rockstar-games posts

Just over a year ago the New England-based game developer Mad Doc Software got purchased by Rockstar Games and was renamed Rockstar New England. Now the developer is rumored to be suffering from layoffs, according to a non-sourced article at Kotaku.

According to their report, the developer may have had layoffs that affected "at least 10 percent of the studio". As Mad Doc Software, the studio created mostly PC games including the RTS games Star Trek Armada II and Empire Earth II and III. As Rockstar New England, the only game they have released was the PC port of Rockstar's Bully: Scholarship Edition which was filled with bugs when it was released in the fall of 2008.

While these visuals were first seen in the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, today Rockstar Games released the first true screenshots for Max Payne 3. These shots show off the 10 years older Max as the now bald and pot-bellied former cop is doing what he does best in the hot setting of Brazil.

As we have mentioned before, Max Payne 3 is being developed by Rockstar Vancouver, taking over from Remedy who created the franchise and developed the first two games in the series. We will have to wait a little longer to check out the game in action; it's not due out until winter 2009.

Details on Game Informer's new print magazine preview of Max Payne 3 are coming to light. Among the interesting features is that the game takes place 12 years after the previous title, the game is set in Sao Paolo, Brazil as opposed to New York City and that there is some kind of multiplayer support (although publisher Rockstar Games isn't saying what form it will take).

For fans of the first two games (developed by Remedy) perhaps the most interesting thing is that well known character actor James McCaffrey won't be returning to voice Max Payne in the third installment. According to Eurogamer, the developers at Rockstar Vancouver plan to cast someone older but it won't be a well known name actor this time. Hey, as long as it's not Mark Wahlberg.

Ouch. Someone needs some Nutrisystem and an exercise machine.Oh sure, Max Payne still has some guns on his side (and some pistols too) but he definitely needs some work on his abs. Perhaps Game Informer magazine can help them out with their new exclusive preview article in their latest print issue.

Apparently the cover story will show that the recently revealed Max Payne 3 will take place (story wise) 10 years after the previous game. Looks like a life of cupcakes is over for our favorite tragedy-stricken former cop. We should know more about the Rockstar Games-created title soon. It's currently set for a "winter 2009" release.

Take Two Interactive is always the last of the US game publishers to issue its financial results. Today the company issued its quarterly results for the three month period that ended on April 30. Revenues for the period were $229.7 million, way down from $539.8 million for the same period a year ago (when the company's Rockstar Games division released the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Grand Theft Auto IV). The company had a net loss of $10.1 million for the quarter compared to a profit of $98.2 million for the same period a year ago. Still the results were higher than analyst's estimates.

However, Take Two lowered its revenue forecast for its 2009 fiscal year to between $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion. This was because Take Two decided to delay the release of two major game titles, one of them being Mafia II. The long awaited open world crime action game from developer 2K Czech will not be released in Take Two's 2009 fiscal year (which ends on Oct. 31). Instead it will have its released pushed back to the first haft of the company's 2010 fiscal year (which begins November 1 and ended on April 30, 2010). Both BioShock 2 and Borderlands are still schedule for release in Take Two's fiscal fourth quarter of 2009 and Max Payne 3 is still scheduled for a "winter 2009" release.

A new game developer formed by some of the folks who originally helped to form Rockstar Games formally announced their presense today. 4mm Games, based in New York City, is being pretty vague about what they plan to produce but it apparently has something to do with online and social gaming.

Their official press release states that 4mm Games will be "developing and publishing a diverse portfolio of entertainment properties that join together video game consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and the Internet." The company promises more announcements in the weeks to come about their plans. Hopefully their announcements won't be as vague as today's press release.

The mainstream media seems to always throw PC and video games a bone when it comes to coverage of popular culture and Time magazine is no exception. In their 2009 edition of the Time 100, where they give their opinions of the 100 most influential people in the world, they name the Grand Theft Auto co-creator brother team of Sam and Dan Houser in their list.

Their entry in the list is written by Matt Selman, an executive producer on The Simpsons TV show. He manages to compare the GTA games and their comments on modern culture to earlier and more literary forms of art. He states, "The Housers are doing the work of Tom Wolfe, creating tapestries of modern times as detailed as those of Balzac or Dickens. At least, I assume that's true. Instead of reading those guys, I've been in Liberty City stealing tanks."

It's been rumored for years and now Take Two Interactive's Rockstar Games' brand has finally made it official: a third Max Payne game is in development. This time the creative team isn't Remedy (who made the first two games and are now working on Alan Wake) but Rockstar Vancouver, best known for their work on Bully.

Rockstar has revealed little about Max Payne 3 other than it will feature you playing have "more of the classic elements and hyper-intense action that fans have come to love, while moving the story of Max in a new direction."
The press release adds, "Since leaving the NYPD and New York itself behind, Max has drifted from bad to worse. Double-crossed and a long way from home, Max is now trapped in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out."

The game is due out in the winter of 2009 and a teaser site is already online. While there is no PC logo on the site, the official Max Payne 3 press release does mention the PC as one of the platforms the game will appear on.

Take Two Interactive, who is usually the last game publisher to announce it's quarterly financial numbers, did so today for the three months that ended on Jan. 31. Revenues were $256.8 million for the time period compared to $240.4 million for the same period a year ago. Take Two registered an overall loss of s $50.4 million for the time period compared to a loss of $38 million for the same period a year ago.

Take Two, which owns the 2K Games, 2K Sports and Rockstar Games publishing brands, plans to hold a conference call later this afternoon to further explain their numbers. We will report in if any major news is revealed.

Steam owners always get a good sale on games during the weekend and this time Valve's downloadable service offers up a number of PC titles that are all on sale for 30 percent off. It's the entire PC catalog from Take Two Interactive's Rockstar Games label. That includes the release of the PC port of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Ok, we were pretty brutal about that game in our review but there are quite a number of other titles that might be worth your time if you haven't played them before. You can download each game for a reduced cost or download all of Rockstar's library on Steam for $69.99 compared to its normal $99.99 price tag.