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GamePolitics
GamePolitics (gamepolitics.com) has great Grand Theft Auto news, photos, videos and more
Tuesday, Nov 3
UK Conservatives Scored on Game Issues
One of the best ideas from the Conservatives is to integrate video games in to the UK Film Council, a body that looks after the economic, cultural and educational aspects of the UK film industry both here and abroad. The council also distributes Lottery money to finance new independent UK f...
Controversy Doesn’t Affect MW2 Pre-Sales
In light of all the controversy surrounding the game, Destructoid posted a pair of opinion pieces, one stating why the author would support MW2 and the other stating why he wouldn’t. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 hits retail in the U.S. next Tuesday, November 10. Are you getting it? Did any of t...
Wednesday, Oct 21
BBFC Dishes on Gay Tony Content
The British Board of Film Classification has bestowed an 18 (Adult) rating upon Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, the bundle which features both The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and The Damned.
Tuesday, Oct 20
40 Hour GTA IV Marathon Earns Indian Youth Laudits
An Indian youth recently spent over 40 hours straight playing Grand Theft Auto IV, and instead of a one-way ticket to ReStart, he received congratulations and a spot in the record books. Patnaik prepared for his binge by running and practicing yoga. He added that avoiding coffee and dates (...
Monday, Oct 19
Germans Say Nein to Killer Game Drive
The group was attempting to get people to come and toss “killer games” into a dumpster, and, well, while the Action Alliance did have a huge, graffiti-laden repository, let’s just say that it probably didn’t take them hours to empty it.
Thursday, Oct 15
Analyst: Digital Distribution Won’t Impact GameStop Until 2017
The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise is among the most well-known and successful brands ever created in the video game industry, yet having digital-only distribution of a product tied to GTA's most recent console title led to very disappointing sales. The bottom line is that retail stil...
Tuesday, Oct 6
Modern Warfare 2 Trailer Imagery Questioned
And with what’s coming out of the gaming industry these days (Grand Theft Auto IV, anyone?) is this any worse? Maybe not. But this is one of the first times such striking imagery has surfaced since 9/11, when the idea of widespread destruction on US soil was suddenly thrust into reality.
Monday, Sep 28
Ireland to Scotland: All Your Game Devs Will Belong to Us
According to a report in Herald Scotland (via Gamasutra), the Irish government is targeting Realtime Worlds, creator of the upcoming MMO APB and based in Dundee, Scotland, with the possibility of a five-year tax "holiday." Other Scottish developers that could be affected by the inc...
Friday, Sep 11
Despite Publishers' Complaints, They Benefit from Used Game Sales
When The Lost and Damned came out we started selling a whole lot more Grand Theft Auto 4, both on the new side and on the used side. Which, then, sort of funds people's ability to go play L&D again... Reporting from San Diego, GamePolitics Senior Correspondent Andrew Eisen...
Friday, Jul 24
7 Years in Jail for Teen; Prosecutors Say "Door Checking" Assault Inspired by GTA
An 18-year-old Maryland man is heading to jail for seven years for a crime which prosecutors allege was inspired by Grand Theft Auto. A teenager is headed to prison for what prosecutors say was a senseless crime inspired by a video game.
Sunday, Jun 14
ESRB Wants App Store Rating Content Business... But What About Xbox Indie Games and Other Burning Questions
I asked the ESRB what it costs a developer/publisher to have a typical console game rated? Would the cost to rate an iPhone game be less? Mizrachi said: 3.) Isn't this a lot of extra work for ESRB? 5.) Who would pay for ESRB to rate App Store games?
Friday, Sep 26
Jack Thompson: Disbarment Time Line
April 10, 2007: In a harshly-worded ruling, U.S. District Court Judge James Brady declares Louisiana's video game law unconstitutional. Thompson, who wrote the legislation, has blamed Louisiana officials for its failure. September 26, 2007: U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan...
Monday, Sep 15
Report: Houser Bros. Loomed Large in Collapse of EA-T2 Deal
The main question mark is the status of Rockstar’s key talent [i.e., Dan and Sam Houser], with their contract due to expire in February 2009. On the other hand, should the Housers remain at Take-Two, the price of making future Grand Theft Auto games will go up...
Sunday, Sep 14
BREAKING: It's Over... EA Gives Up on Take-Two Acquisition
Grand Theft Auto V will not be releasing under the Electronic Arts brand. EA has just issued a press release announcing that it has decided not to continue its lengthy pursuit of Take-Two Interactive. UPDATE: Take-Two has issued a press release of its own, with chairman Strauss Zelnick (...
Thursday, Aug 14
Actually, It's Good News: 10% of GTA IV Buyers Under 17, Says Nielsen
GameDaily reports on data released by Nielsen which holds that 17% of Grand Theft Auto IV buyers were under 17. Why? The GTA IV numbers also look pretty good when stacked up against a new Dartmouth study which says that 48% of minors have been exposed to R-rated movies.
Tuesday, Aug 5
Gawker Goes Clueless on GTA Cabbie Murder
The incident makes GTA look like a mix of the worst elements of trashy media and crack cocaine. Rockstar, which makes the game, hasn't commented, but they'll have to do something serious. The day this happens in America is the day video game content regulation becomes a reality.
New Details on Bangkok GTA Case; Thai Press Blames "Games of Subversion"
The Family Network yesterday called on the Culture Ministry to ban the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) video game franchise after incidences of copycat violence by players. They are: Manhunt; Scarface; 50 Cent: Bulletproof; 300: The Video Game; The Godfather; Killer; Resident Evil 4; God of War...
Monday, Aug 4
Thai Site Offers Local Perspective on GTA Cabbie Murder
The killer's family is also poor but the teen had always been known as polite and very nice, even getting the dek dee (good child) award at school. The mother was a house maid and the father a security guard. The kid was alone a lot and the parents never really knew what he was doing all that time he...
Report: Thai Teen Robs, Kills Cabbie in Effort to Recreate Grand Theft Auto IV
A senior official at Thailand's Culture Ministry, which has been pursuing tougher regulation of violent games such as Grand Theft Auto, said the murder was a wake-up call for authorities, and urged parents to take note of what their children were playing.
Wednesday, Jul 23
TV News Retail Sting, Pt 2: GameStop Perfect; Wal-Mart & Circuit City Drop the Ball
Wal-Mart and Circuit City, however, did not fare as well. From the ABC-2 report:[The secret shopper] was also carded at the Circuit City in Towson, but employees at two of their other stores in Catonsville and Rosedale didn't even ask... The games he pocketed from those places were Prey and...
Monday, Jun 30
Grand Theft Childhood Authors Respond to U of Michigan Prof's Criticism
Dr. Bushman’s statement that video games directly reward violence is only partly accurate; anyone who actually plays video games knows that players are not always rewarded for acting violently, and in fact are often penalized immediately or later on (even in parts of Grand Theft Auto IV...
Saturday, Jun 28
If There's a GTA IV Controversy WITHOUT Jack Thompson, Does it Make a Sound?
GamePolitics reported on a pair of tempests involving Grand Theft Auto IV this week. Oops... The week's happenings - in particular their sizeable publicity potential - were not lost on GTA-hatin' attorney Jack Thompson, who has waded into both situations with press releases blazing.
Wednesday, Jun 25
NY Times Probes Legal Fees in Hot Coffee Class-action Settlement
The New York Times takes a look at the controversy surrounding legal fees sought by attorneys in the Hot Coffee class-action suit. Seth Lesser, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told the NYT he was disappointed that only 2,676 buyers of GTA San Andreas filed claims:
Tuesday, Jun 17
Take-Two Plays Hardball with the FTC
Attorneys for Take-Two have strongly disputed the FTC's contention that the Grand Theft Auto publisher is stonewalling the government agency's investigation into antitrust aspects of the potential EA merger (see: FTC Hauls Take-Two Into Court Over EA Takeover Bid).
Tuesday, May 20
Jack Thompson's GTA Vice City Lawsuit Tossed Out by New Mexico Appeals Court
A wrongful death suit which sought $600 million from PS2 manufacturer Sony and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City publisher Take-Two Interactive has been thrown out by a New Mexico appeals court. The 2006 suit, announced with some fanfare by Jack Thompson during a televised news conference,...
Sunday, May 11
Former Dukakis Campaign Manager Complains About Plot Elements in GTA IV (Spoiler Alert)
GP: In the celebrated film The Godfather, Sonny Corleone is gunned down at a toll booth. Michael Corleone’s first wife Appollonia, is blown up by a car bomb. The Godfather himself is badly wounded in an assassination attempt. And yet Michael carries on.
Friday, May 9
Podcast: Exclusive GP Interview: Congressman Talks Video Game Ratings, Video Game Rape, The Daily Show
Based on the timing of the new legislation, we asked Terry whether it was planned to coincide with the intense publicity surrounding the April 29th release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Terry, however, maintained that the timing was purely coincidental:
Some GTA IV Buyers Troubled by Bugs
Next Generation is reporting GTA IV glitches on the PlayStation 3 version. Hundreds of posts claim the £44.99 game does not work properly on the Sony PlayStation 3 console or on Microsoft’s Xbox 360. And a HMV stores spokesman said: “We have had people come back to us saying that their game ha...
Wednesday, May 7
In Wake of GTA IV Launch, Video Game Legislation Proposed in Congress
Variety reports that a new legislative attempt to regulate video game sales has been launched in Congress. Of the “Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act,” Rep. Terry said: By the way, GamePolitics challenges Rep. Terry to support his claim that rape is a feature in any commercial video game.
Tuesday, May 6
Miami-Dade Transit Officials Explain GTA IV Ad Ban Decision
The first resolution specifically condemned the “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” video game for its “hate-filled messages” and for appearing “to encourage or condone violence against ethnic minorities” and called on retailers to remove the game from their shelves. The other two condemn...
Thursday, May 1
Podcast: Jack Thompson on NPR: If You Blinked, You Missed It
UPDATE 2: Thompson found a more sympathetic ear on Glenn Beck’s CNNHL program, which I just caught. Can someone YouTube that? Of course, that nonsense about the military desentizing recruits with video games has been debunked before, but now Beck is parroting it.
Monday, Apr 21
In New Zealand: Investigation of GTA Mod’s Depiction of Kiwi Police Uniforms and Cars
Via: gtagaming A 17-year-old New Zealander is working on a Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mod which would recreate the US-based crime game in a New Zealand setting complete with recognizable Kiwi landmarks. But, as Stuff.co.nz reports, local police are concerned that Stacy O’Callaghan’s...
