GTA is coming to your iPhone.
(Credit: Rockstar Games)Rockstar Games, the developers behind the Grand Theft Auto series, announced on Monday that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be coming to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch this fall.
The developer also announced that Beaterator, an app that allows users to create "world-class beats and songs," will also be made available on the App Store. Like the Chinatown Wars title, Beaterater is slated for availability this fall for an undisclosed price.
Chinatown Wars gives gamers control over Huang Lee, a member of the Triad crime syndicate, who travels to Liberty City to investigate his father's death. iPhone and iPod Touch owners will be able to control Lee as he travels through the streets of Liberty City.
Chinatown Wars is currently available on the Nintendo DS. It's coming to the Sony PlayStation Portable in October. According to Rockstar, it made perfect sense for the handheld title to make its way to Apple's mobile devices.
But since it has been ported from traditional handheld game devices, I asked Rockstar if iPhone owners will see much of a difference between the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP versions and the iPhone version.
Rockstar said there will be some textures that will look low-res, compared to the PSP version, but other than that, the game is exactly the same.
That comes as a surprise, considering that the typical content featured in a Grand Theft Auto game has clashed with Apple's policies against adult-theme material finding its way to into the App Store. Apple denied access to Eucalyptus, an e-book reader application, because it allowed users to find and read the Kama Sutra. Apple even denied access to Ninjawords, a dictionary app, because it contained vulgar words.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars promises a typical GTA experience, complete with the sexual content and vulgar words that have made it such a controversial franchise. Rockstar told me that it had no trouble with Apple's App Store policies and that the game will be made available as is.
Rockstar also said that controlling the on-screen character will be slightly different than what gamers are used to with other handhelds. According to the company, the game will display an on-screen analog stick that users will be able to control with their thumb. The developer wouldn't reveal any more information about the game.
Check out Don's Facebook profile, Twitter stream, and FriendFeed.
Sunday night at the Spike Video Game Awards, Grand Theft Auto IV was awarded game of the year honors, beating out Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, Fable 2, Burnout Paradise, and a slew of other great games that didn't make the cut.
From a sales perspective, it's tough to argue with the logic--GTA IV set sales records earlier this year, selling 2.5 million copies in its first week and 5.04 million units since its release. Although the total units sold mark doesn't set any records, GTA IV obliterated every other known sales record and was met with considerable reviewer praise. I'd venture to say that it was the best Grand Theft Auto title in its storied history.
But does that make it the best game of the year?
To say GTA IV is the best game of 2008 isn't such an easy decision to make. If we purely base it off sales, then I guess it's impossible to pick any other game. But if we look at the value each game provides, I'm not so sure GTA IV deserves the top spot.
... Read more
The New York Times featured a story today that discusses the ongoing legal battle over the "Hot Coffee" scandal. For those of you who may have forgotten, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas featured a hidden scene where the star of the game was engaging in a form of sexual activity with another on-screen character.
After parenting groups expressed shock that developers could throw such a "disgusting" act in a video game, the ESA was forced to change its rating to Adults Only and Rockstar Games was brought under fire for having so-called pornographic material in a video game.
But as the Times is reporting, it seems the only people that care are the lawyers. According to the report, "Lawyers who sued the makers of the video game...profess to be shocked, simply shocked, that few people who bought the game were offended by sex scenes buried in its software."
Since the lawsuit was brought against the company, only 2,676 claims were filed and the lawyers have expressed displeasure over such a low number.
"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."
But were they? Was San Andreas really "sold as something it wasn't" and gamers were really upset to find out that sexual content made its way into a game even though they couldn't find it unless they had third-party software and some advanced knowledge of game development?
I certainly don't think so. Look, I don't see any problem with the scene and even if it was readily available, I wouldn't care. Call me a socially liberal loon or naive, but why should we care about sex in video games?
... Read more- prev
- 1
- next
