In a research note circulated today, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicts that the current console cycle will not expire until 2013 at the earliest--and when the new games come, they will still be wrapped in a box.

Pachter's paints a picture where "ancillary revenues" drawn from digital distribution and console updates--such as a possible high-definition Wii, as well as Sony and Microsoft's motion controllers--will naturally delay the release of newer hardware.

But while Pachter sees an uptake in digital distribution, he expects a slow revolution, with downloads representing "less than 50 per cent of total game sales in ten years' time." The case of Grand Theft Auto IV's first digital expansion "The Lost and... Read more

Rockstar today announced "The Ballad of Gay Tony," the second expansion for the fabulous Grand Theft Auto IV.

"The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime," says Rockstar of the title.

"As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price."

The Xbox 360-exclusive DLC hits this fall for 1600 Microsoft Points ($20). As with first expansion, The Lost and Damned, Gay Tony will require Grand Theft Auto IV to run.

Also announced was Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, a disc-based bundle including both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. The package is priced at $40, and will not require users to own the original game.

The third patch for the PC release of Grand Theft Auto 4 is now available from FileShack.

Update 1.0.3 brings improved graphics and physics performance, greater user control over graphic settings, and the elimination of remapping restrictions for keyboard and mouse.

Full change notes follow ... Read more

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV (PC, PS3, 360) has sold nearly 13 million copies as of January 31, according to publisher Take-Two.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise made up nearly 40% of Take-Two's sales in its first quarter, which saw total sales revenue of $256 million on a $50 million loss.

Take-Two reiterated its plans to release the next Xbox 360-exclusive GTA IV DLC pack before October 31 of this year.

Rockstar's downloadable Grand Theft Auto IV expansion The Lost and Damned will break the 2 million download mark this year, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Patcher's estimates. "Take-Two released the first installment of DLC for GTA in mid-February, and we estimate that the game has been downloaded over 1 million times to date," said Patcher of the $20 expansion. "By year-end, we think that this figure will likely double, giving us greater confidence that Take-Two can achieve its full-year earnings guidance."

Patcher also expects the next full release of Grand Theft Auto series to outsell GTA 4 by up to 50 percent due to larger hardware install base. Grand Theft Auto IV boasted sales of $500 million just one week after hitting stores last year.

The release of Rockstar's biker-themed Grand Theft Auto IV expansion The Lost & Damned set a one-day Xbox Live revenue record, according to Microsoft.

No sales figures were released for the $20 downloadable expansion, which went live last week on February 17.

The first DLC pack for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Lost and Damned, is going live tomorrow morning at 2:00am PST. The game promises a solid chunk of gameplay, new multiplayer modes, and full-frontal male nudity.

To get you warmed up for the experience, here are a few minutes of humorous, well-edited GTA 4 clips, all produced by Shacker Crustar and friends using the PC port's video editor. Check out their YouTube page for more.

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As Rockstar prepares to release the first Xbox 360-only downloadable expansion for Grand Theft Auto IV, more information has surfaced on the new multiplayer modes.

UGO offers the following details on the modes that are exclusive to the expansion, which are accompanied by the expected Free Mode and Deathmatch play styles.

Requiring a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV to play, The Lost and Damned expansion hits the Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow, February 17, at the asking price of $20.

Witness Protection

One team is cops, the other team is bikers. One of the cops is in a bus and must drive to random spots in the city to drop off government witnesses, while the other cops drive... Read more

Accompanying yesterday's trailer, here are a few new screenshots from The Lost and Damned, the first of Rockstar's two Xbox 360-only Grand Theft Auto IV expansions.

Requiring a physical copy of Grand Theft Auto IV to play, The Lost and Damned will hit as a $20 Xbox Live Marketplace download next Tuesday, February 17. During its first six days of availability, Xbox 360 owners will be able to engage in online multiplayer for both Grand Theft Auto IV and The Lost and Damned without needing to pay for Xbox Live.

Rockstar today released a new trailer for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV DLC pack, The Lost and Damned. The video gives us the first glimpse of Niko, GTA IV's star, as he meets with The Lost and Damned's Johnny for the second time.

The Lost and Damned DLC hits Xbox 360 on February 17, next Tuesday, for the price of 1600 Microsoft Points ($20).

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

To commemorate the first downloadable expansion for Grand Theft Auto IV, Microsoft has announced that all Xbox Live members will be able to partake in Grand Theft Auto IV online multiplayer from 9 AM PST on February 17 to 11:59 PM PST on February 22.

Traditionally, Xbox Live multiplayer access is barred to those with free Silver accounts, restricted only to those that have paid for or redeemed a Gold-level membership.

Microsoft stressed that the promotion only applies to those playing Grand Theft Auto IV or the downlodable Lost and Damned expansion, which requires the GTA IV disc to play.

One of two promised Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable episodes for Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV, The Lost and Damned hits on February 17, priced at $20.

Rockstar's put out another trailer for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV DLC, The Lost and Damned. This one's about Johnny. He's a reactionary prick.

The Lost and Damned DLC hits Xbox 360 on February 17 for the price of 1600 Microsoft Points ($20).

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

A wealth of new screenshots from The Lost and Damned, Rockstar's $20 expansion for Grand Theft Auto IV, have surfaced, showing off more of the forthcoming biker antics.

Explosions? Check. Gunplay? Uh-huh. Sitting on a hog, drinking a beer at sunrise, and admiring the Liberty City skyline whilst reminiscing of better times? You know it.

The first of the two Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Lost and Damned hits the Xbox Live Marketplace on February 17.

While noting that the gaming industry is still in its infantile stage, Rockstar founder Dan Houser says he'll gladly deal with the growing pains in order to explore a new art form.

"I think the medium is still very young," said Houser to Telegraph. "It's not a baby, but it's still probably an infant. So everything is growing and evolving as we go along and we're still figuring out how to do stuff.

"Movies and TV and books have become so structured in the way they have to approach things. Not working in that environment gives us enormous freedom. I'd rather keep the freedom and not have the respect."

Houser co-founded Rockstar in 1998, going on to fame and fortune by way of the lucrative Grand Theft Auto series. The two recently signed a deal to remain with Rockstar through January 2012.

"There was a sense that in some way movies were a higher... Read more

Rockstar Games sends along a new patch for Grand Theft Auto 4, updating the PC release to version 1.2.

The 33MB update offers additional graphics customization options including "Water Quality", "Shadow Quality", and "Reflection Resolution", while also fixing more crash issues.

There's also the following for gamepad users: 'Direct input device support is now disabled by default and can only be enabled with the commandline: "-usedirectinput" '.

Full patch notes follow ... Read more

Rockstar has released a pair of new trailers featuring two characters from the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 4 DLC The Lost and Damned (X360).

First up is a look at Billy, the bearded character we've seen in numerous screenshots at this point.

Once again, The Lost and Damned will arrive February 17, for the price of 1600 Microsoft Points ($20).

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Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Click through to meet Malc. He's a big dog. ... Read more

Rockstar's released plenty of new screenshots for the upcoming biker-themed Grand Theft Auto IV DLC pack, The Lost and Damned.

The Xbox 360-exclusive DLC pack will hit Xbox Live Marketplace on February 17, for the price of 1600 Microsoft Points ($20).

Rockstar has confirmed that the first Xbox 360-exclusive DLC pack for Grand Theft Auto IV will run 1600 Microsoft Points ($20) on Xbox Live Marketplace. That price had previously been rumored by way of GameStop, which sold pre-orders for DLC voucher codes.

The downloadable expansion, said to include around 10 hours of biker-themed gameplay, is expected to be released on February 17.

There is "no truth" to the recent reports that a full Grand Theft Auto sequel could be released by late 2009, series developer and publisher Rockstar told Kotaku.

The rumor first popped up in gaming magazine Game Informer, which claimed that the alleged sequel would be a full retail game--not just a collection of DLC--and could sport a subtitle, such as Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo, instead of jumping to Grand Theft Auto 5.

However, 2009 will not be devoid of new Grand Theft Auto. The franchises' first Ninteno DS release, Chinatown Wars, arrives on March 17, while the first of two Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable episodes for Grand Theft Auto 4 hits February 17.

File this one under "unlikely," but Game Informer is apparently reporting in its latest issue that a full Grand Theft Auto sequel could be released by late 2009.

"We're not talking about new DLC or a collection of previously available DLC, we're talking about a full retail game," wrote Game Informer in its "Loose Talk" column, according to PSU.

"We expect this title to follow the suit of previous GTAs and use a subtitle such as GTA: San Andreas, etc. Tokyo might be a possible setting for the game, but details are non-existent at this time."

While the speed of the release would not be unprecedented--Vice City was released roughly one year after Grand Theft Auto III--Rockstar is already planning to release two significant DLC expansions for Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360 this year, which could be overshadowed by a full sequel.