The blame game is in full swing in Thailand over a cab driver getting murdered, and with the crime having a supposed GTA IV connection thus leading to the game being pulled from retailers over there, the Thai Ministry of Health has issued a list of 10 violent video games to avoid for fear that they may spark more violent outbreaks.

This where it gets comical though: You may recall back in December 2007, that Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy was given the illustrious title of Gaming Today’s first ever “Idiot of the Day” for her outdated list of violent video games for parents to avoid during the Christmas shopping extravaganza. Well, dear readers, that is the list that the Thai Ministry of Heath sited as gaming titles to avoid. With a few exceptions, mainly Hitman: Blood Money being changed to just Hitman and Grand Theft Auto being abbreviated, it is the exact same list.

What this means, is that the Thai government is too ill-informed of the videogames currently on the market, therefore they surfed the internet until they found a list of games they could blame the ills of their current situation on. I don’t know whether to call that lazy or just plain out of touch with the times. Either way you look at it, the GTA games are being blamed for something any raging psychopath would do regardless if they had played the game or not.

Thanks: Game Politics

Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto IV will be arriving on the PC on November 18 and November 21 in North America and Europe, respectively.

“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.”

Developed by series creator Rockstar North and set in Liberty City, the latest installment in the enormously successful Grand Theft Auto series features a painstakingly detailed and life-like city for players to explore; a rich, immersive narrative experience; an original soundtrack highlighting the cultural eclecticism of Liberty City; and newly expanded multiplayer just for the PC.

via: Press Release

Earlier this week, Electronic Arts once again extended its offer to acquire Take-Two, this time until August 18 at 11:59PM Eastern time. In other words, you can expect to see another extension around August 19 at about 9AM.

Already three deadlines have come and gone with no sign of Take-Two or EA budging. According to EA, only about 15% of Take-Two’s shares have been tendered as part of the offer, as of July 18, a fact which Take-Two must be quite pleased with.

The AP reports that Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick has offered a statement, saying, “Take-Two’s Board continues to be 100% committed to maximizing stockholder value and remains unanimous in continuing to recommend that our stockholders not tender their shares to EA.”

He continued, “We are fully engaged in a formal process to evaluate strategic alternatives that have the potential to deliver greater value than EA’s inadequate offer. As part of this process, we continue to engage in meaningful discussions with multiple parties, a number of whom have been conducting due diligence. We also remain absolutely focused on executing on our strategic and business objectives.”

By now, you would think EA would just pony up the extra money to convince Take-Two to sell. It’s quite clear that this offer isn’t sufficient and that these deadlines have accomplished nothing.

via videogaming247

Take-Two’s 2K Play has announced that Carnival Games is now available for the DS. The game is based on Carnival Games for the Wii. However the DS version was designed from the ground up and makes full use of the DS control scheme.

Gamers employ a frenzied combination of tapping, blowing, speaking and stylus-maneuvering to bring the expansive midway to life. Favorites including Alley Ball, Test Your Strength, Balloon Darts, Frog Leap and Nerves of Steel are complemented with all-new games including Bumper Boats, Clown Bonk, Wild West Showdown, Loud Mouth and RC Raceway.

Players can also explore the Carnival Games midway for the first time to discover hidden games and surprises. The game features a comprehensive customization mode where players can select gender, skin tone, and hair color. Players can win over 65 virtual prizes including an endless supply of Wacky Wearables, such as a pirate’s hat, frog feet, monkey mask and dragon wings.

Carnival Games is bundled with The SimCity Box collection. Nintendo of America has also included the title in its in-store kiosk and downloadable demo programs.

via Business Wire

Rockstar today announced a new release date for the fourth installment of its Midnight Club franchise, Midnight Club: Los Angeles -  October 7th in North America and October 10th in Europe. Rockstar has created a rendition of Los Angeles to race through at break neck speeds and explore at your own pace wth no tracks and no load times for both the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Also scheduled for release simultaneously is Midnight Club: LA Remix for the PSP .

For more screens of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, click here.

Via: Press Release

Recently, Rockstar sent some interesting swag to Popular Mechanics to kick off their holiday sales push. This awesomely shocking bit of swag is none other than a tongue in cheek metal baseball bat complete with the GTA IV logo.

Popular Mechanics writes:

Because they couldn’t legally send us an Uzi thorough the mail, [Rockstar] sent us the 14th most deadly weapon in the blockbuster game’s new arsenal: a metal bat… It just arrived with a press release informing us “‘Tis the Season To Swing Big and Go GRAND,” promoting GTA IV as a perfect stocking-stuffer for the Christmas season.

But who needs the game when you’ve got the bat? In the spirit of giving, we can now give a GTA-style beat-down to random strangers on the street, just like our favorite Eastern European criminal thug, Niko Bellic. And when the cops catch us, we can say that we never would have done it were it not for the influence of violent video games. And for the first time, we’d be right!

Oh, Rockstar, you are just asking for it. As much as I enjoy your shenanigans and your games, this time, I think the backlash will be much more interesting that usual. While I am all for pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable behavior in society and what is frowned upon, this is just a little too extreme. Hilarious, but too extreme considering all the crap that our favorite numbskull JT has caused, one would think that the controversy surrounding the GTA IV release would be enough. I guess not, but more power to them. They have enough money to quell the backlash should something unsavory arise due to the baseball bat stunt.

That being said, what the hell do I have to do to get one, Rockstar?

Via: GamePolitics

The 2,676 people who filed claims against Rockstar in the “Hot Coffee” class action lawsuit will be splitting a monetary settlement of less than $30,000, according to the New York Times.

The contents of the settlement which Jonathan reported yesterday, stated that the customers who were offended by the sexual mini-game in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas would be granted anywhere from $5 to $35 each, or a revised edition of the game. Those who were “offended” had to enter a certain code to even get to the content, so if they did it was their own fault in the first place if they were offended.

Take-Two stated that the claims amount to less than $30,000 but unfortunately the company spent $1.3 million in legal fees. Add to this the $860,000 charitable donation the company agreed to and you get a bill totaling $2.19 million plus the production cost of the altered game and the distribution of it.

However, there is still the possibility, although small, that the civil lawsuit can still go to trial. The  settlement will go before Manhattan’s Federal District Court for final approval next Wednesday, so keep your eyes peeled for more details.

Via: New York Times

Still holding out for a Grand Theft Auto movie? Well, there’s just one little snag. It seems Take-Two actually cannot make a movie with the title “Grand Theft Auto.” That’s because back in 1977, Fox released a film written, directed, and starring Ron Howard by that exact name. Right now, Fox Atomic owns the rights to the title. According to a studio insider though, any sort of follow-up to that movie is highly unlikely:

“Yes, Fox owns the Corman movie. Yes, it has been one of 400 development projects for several years. But they are nowhere on the script. It has certainly not been a front-burner project.”

Furthermore, an agreement between the two companies says that Fox cannot make a game with that title, and Take-Two can’t release a movie with it either. I’m not sure if that leaves the possibility of a movie titled “GTA: Grand Theft Auto” or something open, though I kind of doubt it. Point is: this is one big hurdle a movie based on the game would have to overcome, since it’s the title that would mostly sell it to gamers.

Via Deadline Hollywood Daily

Ready for a bit of news that shouldn’t surprise many gamers out there? Well, you remember that class-action lawsuit over the hidden sex scenes in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that ended with anyone who bought the game being entitled to either an edited disc or up to $35 in cash? Millions of people would have been able eligible for their piece of the settlement, but of those, only 2,676 were actually offended enough to file a claim. And the lawyers pushing the case are naturally dumb-founded:

“Am I disappointed? Sure,” said Seth R. Lesser, lead lawyer for the plaintiffs. “We can’t guess as to why now, several years later, people care or don’t care. The merits of the case were clear.”

In fact, it seems the only people to really come out on top of this dispute are the lawyers themselves, who stand to make around $1.3 million in legal fees. The reasons behind this are summed up pretty well by Theodore H. Frank, a lawyer who also happens to be a gamer:

“There are two possibilities,” Mr. Frank said of the settlement. “Possibility one is they have a meritorious lawsuit and they’re selling out the class for attorneys’ fees. The other possibility is that, and frankly I think this is the more likely possibility, they brought a meritless lawsuit that had no business being brought to court at all.”

So basically, after all the hullabaloo from politicians, lawyers, and various concerned people, it looks like the people who weren’t offended were the majority of people who actually played the game. Well that or people just didn’t know about the lawsuit, didn’t have proof of purchase anymore, or something like that. Point is: this turned out a be a huge waste of time for everyone that isn’t a lawyer.

Via New York Times

Electronic Arts has generously extended the deadline on its offer to buyout Take Two to July 18th. The offer is an unsolicited attempt to strong arm T2 into selling that has been dragging on since February.

“Our offer price remains unchanged at $25.74 per share, which is a substantial premium to where Take-Two’s stock was trading prior to our offer,” said Owen Mahoney, Senior Vice President of EA Corporate Development. “We congratulate Rockstar on the successful launch of GTA IV but believe our offer reflects a full and fair price based on the long-term value of Take-Two’s entire operation.”

Take Two isn’t impressed and continues cross the line drawn in the sand.

“The latest extension of EA’s unsolicited, highly conditional tender offer does not alter the fact that their proposal still significantly undervalues Take-Two, a fact that is reflected in the overwhelming number of stockholders who still have not tendered their shares,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of the Board of Take-Two. “Our Board of Directors remains in unanimous agreement that the proposal is contrary to the best interests of Take-Two stockholders, and the Board continues to recommend that stockholders not tender their shares to EA. The Board remains focused on the strategic process that began formally on April 30 to consider all alternatives to maximize value. We believe that these alternatives, which may include a business combination or remaining independent, will deliver greater value to stockholders than the current EA offer.”

Some companies just can’t take a hint. EA has assimilated so many different companies by now, it just can’t understand why T2 wouldn’t want to join the Collective. The whole situation is comical at this point and I find myself rooting for the underdog (not that there really is one). Obviously EA is just one of those companies that doesn’t know when to give up.

You can read the details onEA’s announcement extending the deadline, and Take Two’s response on Business Wire.