A new Grand Theft Auto 4 patch released for PC today, which GTAForums.com users report silently adds support for achievements from 'The Lost And Damned,' the downloadable content which has so far been exclusive to the Xbox 360 version.

The six Games for Windows Live achievements reportedly arriving in this latest patch correspond to the Xbox Live achievements added by The Lost and Damned, which hit Xbox 360 in February with a tale of Liberty City motorcycle gang The Lost.

Microsoft paid Rockstar $50 million in 2007 for exclusivity on two DLC packs, and declared its Xbox 360 "the only console where you can get the complete Grand Theft Auto IV experience" at a time when the PC version had yet to be announced.

Shacknews has contacted Rockstar for comment. The 98MB patch can be downloaded from FileShack, with its list of changes following below... Read more

A small advertisement tucked away in the back of the manual for the just-released Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City has some believing that developer Rockstar is teasing a new entry in the open-world crime series.

"Liberty City, It's Over!" declares the ad, which features artwork from Grand Theft Auto IV. "Opens March Everywhere," adds near-microscopic text near the bottom. While past entries have explored other locales, IV was set in the New York-inspired Liberty City.

It's also possible the image is just Rockstar having a laugh... Read more

With Grand Theft Auto IV's downloadable "Ballad of Gay Tony" expansion hitting Xbox 360 tomorrow, developer Rockstar wants you to meet new protagonist Luis Lopez.

"Gay Tony" will be available as a 1600 MS Point ($20) download for those that own Grand Theft Auto IV. It will also be on the Xbox 360-only "Episodes From Liberty City" disc, where it's playable without a copy of GTA4. Both disc and download are due tomorrow.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Anime is the latest target for a piss-take on Grand Theft Auto 4's in-game television sets in the form of the positively horrendous Princess Bubblegum Robot, as part of its downloadable content 'The Ballad of Gay Tony.' Caution: contains cartoon cleavage.

The Xbox 360-exclusive DLC hits the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 29, priced at $20 (1600 Microsoft Points). A $40 retail standalone double-pack containing both 'The Ballad of Gay Tony' and previous DLC 'The Lost and Damned' will also arrive on that date.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Even the virtual world of Grand Theft Auto IV isn't safe from the trappings of celebrity gossip, as evidenced by this latest trailer for the game's "Gay Tony" expansion.

An Xbox 360 exclusive, "The Ballad of Gay Tony" arrives October 29 as a 1600 Microsoft Point ($20) download for those that already own Grand Theft Auto IV. It will also be released separately as part of the "Episodes From Liberty City" disc due that day.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Rockstar tonight dropped another five shots from the next episode in the Grand Theft Auto 4 saga, The Ballad of Gay Tony.

October 29 brings both the $20 Gay Tony digital download and the stand-alone "Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City" retail compilation pack to Xbox 360.

With October's end drawing ever closer, Rockstar has released a new trailer for its upcoming Xbox 360-exclusive release "Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City."

The standalone retail disc bundling the two Xbox 360-only Grand Theft Auto IV expansions, "The Lost and Damned" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony," hits October 29--the same day "Gay Tony" arrives as a $20 download for Grand Theft Auto IV owners.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Several new games will soon be added to the Xbox 360 Platinum Hits lineup, Microsoft announced tonight.

Left 4 Dead, Grand Theft Auto 4, Street Fighter 4, Saints Row 2 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will all soon be branded with the Platinum moniker and appropriately discounted.

No updated pricing information was included in the release, with Microsoft only saying the games will be available for "as low as $19.99."

Retailers will also be running a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" promotion on Platinum Hits games through October 31.

Rockstar has released some new media for the Grand Theft Auto 4 downloadable episode The Ballad of Gay Tony.

First up is a trailer for Episodes from Liberty City, the retail disc containing both Gay Tony and the previous episode, Lost and the Damned. The video introduces the Gay Tony characters of Armando Torres and Henrique Bardas.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Following that, we've got a full list of the new vehicles included in Gay Tony, along with a few shots of the crafts:... Read more

The latest trailer for "The Ballad of Gay Tony," Rockstar's second and final Xbox 360-exclusive Grand Theft Auto IV add-on, introduces us to Yusuf Amir.

Coming October 29, the expansion will be available as a $20 download for Grand Theft Auto IV owners, and as part of the $40 standalone "Episodes from Liberty City" disc.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Another new trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV's impending "Gay Tony" expansion hit today, with this video exploring the add-on's new weapons (advanced sniper rifles, sticky bombs, exploding bullets) and rocket-equipped helicopter via a mock news report.

An Xbox 360 exclusive, "The Ballad of Gay Tony" hits October 29 in two forms--a $20 download that requires a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, and as part of the $40 Episodes From Liberty City disc that also packs the first expansion and doesn't require GTAIV.

What do we really know about the mysterious Gay Tony, other than what his name implies? Not a whole lot. This trailer introduces us to the eccentric character, star of the upcoming GTA 4 DLC, "The Ballad of Gay Tony."

The expansion his October 29 as a $20 Xbox 360 download, or as part of the $40 GTA: Episodes From Liberty City stand-alone disc.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Providing a glimpse into the second and final Grand Theft Auto 4 expansion for Xbox 360, developer Rockstar has released the first trailer featuring "The Ballad of Gay Tony."

Due October 29, the expansion sees players working alongside "nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka 'Gay Tony')." It will be available to Xbox 360 owners as a $20 download (provided they already have Grand Theft Auto 4), or as part of the $40 GTA: Episodes From Liberty City disc that hits retail the same day and does not require a copy of GTA4.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

The first screenshots of Grand Theft Auto 4's 'The Ballad of Gay Tony' downloadable content have been released, sent by Rockstar to fansites including GTA4.net.

Stepping into the shoes of 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." With helicopter gunships.

The Ballad of Gay Tony will be released October 29 for download on Xbox 360 at $20. Arriving the same day is 'Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City,' a $40 retail disc with standalone versions of Gay Tony and previous DLC 'The Lost and the Damned.'

Rockstar today announced that The Ballad of Gay Tony, the next episodic content release for Grand Theft Auto IV, will launch worldwide on October 29 according to developer Rockstar.

The downloadable content will sell for $20. A retail disc that compiles both episodes--dubbed "Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City"--will sell for $40 on the same day, and will not require the original Grand Theft Auto IV to play.

Rockstar also released the first promotional desktop image for Gay Tony, viewable above.

The Ballad of Gay Tony puts players in the role of Luis Lopez, an assistant to "legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka 'Gay Tony')." The chapter will depict the challenges of "competing loyalties of family and friends" and the "uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price."

The Entertainment Software Association has filed a suit against the Chicago Transit Authority, claiming that CTA's new policy to not display advertisements for mature-rated games violates free speech and threatens the "creative freedoms of our industry."

The controversy began last year, when the media began questioning why the Chicago Transit Authority was carrying advertisements for Grand Theft Auto IV in the wake of then-recent violent events, though the ads themselves weren't violent in any way.

Shortly after, the Chicago Transit Authority pulled the advertisements, and, after a lawsuit, reinstated the ads while noting that it would no longer carry ads for... Read more

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.