Grand Theft Auto IV Cheats Unveiled?

Most people believe in playing a game like Grand Theft Auto IV without cheats or other artificial advantages; such is the way of the dedicated and honorable player. However, after playing it straight for a while, you might want to toy around with some uber-awesome cheats.

Now, the game isn't out yet - another couple of days; it'll be on store shelves - but it seems a set of cheats has already been released over at Wiki Cheats. We have no idea if these are accurate, but if they are, you've got the inside track to automatic mafia greatness. Check 'em out-

Weapons Tier 1: Press R1, L2, R2, L1, Up, Down, Left, Right, Up

Weapons Tier 2: Press R1, L2, R2, L1, Right, Down, Left, Up, Right, Down, Left, Up

Weapons Tier 3: Press R1, L2, R2, L1, Right, Down, Left, Up, Right, Down, Left, Up, Right(2)

Run Quickly: Press R1(2), Left, Right, L2, Square, Triangle, L1, Circle

Invincibility: Press R1, Circle(2), L2, R2, Triangle, X, L1, Right

Health: Press R1, L1, L2, Square, R2, Left, Right, Left, Right

Money: Press Up, Down, L1, L2, Left, Right, R1, R2, Square

We're not sure if the last two give you unlimited health and money, or if you just get a certain amount every time you perform the cheat. But that invincibility code is just plain sweet, and now we'll be on the lookout for the "Infinite Ammo" cheat...

Source: www.xboxnerds.com

Rock Band: 3 Million Units Shipped, 10 Million Songs Downloaded

According to GameDaily, Viacom (parent company of MTV, which owns Harmonix), has announced that Rock Band has managed to ship "more than three million bundled units" since its launch last November. That's certainly a healthy number, and one that likely rivals - if not trumps - Activision's competing title, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. On top of this, Harmonix has revealed that over 10 million songs have been downloaded off the Internet, which only proves that those downloadable packs are both highly sought-after and extremely lucrative. And much like Grand Theft Auto IV and Take-Two, Rock Band's success has caused Viacom's Media Networks division to leap.

"Media Networks revenues rose 16% to $2.02 billion, principally driven by strong sales of the music video game Rock Band," Viacom said in an official statement. "...our Rock Band video game is continuing its successful tour and is emerging as a valuable long-term franchise. We expect to further that success with the upcoming release of Rock Band on the Wii home video game system and our launch in Europe," commented Philippe Dauman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Viacom.

Without any doubt, the music genre of video games, once a budding new category in the interactive entertainment world, now contains several of the most popular games in history. And Rock Band definitely qualifies.

Source: www.xboxnerds.com

GTA IV Soundtrack Launching on May 20

Rockstar Games announces the May 20th release of Liberty City Invasion: Music from and Inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV produced entirely by The Evil Genius Green Lantern

Today, Rockstar Games and Future Green Entertainment are proud to announce the release of an original production album from The Evil Genius DJ Green Lantern featuring music from and inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV.

Containing eight brand new tracks crafted exclusively for DJ Green Lantern's "Liberty City Invasion" radio show on the in-game radio station “The Beat,” as well as eight new songs directly inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV, The Evil Genius DJ Green Lantern has created an epic urban soundtrack. This special album release features an incredible lineup of hip-hop, reggae and R&B superstars including heavyweights Busta Rhymes, Wyclef, Fat Joe, Styles P and Fabolous as well as up-and-coming artists Mavado, Uncle Murder and Future Green Entertainment’s own Johnny Polygon, Qadir and more.

Singles include “Where’s My Money” from Busta Rhymes and “Nickname” from the brand new artist Qadir. The perfect summer anthem “I’m So Fly,” featuring Fat Joe and Fabolous is inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV and while included on the album is not in the game.

“The Grand Theft Auto games have always featured stunning soundtracks and the amount of eclectic music in Grand Theft Auto IV goes above and beyond anything we have been able to do before” said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games, "DJ Green Lantern’s contributions give the soundtrack a true New York flavor and we’re excited to be releasing his full album to fans.”

“From making mixtapes, to being on the radio, to touring with the biggest artists on the planet, and then for the biggest video game title to solicit me to create exclusive music is something most people could only dream about, it’s like a graduation,” said Green. “Rockstar Games understood what I bring to the table as far as not just presenting music, but creating music.”

Green Lantern originally came to prominence in the mixtape scene by consistently featuring exclusive self-produced music with hip-hop superstars like Eminem, Jay-Z, The Beastie Boys, Mike Shinoda's Fort Minor, D-Block, Busta Rhymes, Mobb Deep and many more. This led to an acclaimed career as a proper music producer in his own right which has yielded such Billboard hits as "Number One Spot" by Ludacris and "In The Ghetto" by Busta Rhymes featuring Rick James as well as the street hits Akon "Ghetto" feat. Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac, Uncle Murda's "Bullet, Bullet," and many more. Green Lantern can be heard every week nationally on his Sirius Satellite Radio show.

The Evil Genius Green Lantern makes his official production album debut with the release of Liberty City Invasion: Music from and Inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV. It will be available at all major digital retailers on May 20th with a physical release coming soon.

Grand Theft Auto IV is currently available for the Xbox 360 and the PLAYSTATION 3.

Source:www.xbox360.gamezone.com

GRID's Multiplayer Details Confirmed

Fierce 12-Player online races with full car damage

Reflecting the ethos, spirit and attitude of the offline game, GRID will bring the world of motorsports to life online as Codemasters today announced that the game's multiplayer content will feature 32 exhilarating online race events on 80 circuits at 15 intercontinental locations.

Featuring up to 12-player events with incredible full car damage, GRID's online multiplayer races will see gamers competing in aggressive races on iconic city streets and famous championship circuits across Europe, the U.S. and Japan.

"GRID online is the ultimate expression of what the game is all about - collision-packed, aggressive, wheel-to-wheel racing," said Ralph Fulton, Chief Game Designer, GRID. "Our wide range of motorsport disciplines, stunning locations and full damage 12-player races make for a uniquely spectacular race experience and our immersive new ranking system rewards player skill and deepens the challenge online."

Players will earn fear and respect by taking their custom paint jobs online and competing in a huge range of racing disciplines - from drifting around Yokohama Docks, charging through the mean streets of Detroit, racing touring cars around Spa-Francorchamps to competing in chaotic demolition derbies.

Only the purest race experience is at the heart of GRID's gameplay design, so in online multiplayer, everything is geared towards maximizing the player's time spent on track and minimizing their time spent in lobbies. Players can rapidly find the event they want and a slick voting system, matchmaking mechanism and seamless host migration means gamers find competitive races quickly and sessions stay together longer.

An innovative new online ranking system charts players' progress as they advance from Junior Rookie to Legend, with experience points being awarded based on a wide range of achievements, from events won to beating higher ranked opponents.

As players rise through the rankings, online leaderboards record the fastest laps for each track and gamers can download ghost cars to test out their skill against the best in the world in Test Drive mode or check out the competition in Spectator mode. Players can also fully customize their game including switching damage on or off, enabling catch-up mode, setting driver aids and allowing public and private games.

GRID is coming June 3rd for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION and Games For Windows. A Nintendo DS edition will follow. GRID playable demos - featuring two online multiplayer events - are now available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PLAYSTATION Network and, for the Games For Windows demo, please visit www.grid-game.com

Source: www.xbox360.gamezone.com

Gears of War 2: More Emotionally Affecting than Bioshock

In an interview with OXM U.K., voice actor Carlos Ferro, who personifies Dominic Santiago, says the story of Gears of War 2 will be "more emotionally affecting than Bioshock."

"Beyond it," Ferro says. "I said it. It's going to be more emotionally effecting than Bioshock. A lot happens."

Hopefully that will convince New Line Cinema to finally green light the big screen adaptation of Gears of War. 2K Games already reached an agreement for BioShock to be developed as a feature film by Universal Pictures, with Gore Verbinski, director of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, slated to direct and produce the movie and John Logan, Academy Award-nominated writer of Gladiator, The Aviator and Sweeney Todd, in talks to write the screenplay.

Source: www.teamxbox.com

Rumors persisted today that the Xbox 360 would be slimmed down for 2009.

Putting the PlayStation 2 on a diet worked for Sony, but Microsoft today squashed rumors that it was planning to shed a few pounds off the Xbox 360's bulk in 2009.

Late Tuesday night, TG Daily said an "Xbox 540" or sorts would arrive in 2009 to reinvigorate the Xbox line, much like the slim versions of the PS2 and PSP had done for those systems.

Microsoft, however, moved quickly Wednesday morning with an outright -- albeit strangely worded -- denial.

"While we don't normally comment on rumors like this, we can tell you that we have no plans to release a new console in 2009," a rep said.

Even so, rumors have persisted this year that Microsoft is working hard to streamline the insides of the Xbox 360, as part of an effort to combat the console's notoriously high failure rates.

"No new console" is tricky. It might mean no to a completely new console, but a redesigned one... why not?

Source:www.gamepro.com

Microsoft denies 'motion sensor' Xbox 360 update

Xbox 360 motion rumors persist

A purported list of Xbox 360 Spring Update features surfaced on Tuesday, lending further credibility to rumors that Microsoft will release a Wii-like motion controller for Xbox 360.

The list of features, obtained by Kotaku from a tipster claiming to be close to an Xbox insider, includes "options for motion sensor devices" and the ability to "store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading" among other things.

In response, a Microsoft official told Joystiq on Wednesday: "We don't comment on rumors or speculation, but what we can tell you is we've never seen this list before."

Rumors of an Xbox 360 motion controller surfaced in late 2007, something Microsoft did not outright deny.

In April, an anonymous developer told MTV News that Microsoft was hastily planning to launch a Wii-like controller later this year, in an effort to compete with the raging success of the Nintendo Wii. Ambiguous comments from both Microsoft and third-party tech companies since then have done little to diffuse the rumor.

Microsoft is currently the only console maker not supporting some kind of motion controls. The Wii uses them for primary input, while the PS3 recognizes secondary gesture-based movements on select games.

Source: www.gamepro.com

Rumored Xbox 360 Spring Update Touts "Motion Sensor" Features, Game Installs

If Microsoft follows the same schedule it did last year, the Spring system update for the Xbox 360 should be right around the corner. Today, an alleged and wholly unconfirmed list of changes included in the "Q2 2008" update was sent to us, supposedly forwarded from an internal source. The full list—which is after the jump—features about 80 new feature additions, tweaks and changes but was purported to be incomplete and subject to change.

Some are simply interesting as curiosities, such as an option to purchase Xbox Live memberships for charities and the addition of a Media section for audio delivered through feeds, such as podcasts. Others sound more feature robust, such as Windows Live Mail integration and an expanded "Inside Xbox" with news, weather, entertainment, help and community features.

Perhaps the most interesting additions are "Calibration options for motion sensor devices" for the Dashboard and "Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading" for Games. If true, the former would lend further credibility to frequent rumors that Microsoft is planning to introduce a motion controller for the Xbox 360. The ability to store installation data on a hard drive—as is done with some PlayStation 3 games—would certainly be a welcome option, if that's how the wording should be interpreted. Continue on for the full list of rumored updates.

Xbox LIVE
1. Option to delay sign-in to Xbox LIVE upon booting console (to allow user to set Online Status).
2. Option to promote Child Account from Family Settings.
3. Disallow Child Accounts (over 18) to override Family Settings by launching Privacy Settings through a title.
4. Option in Family Settings for Child Accounts to enable child-oriented/non-mature advertisements.
5. Introduce a group chat (4) for Private Chat and conferences through Video Chat.
6. Support to indicate media being watched to gamercard status (video content from Marketplace only).
7. Extend height for Bio field in Personal Profile, easier navigation through text.
8. More fields present in Personal Profile - recent achievements, interests, games, movies, links, custom section.
9. Compact Personal Profile for new fields (navigating to field will open it up).
10. Mandatory option to delete duplicate titles from gamercard (excludes Games for Windows - LIVE). User disconnected from Xbox LIVE when booting any title until action complete.
11. Option to remove payment information from gamertag.
12. New payment methods for international users.
13. Download History on Account Management better organized - games, genre, type, download date, miscellaneous.
14. Long descriptions of items on Marketplace can be scrolled using right stick.
15. Better organization of free content on Marketplace.
16. Option to 'ping' when testing connection.
17. Allow re-connection to Xbox LIVE if Ethernet cable is re-inserted whilst powered on.
18. New strip colors available to developers, staff gamercards.
19. New corner icon available to ambassadors.
20. Re-introduce Messages button for Inside Xbox updates only.
21. Option to store up to 10 messages permanently on server (excludes invites, status messages).
22. Increase character limit for text messages between friends only.
23. Option to disable invites from non-friends or all players.
24. Option to disable invites from titles not on gamercard (excludes demos).
25. Option to have smaller items moved up in Active Downloads.
26. Automatically re-connect to Xbox LIVE if disconnected unexpectedly (set intervals).
27. Option to download gamer picture (if available) from a gamercard being viewed.
28. Display random tips to replace static text on Xbox LIVE and Games blades.
29. New button on Marketplace for optional dashboard features - uses Storage Device memory.
30. Option to donate Microsoft Points to anybody with a Windows Live ID.
31. Option to purchase Membership for charities (includes benefits).
32. Integrate file-sharing for selected titles on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows - LIVE.
33. Disable notifications to friends of user repeatedly signing into service (set period).
34. Option to see 'snippet' of text message in notification.
35. Windows Live Mail integration - includes support for Xbox LIVE Vision.
36. Web feeds integration - text, images, audio. Includes support for specific item codes on Marketplace.
37. Option to display gamer picture or standard picture as display picture in Windows Live Messenger.
38. Support for headset, Xbox LIVE Vision in Windows Live Messenger.
39. Support for limited 'winks' that display on dashboard interface. Option to disable 'winks' and 'nudges' added.
40. Notifications separate from Windows Live Messenger to Xbox 360 notifications.
41. Disable multiple languages from being used in any Xbox LIVE editable fields.

Games
1. Option to delete titles from gamercard with 0 gamerscore and 0 achievements (excludes some titles that will be re-added to launch another title).
2. Organize My Games at the Games Library section better (includes disc-based titles) - sort by genre, platform (Games for Windows - LIVE), percentage completion.
3. Support to display friends leaderboards for disc-based titles.
4. Show dates of an achievement unlocked when comparing.
5. Preload Games Library upon dashboard bootup for faster access.
6. Game updates now shown as items in Memory, increased amount of updates on Storage Device.
7. Option to delete game updates, removed 'cheat code' as no longer needed.
8. Support for more titles to display banner when accessing guide in-game.
9. Option to re-introduce awarded gamer pictures from titles that do not have their own re-introduce feature (requires saved game).
10. Disable gamer pictures from being awarded from trials.
11. Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading.
12. Synchronization to achievements offline/online that were deleted and then re-added from developers.

Media
1. Option to hold LT and RT for rewinding/fast-forwarding video content.
2. Option to delete individual music tracks from storage device.
3. Option to rip music CD at different quality.
4. Copy non-protected files (pictures, music, videos) from USB storage devices, CDs and computers to proprietary storage devices.
5. Support for menu, top-menu features on video content downloaded from Marketplace.
6. Section added for audio delivered through feeds (podcasts). Option to stream, download to Storage Device.
7. Support added for video titles/description to gamercard status.

Dashboard/Miscellaneous
1. Option to navigate quickly out of several menus back to respective blade home (applies to Games, Media, System).
2. New blade trim styles added.
3. Introduce expanded Inside Xbox as a portal to news, weather, entertainment, help and community features.
4. New sounds for various functions (notifications, blades, navigation).
5. Calibration options for display/sound.
6. Calibration options for motion sensor devices.
7. New effects for Xbox LIVE Vision and dashboard background.
8. Disable changing of Theme when on Memory to prevent 'hanging'.
9. Preload recent, limited items upon dashboard bootup on Memory.
10. Faster loading of Themes section on guide.
11. Option to see what items will not work offline due to DRM license changing from Memory.
12. Option to automatically associate new DRM to items downloaded for free.
13. Indicate 'charging' status on guide when Play & Charge kit is connected.
14. Option to change text colors on guide to better contrast some backgrounds.
16. Language improvements.
18. Word censor updated for fields.
19. Privacy Settings/Family Settings updated for new features.
20. Voice, picture messages can be read at Xbox.com (Gold accounts).

source:www.kotaku.com

GameStop: Xbox 360 has 2-1 advantage over PS3 in GTA 4 sales

For those of us already enjoying Rockstar's very excellent Grand Theft Auto IV for the Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360, here's some more news about the multiplatform war: it seems that, according to GameStop's stats on the first week sales of the massive sandbox game, the Xbox 360 version has been outselling the PS3 version at nearly a 2 to 1 ratio. This is surprising, considering that the Grand Theft Auto series has been strongly identified with the PlayStation brand. What does this mean, then?

For Xbox director of product management Aaron Greenberg, this means good news. His e-mail statement to N-Gai Croal's Level-Up blog:

I think many people have been surprised to see how well GTA IV is selling on Xbox 360 given the history of the franchise. These sales results add GTA IV to a long list of franchises that have switched over from Playstation to find a new home on Xbox 360 similar to what happened last year with titles like Madden and Guitar Hero.


As you have covered on Level Up in the past, the majority of third party franchises are being developed first on our platform so they end up playing best on Xbox 360 and when you combine that with Xbox Live, we expect this trend to continue as more multiplatform releases hit the market. With that said, it is fantastic to hear that we beat PS3 two to one on Grand Theft Auto sales from a major retailer like GameStop.

Peter Dille, senior VP of marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), however, has another take on it:

GameStop probably does a little bit better with the early adopter crowd. There's a larger installed base right now on Xbox 360 than on PS3. So it's not surprising that there's going to be more selling on Xbox 360 than PS3. Having said that, we're really excited about the ratio. If I had an installed base advantage of 3-1, I wouldn't be crowing too much about a 60-40 sales advantage. We think it's not as high as what GameStop's telling you, if you look at [the full picture on] the national level.


They're outselling us, but not by that same margin, and it's because of their installed base lead. With an installed base lead that's close to 3-1, if you're bragging about a 60-40 software split, it's clear evidence that the Playstation 3 consumer is overindexing on GTA IV, and the Playstation brand loyalty that we've been talking about is bearing itself out in the marketplace as we speak.

Certainly some fighting words coming from both sides. How about you, dear reader? Do you think we should really base a game's success on just sales, or how it actually offered an entirely new experience to the people who played it? Updates as we get them, and you can let us know what you think through the comments below.

Source: www.xbox360.qj.net

65 nm GPUs for Xbox 360 now in production, Xbox ‘540’ coming in 2009

Taipei (Taiwan) – News about refreshed Xbox 360 consoles are trickling, which is about time given the fact that the console will celebrate its third birthday later this year. The Taiwan Economic News is reporting that first wafers with 65 nm GPUs are leaving the production lines, joining the 65 nm Xenon CPU. Rumors about a Blu-ray Xbox 360 remain alive and we are hearing first information about a possible mid-cycle refresh for the console, which will include the ‘Valhalla’ SoC.

It has been almost a year since Chartered has begun taking the Xbox 360 Xenon CPU from 90 nm to 65 nm and it really was just a matter of time until other hardware would follow. According to the Taiwan Economic News, TSMC has initiated first wafer starts of the 65 nm Xenos GPU and Northbridge. Microsoft apparently has ordered 10,000 300 mm wafers from TSMC at this time.

As it is the case with any die-shrink, Microsoft should see substantial economic advantages from this move, supporting the company’s ongoing strategy to reduce the production cost of the console (the reduction of the Xbox 360 production cost has been one of the key reasons why Microsoft’s entertainment division has been able to notably increase its profits over the past seven quarters). If the 65 nm Xenos "v2" scales down linearly from 90 nm, the new die size should be around 125 mm2, while the eDRAM chip will remain at 70 mm2. The new production process should yield about 35% more GPUs per wafer than before.

TSMC will continue to be in charge of the wafers, while Nanya will be delivering the flip-chip packaging substrates. ASE combines the silicon and substrate and is responsible for QA.

Quite honestly, we were a bit surprised to hear that Microsoft did not decide to die-shrink both the CPU and GPU at the same time, especially because two different foundries are manufacturing the chips. However, our sources at TSMC explained that Microsoft has the same production philosophy as Nvidia: Wait for a manufacturing process to mature and then run the initial wafer order. Apparently, the transition was simulated in detail by ATI and the tapeout happened without problems, at least according to our sources close to ATI. Keep in mind that ATI is only a contracted partner for Microsoft: Both the CPU and GPU are officially Microsoft parts, and the Ballmer-Gates company is the only one in the console segment following through with such a strategy.

The Xbox 360 is scheduled to ship in an "all 65 nm" package (Jasper platform) this August. Consumers won’t notice the refresh, unless Microsoft decides to put a Blu-ray drive into the Xbox 360. We were not able to receive a confirmation either way, and we keep digging to find out if the Asustek subsidiary Pegatron will manufacture regular Xbox 360’s or units with an integrated Blu-ray drive. In any case, Celestica, Pegatron and Wistron will have a busy summer cranking out millions of refreshed Xbox 360 consoles.

A more dramatic and perhaps visible change will happen next year: TSMC plans to begin producing the Valhalla chip, which will be the foundation of the mid-cycle refresh of the Xbox 360, thus called ‘Xbox 2.5’ or simply ‘Xbox 540’ (360+180), in fall of 2009. We learned that this new chip is apparently much more than a die-shrink and end up as a system-on-a-chip design. This change is likely to enable to redesign the Xbox 360 casing and go towards a slim-design, much like what Sony did with the Gen1 and Gen2 PS2. We believe that TSMC will use a 45 nm process for this Multi-Chip-Module package (CPU+GPU+eDRAM).

There are also some interesting pieces of information that Microsoft is shopping for a more efficient cooling solution – efficient in more ways than just one: Several people close to the cooling industry told us that Microsoft approached them and asked for better and cheaper cooling than what is used in the Xbox 360 right now. Some may claim that the current Xbox 360 cooler design is already as cheap as it gets, but we have no doubts that Microsoft will find a way to drop the cost once again.

Codemasters Acquires F1 Licence

UK, May 9, 2008 - Codemasters today revealed it has acquired the Formula 1 licence, ending Sony's four year ownership of the franchise and paving the way for a new series of current generation F1 titles across all major formats.

Chris Deering, chairman at Codemasters said, "[Our] success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge. The combination of FORMULA 1's new momentum of expansion and Codemasters' contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen."

Having remained dormant since last year's Studio Liverpool PlayStation 3 title Formula 1 Championship Edition, the news comes following murmurings that Sony were effectively being priced out of the licence by Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Association. Any future title will mark the first time an official Formula One title has been seen outside Sony hardware since EA offered up Formula 1 Career Challenge in 2003.

As of yet it is unknown when we can expect the first fruits of the new deal, though a statement today suggested it will utilize the EGO engine that Codemasters has put to good effect in the forthcoming GRID game.

Source: www.ign.com

Xbox 360 Jasper comes in next august 2008

Jasper is the code name for the next motherboard for the Xbox 360. It will becoming next August, in time for next year’s holiday season. Jasper is going to have a 65-nanometer graphics chip from ATI Technologies, as well as smaller memory chips.ATI uses TSMC to make its chips out of Taiwan, and TSMC hasn’t been the fastest at moving to 65-nm manufacturing.
Both Falcon and its predecessor Zephyr (used in the Xbox 360 Elite) have different thermal solutions than the original Xbox 360. You’ve seen the heat sinks in the cut-out photos posted elsewhere. The Microsoft engineers believe those heat sinks will be sufficient as a solution for keeping Xbox 360s from overheating. From their point of view, you don’t have to wait until Jasper to get a reliable machine.
Jasper would be more reliable than Falcon on heat issues, and Falcon will be more reliable than its predecessors. The Falcon board has the same old 90-nm graphics chip on it. And many have pointed out that the big heat problem in the Xbox 360 is due to the graphics chip. The Falcon board will likely give off less heat. But the real serious heat saver looks like it will come with Jasper.

Source: www.blogs.mercurynews.com

GTA IV: Biggest entertainment launch of all time

GTA IV has become the most lucrative entertainment launch of all time – dwarfing best-ever releases in music, video and literature.

Take Two has confirmed that GTA IV sold six million units globally in its first week – with an estimated retail value of more than $500 million.

The title sold approximately 3.6 million units on its opening day with a retail value of approximately $310 million globally.

The previous biggest entertainment launch week was that of cinema blockbuster Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (2007), which took $404 million at the Box Office.

"We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player's experience, with its compelling story line, extraordinary gameplay and action that ranges over a broad urban canvas. Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.

“Grand Theft Auto IV's first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date. We congratulate the entire Rockstar team on creating a must-have experience that takes the legendary Grand Theft Auto franchise to a new level."

"Rockstar's goal is to make each new title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise even better than those that preceded it, and Grand Theft Auto IV is a smashing success on that score,” said Ben Feder, Take-Two's Chief Executive Officer.

“Grand Theft Auto IV makes full use of the power of next generation technology, and offers players an experience unique in the interactive entertainment medium. This game sets a new standard in the industry, with critics hailing it as both an artistic and technological masterpiece,

Source: http://www.mcvuk.com

Ninja Gaiden 2 first DLC: costume details, artwork revealed

Team Ninja and Microsoft Game Studios' Ninja Gaiden 2 has been receiving a lot of attention lately as we creep closer to its June 3 and June 6 launch in North America and Europe respectively. If you've pretty much been ignoring all the hype, then here's a little bit of information that might make you pay attention.

The first batch of the game's downloadable content will include three costumes for Ryu Hayabusa, each costume pack being made available for 200 MS Points. Slated to be available starting July, the first of the three costumes is pictured to the right - the Fiend Hayabusa costume.

The Fiend costume is said to be inspired by the Falcon, which is the Hayabusa's family namesake and acts as a symbol of Ryu’s vengeance and fury. While it may seem demonically twisted, it is still the same Ryu Hayabusa who fights for his clan's honor

If that wasn't enough to catch your attention, the first 39,000 people in Europe who pre-order the game will be getting a code which will allow them to download this Fiend Hayabusa costume for free, exclusively at launch. No word yet on whether or not this promo will also be available to North American gamers, but we can always hope.

Source: www.xbox360.qj.net

Microsoft Says 360 GTA4 Outselling PS3 2-to-1 in U.S

For months leading up to its release, when gamers and industry analysts could manage to get their minds off of simply wanting to play it, the question on the minds of many was: Who would benefit more with the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, Sony or Microsoft? Just a few days after its release, both platform holders have already begun to claim the results in their favor -- or at least to spin the perception that the results are in their favor.

According to Next-Gen.biz, Microsoft is claiming that since GTA4's release on Tuesday, the Xbox 360 version has been outselling the PlayStation 3 version in the U.S. by a two-to-one margin. "What we've heard anecdotally from our retail partners is that the Xbox 360 version of the game is outselling the PS3 version by a margin of two-to-one," said Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. "That mirrors what we saw with pre-orders, but it continues to hold true at retail, at least for the first couple of days. It's a great sign."

The key word in that quote, though, is "anecdotally". Neither Microsoft nor Sony (nor Rockstar, for that matter) have released official sales numbers yet, but that didn't stop Sony Computer Entertainment America from denying Microsoft's claims. In a response to Next-Gen, a Sony representative stated the two-to-one ratio "doesn't line up" with what Sony has heard from their retail partners, although the rep declined to elaborate on just what exactly their partners were telling them until official sales numbers are available.

So either Sony's and Microsoft's respective retail partners aren't sharing information with each other, or someone's dishing some misinformation. Both platform holders are also claiming boosts in their respective console's sales -- but again, neither has released hard numbers to back it up. When asked if the April NPD numbers would confirm a spike in 360 hardware sales, Greenberg responded that "I think we'll have solid performance in April, but I think you might actually see a bigger impact in May."

Which means conclusive hardware results, according to Greenberg, won't be known until the May NPD numbers are released in June. But even then, the question of who really benefited most from the release of GTAIV might still be inconclusive, as this is only concerning North American sales. The full answer will only be revealed once worldwide software sales figures come in, as well as hardware numbers -- and it'll also depend on how success is measured (selling more copies of the game, or selling more hardware? Or both?).

So basically, expect both Microsoft and Sony to eventually claim victory one way or another, no matter what the numbers say.

Source: www.1up.com