action game. Micrsoft's Games For Windows web site previously posted up some preliminary info but this is apparently the official specs your PC rig will need to run the game:

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8Ghz, AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4Ghz
Memory: 1.5GB, 16GB Free Hard Drive Space
Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900

Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz, AMD Phenom X3 2.1Ghz
Memory: 2 GB (Windows XP) 2.5 GB (Windows Vista)
18 GB Free Hard Drive Space
Video Card: 512MB NVIDIA 8600 / 512MB ATI 3870

While Rockstar Games is known for keeping details about their titles secret until the last minute it seems like Microsoft's Games for Windows web site may have gotten a little bit of a scoop. They have the recommended system requirements for the upcoming PC port of Rockstar's open world action game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Are these the correct numbers? They are pretty bare bones but Microsoft's Games For Windows program does require games that have the logo reveal certain hardware requirements to Microsoft so we are betting these are accurate. So without anymore waiting here they are:

OS: Windows XP SP2
Processor: Dual core processor (Intel Pentium D or better)
RAM: 2GB
Hard Drive: 18GB free hard disk space
Video Card: 512MB Direct3D 10 compatible video card or Direct3D 9 card compatible with Shader
Drive: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive

For almost four months, PC gamers have looked with envy on their console brethren, watching both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners mingle with prostitutes, launch themselves through windshields and commit countless acts of grand theft auto. Be envious no more. On November 18, 2008, PC gamers will receive the complete version of Rockstar's pop culture icon, Grand Theft Auto IV.

"We are very excited to be releasing the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV," said Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar Games. "The whole team is dedicated to bringing an amazing gaming experience to the PC. The game looks and plays beautifully on PC and we can't wait for people to play it."

In addition to all the mayhem experienced by console gamers, the PC version of GTA IV will include expanded multiplayer modes, though concrete details as to what the modes entail has not yet been made available.

All of Rockstar Games' previous games in their successful Grand Theft Auto action series were either released first on the PC or ported to the PC several months after their console releases. So rumors of Grand Theft Auto IV's appearance on the Windows platform are not exactly a surprise.

The latest evidence comes from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board web site which according to the Game-on-game.com web site had a listing for a Windows PC version of GTA IV on the site for at least a few hours before it was removed. While it's not clear whether this was simply a mistake or a premature reveal isn't clear. We, however, think we won't have to wait much longer before such an official reveal of GTA IV for the PC is made.

Rockstar Games, popular child of parent company Take-Two Interactive, deals not in sandbox titles nor smut simulators, but in controversy. GamesIndustry.biz interview conducted with Take-Two CEO Ben Feder to discuss the controversial gaming landscape which the publisher's popular Grand Theft Auto games have decisively staked as its own territory, as well as the constantly changing topography of that landscape.

Now that many gamers have finished Grand Theft Auto IV's expansive campaign, the focus for many players looking for more storyline longevity from the title has shifted to the promised downloadable content. When asked how he feels about DLC's business model when (ostensibly) compared to other sales methods, Feder expressed his belief that the core GTA fans will be "screaming to buy it" when it becomes available.

Feder admitted that GTA software "just saturates hardware," but increased hardware sales are pivotal if GTA sales are to be increased. According to Feder, this holiday season's hardware sales will go a long way toward deciding which platform will receive more DLC. After all, noted Feder, it's financially wise for Take-Two to aim for the platform with the larger user base: more gamers equal more money.

The interview can be found on GamesIndustry.biz.

Develop magazine has announced the finalists for its Develop Industry Excellence Awards 2008, prestigious accolades that "showcase the massive amount of games development talent found in Europe," according to Michael French, editor of Develop.

Given the massive success of Grand Theft Auto IV, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Rockstar North has received four nominations in the areas of Visual Arts, Audio Accomplishment, Technical Innovation and Best In-house Developer. Its sister studio, Rockstar London, received a nomination for Best New UK/European Studio.

"Be it digitally-distributed games, MMOs, first-person shooters or action-adventures," said French, "there's no area of the industry that hasn't been bolstered by Europe's diverse sector of games development companies in the past year."

A complete list of nominations and their respective recipients can be found on Develop's site.