Hope there’s enough for you to do in Grand Theft Auto IV as it stands — Take-Two announced today as part of its Q2 financial reports that the Xbox 360 exclusive DLC has been delayed until Q1 2009. It was originally planned for release later this year.

According to CEO Ben Feder, the delay has nothing to do with development, but rather about “portfolio balancing.” So does that mean they’ve got a lot coming out later this year, or that they’ve got nothing early next year? I’m better on the latter, as two new Carnival Games titles were announced for later this year during the conference call.

During the second quarter of 2008, a total of 78% of all Take-Two publishing revenue came from Grand Theft Auto IV and GTA catalog sales — that’s a pretty astonishing amount, but there wasn’t much from Take-Two to have stolen any percentage of their revenue.

With this delay, I wonder if owners of the PS3 version feel vindicated in their purchase at all. Fewer load times, less pop-up, and the same content until at least 2009 — doesn’t sound too shabby.

It didn’t seem like it was ever going to happen, with rumors contradicting one another sprouting up like flowers in the springtime. But as Jonathan reported last week, BioShock really is coming to the PlayStation 3 — and now we’ve got a release date (well, month) and confirmation that there will be new features in the PS3 version.

“Since BioShock for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows won countless 2007 Game of the Year awards, we are excited to see the impact of this stellar title for the PlayStation 3 system when it debuts this fall,” said 2K president Christoph Hartmann. “Over the coming months we look forward to revealing the new features and content that will make this a must-have game for its new audience, as well as for those who enjoyed it on the other platforms.”

More specifically, the game will be released sometime in October. 2K’s not revealing any of the new features and content just yet, but I think more plasmids is one of the obvious things we’ll be seeing. It’ll be interesting to see if 2K ends up releasing this new content on 360 and PC, or if they decide to make it exclusive to the PS3 version.

I am really really not up on my Marvel lore it seems, since I had no idea until now that there’s a newer, redder Hulk stomping around these days. And so it looks like Microsoft is trying to sweeten the pot for their version of the upcoming game based on The Incredible Hulk by offering a red variant of Bruce Banner’s alter ego. Yes, for choosing the Xbox 360 version out of the others for PS3, PS2, PC, Wii, and DS, you can play as a Hulk with a different color scheme. You’ll also have to buy the game at GameStop to access this useless add-on. Sometimes these console-exclusive bonuses require some real thought, like DLC versus no DLC (GTA IV) or Yoda versus Vader (Soul Calibur IV). But a new skin that doesn’t look much different from the original? Not exactly something that’ll keep me up at night. You know, assuming I would ever seriously consider paying full price for a game based on a movie based on a comic.

Via Marvel.com

Looking to play an innovative game that blends MMO elements with RTS gameplay? Well, Filefront’s got you covered. We’ve teamed up with the 1UP network and publisher Silverlode to bring you 50,000 copies of the critically acclaimed “MMORTS,” Saga. The game will have players amassing huge armies to fulfill their goals in a world created by the lead programmer for Starcraft: Brood War, Dallan Christensen. You’ll be able to build up an army of human, orcs, elves, dragons, giant mechs, and much more by acquiring booster packs of units. Units and resources can be bought and traded much like items in a traditional MMORPG, and the game’s persistent world will continue to evolve and expand even while you’re offline. Plus, as icing on the “awesome cake,” Saga is completely free to play.

Want your free copy of Saga? Well, then just click on the link below to download the game client. The client will come with a serial key, which you’ll need to use to create an account at the official Saga website. Be sure to check out the file’s description for instructions on creating your own account. You’ll have between now and May 11th to secure your copy of the game, unless we run out before then. We’re seriously giving away $1 million dollars worth of stuff here, people, so be sure not to miss out.

[Update: Some people seem to be having trouble locating their serial key. After following the link below and clicking "Download Now," the red text near the top of the page will change to display your own personal key so you can register your free copy. Happy gaming!]

We’ve seen hints that Aerosmith was making their tracks exclusive to Guitar Hero (what with them getting their very own game and all), but some digging by Newsweek has now confirmed it as fact. According to Aerosmith’s publicist and Activision’s VP of music affairs, Aerosmith is signed exclusively to Guitar Hero for an unknown amount of time. Bottom line: don’t expect to see any more Aerosmith tracks for Rock Band or any other rhythm games for awhile. There’s still a lot of speculation though that Harmonix may have similar deals worked out with other bands, but has been hesitant to reveal which ones. All I know is that in either franchise, Aerosmith songs are usually the more difficult and therefore frustrating to play; so this deal makes very little difference to me.

Via Level Up

As gamers, our hobby can sometimes get expensive, so it’s nice when we can partake in our favorite past time for the low, low price of nothing. Right now, the open beta is up and running for Grand Chase, and Filefront has the exclusive client. The game is a free-to-play adventure title where you can battle through a medieval setting with an anime-style avatar. The character development seems a lot like a modern MMO, but the action itself is more reminiscent of an old school arcade game. If you want to check out the beta for yourself, you can download the full client by clicking the link below.

Kotaku reported on a rumor yesterday that 2K Sports’ College Hoops 2K9 had been canceled, alongside another rumor stating that EA was potentially looking into some sort of deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company similar to the deal EA has with the NFL. While Take-Two has since confirmed the cancelation of College Hoops 2K9, there’s no word yet on any developments between Electronic Arts and the CLC – if there are even any to be had.

Take-Two released the following statement:

2K Sports has decided not to continue negotiations with the CLC for the license for its top-rated College Hoops franchise, which would have been released next in November 2008. We are committed to providing fans with high-quality, critically-acclaimed sports games, but given our disciplined approach to the business, we do not believe the current discussions would result in an acceptable outcome.

As we saw in the football market, no 2K rival for EA’s product – in this case, their March Madness series – doesn’t exactly produce much innovation from their games. Gamers really don’t see any form of benefit by having a company own exclusive rights to a league like this, so hopefully 2K and the CLC end up back at the negotiations table. Otherwise, we might be settling for the sub-par March Madness series for any college basketball videogame action.

What? Would you rather I stir the MGS4 exclusivity cauldron for a millionth time? Let’s give the fanboys something fresh to fight over.

Recently, Videogamer was keen to point out a job listing over at Gamasutra that could provide clear evidence that L.A. Noire may once and for all be heading to Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Well… if job listings are enough sheer proof for you, that is.

The job advertisement posted is specifically for Lead Animator at Team Bondi. The ad states: “Team Bondi is an independent game development company based in Sydney, Australia, producing next-generation console titles. The current title in development, L.A. Noire is a 1940’s detective thriller being published by Rockstar Games.”

The most interesting detail to note here is that the job lists Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 as the platforms one so inclined would developing on.

One might even be so bold as to compare Rockstar Games’ console exclusivity indecisiveness regarding its upcoming black & white stylized 1940’s setting game to that of a certain opposite sex. Yet, in fear of my life, I won’t go there either.

Still, it does bring L.A. Noire’s console exclusivity into question – even if for the millionth time.

Via Videogamer

The bad news continues to pile on for Toshiba and HD DVD, as Warner Bros.’ sister company, New Line, has decided to make the move to being a Blu-ray exclusive. While details on New Line’s move are scarce, Variety is reporting that New Line confirmed the move alongside the Warner Bros. announcement.

New Line is the company behind recent movies such as Rush Hour 3, The Golden Compass, Austin Powers, and Wedding Crashers. It’s by no means as strong of a catalog as Warner Bros., but HD DVD is no doubt clinging to every last bit of support it has. It’s no wonder that HD DVD’s event at CES has apparently been canceled.

If I were handy with Photoshop, you’d no doubt be seeing a picture of a funeral for HD DVD above. Instead, the only images you’ll see from me (for now) can be seen in the past few HD DVD-related posts.

Seriously, though – when is Blu-ray’s victory parade scheduled for?

In a huge blow to the HD DVD camp in the ongoing high definition DVD battle, Warner Bros. today announced that it will move to publishing its films exclusively on Blu-ray (in addition to standard DVD). Warner Bros. had been previously publishing its movies on both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

“Warner Bros.’ move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want,” said Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer. “The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

“Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices,” said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. “Today’s decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner.”

“A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry,” said Warner Bros. president Kevin Tsujihara. “Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.”

Complete exclusivity will begin following the end of May 2008; until then, Blu-ray and standard DVD formats will be released side-by-side, with an HD DVD release trailing afterwards.

If you’re not particular privy as to which studios are responsible for which movies, Warner Bros. was behind 300, the Ocean’s 11 series, The Matrix trilogy,  and the Harry Potter series, to name a few. The complete loss of Harry Potter is going to really hurt Toshiba’s chances, and one has to really wonder if the format war hasn’t already reached a point of “whens” rather than “ifs.”

Personally, I own both an HD DVD player and Blu-ray player (thanks to the 360 add-on and my PS3, respectively) and there are still exclusives to HD DVD I want – so I’m glad I own both. Going forward, however, it really seems like choosing only an HD DVD player would be a mistake for the average movie enthusiast.

via High-Def Digest