As promised last week, Final Fantasy V is also available free for Plus members, as are discounts on Rayman: Origins, Splinter Cell, and SEGA Megadrive games.

There’s also a House of the Dead 3 demo coming, and on the US end, full game trials of GTA IV, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Tom Clancy’S H.A.W.X 2, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

The full update for both regions are posted below.

February PS Plus Update – Europe

From February 1

• The Simpsons Arcade – 100% off
• Final Fantasy V (PSone Classic) – 100% off
• Hungry Giraffe (minis) – 100% off
• Farm Frenzy (minis) – 100% off
• Sonic Adventure – 50% off
• Sonic Adventure DX Upgrade – 100% off
• Rayman: Origins – 50% off until 08/02/12
• Jellybeans Dynamic Theme – 100% off
• Skulls Dynamic Theme – 100% off
• Rayman: Origins Globox Toe-Grab Avatar – 100% off
• Rayman: Origins Darktoon Avatar – 100% off
• Rayman: Origins Baby Dragon Avatar – 100% off

Second Chance Offer - SEGA Megadrive Classics – You save £24.00/€30.00

• Sonic the Hedgehog – 100% off
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – 100% off
• Golden Axe – 100% off
• Streets of Rage 2 – 100% off
• Altered Beast – 100% off
• Comix Zone – 100% off

Coming Later this month

• Far Cry 2 – 100% off for one week
• Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment – 75% off
• House of the Dead 3 (Move) – 30% off for two weeks
• Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory – 50% off for one week

February PS Plus Update – North America

• Far Cry 2 – 2/14 (V-Day Special One Week Offer)
• The Simpsons Arcade Game – 2/7
• Sega Genesis Bundle – 2/21: Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Golden Axe, Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage 2
• Battle Fantasia – 2/14
• Fatal Inertia – 2/14
• Hamsterball – 2/14
• Inferno Pool – 2/7
• Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom – 2/14
• Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars – 2/14
• minis: Hungry Giraffe – 2/7
• Gold Medalist – 2/7

PS one Classics: Final Fantasy V – 2/7

Full Game Trials

• Grand Theft Auto IV – 2/14
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution – 2/21
• Tom Clancy’S H.A.W.X 2 -2/21
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 -2/28

Early Access Demo: The House Of The Dead III Exclusive Playstation Plus Demo – 2/7

Media: Qore Episode 44 – February – 2/7

Avatars and Themes

• The House of the Dead 3 Dynamic Theme
• Start The Party 2 Dynamic Theme – 2/21
• The House Of The Dead III – Agent G Avatar
• The House Of The Dead III – Lisa Avatar
• The House Of The Dead III – Z1 Avatar

PSN Games

• Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition (Bundle) – 2/14 (PS+ Price: $23.99)
• The House of the Dead III – 30% off
• Crazy Taxi & SEGA Rally Arcade – Drive Me Crazy Bundle – 20% off – 2/21 (PS+ Price $9.59)
• Sonic Rivals 1 – 25% off – 2/21 (PS+ Price $5.99)
• Sonic Rivals 2 – 25% off – 2/21 (PS+ Price $5.99)
• Sar – Search and Rescue Mini – 20% off – 2/21 (PS+ Price $TBD)
• Hamilton’s Great Adventure – 50% off Sale Price – 2/21 (PS+ Price $2.50

The arrival of my PC has enabled me to broaden my gaming – personally and professionally – in a way I haven’t experienced since I bought my first non-PlayStation console, an Xbox 360, in 2006.

While I’ve been gaming since I was a wee wain, I’ve only used consoles. I got a PSone for Christmas 15 years ago this year; I was six. Up to that point, I shared a Master System, SNES and GameBoy with others.

And while I’ve owned new hardware since then, I’ve never had a gaming PC. Sure, there was a computer in my parents house, but it was never “enabled”. PC gaming was unheard in the Cullen household.

All this changed last week, though. After three years of working for VG247, I bought a gaming PC to sit alongside my PS3, 360, Wii, Vita and 3DS.

The specs are in the box-out; it runs like a dream. It cost £830. I picked up copies of Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic before I bought it. While I’ve yet to try Battlefield 3 as of writing this piece – thanks, Origin! – I can run Skyrim at the highest setting with no problems or glitches. It looks stunning.

Then there’s the older stuff I’m playing in a completely new way. Case in point: I first played Half-Life 2 back in 2007 as part of The Orange Box for Xbox 360. And while I love it, it was always in 30FPS with a console controller.

To play it in 60FPS with keyboard and mouse on a HDTV is a godsend. It’s unbelievable.

On top of that there’s Steam. It’s changed the way I give and receive. I’ve had games gifted to me since I bought my PC. Nathan gave me S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and its expansion as part of an internal Secret Santa thing; Brenna gave me Audiosurf for my birthday; and Alex gifted me Cthulhu Saves the World, Breath of Death VII and VVVVVV.

I did already own some Steam games – such as The Orange Box, bought when I got a decent Windows laptop a few years back; Left 4 Dead and the sequel in the hope it might run on my Macbook (it does, barely); Portal 2 from when I picked up the PS3 version; and Torchlight, the only game I’ve found that works on my Mac without any issues – but now I finally understand what all the fuss is about.

The arrival of my PC has enabled me to broaden my gaming – personally and professionally – in a way I haven’t experienced since I bought my first non-PlayStation console, an Xbox 360, in 2006.

Dark side

It’s also introduced me to a genre I’ve never touched before: MMOs.

I’ve always had a keen eye on MMOs, but I haven’t touched them on console because I can’t be bothered waiting 200 million hours for a client download and all the updates known to man. Even with its F2P status, would I honestly see myself wait for DC Universe Online on PS3 to install itself, download updates and then get myself signed up? You figure out the answer to that one.

Star Wars: The Old Republic on my super-PC is different. There isn’t too much hassle besides installing the client through the retail copy and downloading the two most recent updates. It took 10-20 minutes. All set to go.

Except, and this is where I discovered one of the harsh realities of PC gaming, I still need to use some sort of payment – credit or debit card, or pre-pay – before I can play it. So much for those free 30 days.

After popping into GAME and getting 60 days playtime, I’m now set for 90 days of MMO action. BioWare’s storytelling in this is brilliant, which is probably going to go a long way in my justification of triple-dipping Mass Effect 3 come March.

I’ve been bitten by the MMO bug, thanks to owning a PC. Now I’m really keen on other upcoming MMOs, particularly The Secret World from Funcom and NCSoft’s Guild Wars 2.

The Star Wars playtime thing, in hindsight, was just an inconvenience. My second ‘harsh reality’ is one gamers get very upset about. I didn’t really understand the fuss about DRM until last week.

On Saturday, when I picked up my SWTOR playtime, I also picked up a Games for Windows Live copy of Grand Theft Auto IV. I thought I may as well give one of my favourite games this console generation a spin on PC.

The PC version’s notoriously awkward. An install attempt went successfully, but when it came to verifying the game things got hairy.

I was told my serial was invalid. Even using Rockstar support guides resulted in fruitless results. After two hours of re-inputting, I gave up.

So I bought it again, this time on Steam. I try to play: Rockstar Social Club, needed if you wanted to play online. Rockstar’s since removed it in order to make it easier to play the game as part of update 1.08. I didn’t realise this until after my computer decided to say that GTA IV “had stopped working” and that Windows was working on a fix. This maybe more of a computer issue than a Rockstar thing, but still; I can’t play it.

Pleas on Twitter and Facebook didn’t go unheard, so I’m going to try some advice today.

Making the jump

Besides not being to actually play a game I bought twice, though, my rebirth as a PC gamer has been more than a pleasant experience.

Console will always be a big part of my life. I’m not going to get Uncharted, Mario or Zelda on my PC. And there’ll be some things I’ll keep playing on console, regardless of a PC release, for nostalgia’s sake; F1, FIFA and plenty of others.

But. There’s a “but” to all of this, and it’s a big one. We’ve already noted it here, but it’s worth reiterating. An increasingly large section of the core market is drifting towards PC gaming as a result of the extended hardware cycle of Xbox 360 and PS3.

For the early-adopting gamer, this console generation is running on fumes. Yes, Wii U will be out by the end of this year, but we’re still likely at least two years away from any new tech from Microsoft, and probably longer for Sony.

A good indication of the trend can be seen in a couple of pertinent software examples.

Exhibit A: despite being announced as a PC and Xbox 360 exclusive, Alan Wake initially launched on console, with the PC version canned. Since then, Remedy’s said the PC version will be self-published with Steamworks support in early 2012 alongside American Nightmare on Xbox Live Arcade.

And then there’s Exhibit B. While nothing’s been confirmed or announced, a petition to bring the Namco-published From Software superhardballs console RPG Dark Souls to PC has seen 65,000 signatures.

If this does get the greenlight, everybody’s a winner. Namco will have nothing to lose after seeing the great reception the game got at release, critically and saleswise with 1.5 million units shipped, on PS3 and 360 last October. The console lot will have had a timed exclusivity period, and PC owners who’ve been clammoring for it will finally have their wish.

The question is this: has Sony and Microsoft sat on hardware for too long? That may well be the case. PC gaming is accelerating. I don’t see any slowing.

I, for one, welcome our new PC overlords.

Rare and BigPark’s Midnight Mountain Ski Pack for Kinect Sports: Season Two is also available today for 400 MSP.

There’s also an update available for Gears of War 3, along with discounts on: Dungeon Defenders (33% off), Orcs Must Die! (50% off), South Park: Lets’s Go Tower Defense Play! (50% off), and Defense Grid: The Awakening (50% off).

Upcoming game add-ons for the month include the Fenix Rising Map Pack for Gears 3, Genkibowl VII for Saints Row: The Third, and a new deck expansion for Magic the Gathering 2012.

You can also expect discounts on Grand Theft Auto IV add-ons and San Andreas next week.

The full list of content can be found through the link as well as below.

Let’s be honest, here: for many of you, your first experience of Grand Theft Auto was an underage one. It was for me.

GTA III was my first experience at 11 years old. And it was amazing, roaming about this big city doing whatever the hell I wanted. Driving tanks, flying Dodos, killing people at will. That was what defined GTA, for better or worse. That’s why it became the poster child for violent games at the Daily Mail.

But it wasn’t just GTA that showed Rockstar’s edgy side. State of Emergency was incredibly violent, and Manhunt was a perfect example of gaming torture pornography. The title of Bully (or Canis Canem Edit, as it was known here in the UK) speaks for itself.

It was from some of that notoriety that Rockstar got itself into hot water: headlines screamed about underage children playing GTA, death by Manhunt, a video game that actually lets you become a Bully (in fact, it didn’t). It was GTA that defined Florida-based lawyer Jack Thompson’s crusade against violent videogames, beginning with the Ohio case of Dustin Lynch in 2003.

And to this day, the Daily Mail launches the odd crusade against Rockstar – although Call of Duty is its new favourite whipping boy.

Things will be different

While Rockstar appeared to relish in courting controversy in the last generation, though, we’ve seen take a new direction in this hardware cycle.

Everyone was expecting a bombshell debut for PS360, but instead got Table Tennis from Rockstar’s San Diego studio in May 2006, just before GTA IV was announced at E3.

It was a smart sports game, but way outside Rockstar’s norm. To give credit, it did well critically and released at a cheaper RRP than most titles at that time. It stands at 81% on Metacritic five years after its release. A Wii version released a year later. At that time, it was a Rockstar culture shock. We were expecting violence, tits and tanks – not ping-pong.

The crusade looks set to continue in 2012, beginning with Max Payne 3 in March. Ironically, it seems more macho-action-packed than anything the company has put out in the past five years. While it isn’t in the hands of Remedy with a story crafted by Sam Lake – although the Finnish developer is consulting on it – Rockstar Vancouver has apparently created something insiders are promising will be “massive”.

It would be a year-and-a-half before Rockstar would appear again on the new hardware. Bully came to Xbox 360 and Wii with a Scholarship Edition, but nothing particularly new was added over the PS2 version besides HD graphics and Achievements. It was still the same game it was two years beforehand.

But months after its release, in April 2008, we finally got to see what Rockstar was capable of: Grand Theft Auto IV released. Telling the story of an Eastern European immigrant with a dark past, the game represented a more serious tone than Vice City or San Andreas. There were no tanks, no planes, no parachuting, no making the protagonist fat.

Instead, there was the world of Liberty City. You had a social life, a sex life, and everything in-between. Niko showed a new side to Rockstar. He is one of the most-liked, best-rounded leads in the series. He had a charm never present in games past, something that Johnny and Luis couldn’t muster in the DLC.

If GTA in the PS2 era showed Rockstar as the edgy leader of game development, GTA IV showed it could do a mature story. No, there wasn’t any crazy, but the brand alone has sold-in 22 million units as of September this year. Rockstar managed the hardware transition by deepening its flagship IP alongside the new tech.

After the release of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, we got the two DLC episodes for GTA IV. The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony opened the door just a crack in bringing the fun and over-the-top stuff of past GTAs into GTA IV. But, good as they were, the stupidness was nowhere near comparable to, say, Vice City or San Andreas.

Far Away

GTA isn’t the only game this generation that demonstrates Rockstar’s bid to be taken seriously: Red Dead Redemption ably shows how much the Housers have matured in the past five years. It was announced in 2009, nearly a year after GTA IV released and the first of three Rockstar announcements that year with Agent and Max Payne 3, but it would be another year before we got to see how Rockstar San Diego would follow Red Dead Revolver.

No one expected the result. While Revolver was a plain old action title, Redemption, released in May 2010, was an open-world effort that went past anything previously achieved.

Red Dead Redemption was a run away success, shipping 12.5 million units as of September this year. The ambition, the scope of the world, the ambiance and depth of storytelling captured a boatload of Game of the Year awards, and with good reason. You’d be pretty hard-bitten to not admit crossing over to Mexico with Jose Gonzalez’s Far Away playing in the background is one of the finest moments in modern gaming.

While Redemption was “gown-up,” however, Rockstar slotted itself into a pattern with the optional extras, continuing down another route other than mature storytelling: Undead Nightmare released five months after the main game, allowing Marston to deal with zombies.

The case that makes you, the case that breaks you

LA Noire further strengthened Rockstar’s position as a “serious” games company. All was quiet on the Team Bondi project from its announcement in 2006. No one knew a thing other than it was set in 1940s Los Angeles. As we started to learn more of the crime thriller, it was obvious its incredible facial technology, known as MotionScan, would define the game.

LA Noire eventually released in May this year, a year after RDR’s launch. It was a critical darling, scoring 89% on Metacritic. It would also become the biggest-selling new IP in the UK ever at launch.

While the situation at Team Bondi itself turned sour quickly after LA Noire released, the game concreted Rockstar’s switch from a “murder simulation” company to one focusing on maturity, bleeding edge technology and plot, even if LA Noire was made externally.

The transformation is complete. Creative bosses Dan Houser and Leslie Benzies, as well as president Sam Houser, have formed a unique take on modern triple-A, a serious interpretation of contemporary mass market success for the current generation.

The crusade looks set to continue in 2012, beginning with Max Payne 3 in March. Ironically, it seems more macho-action-packed than anything the company has put out in the past five years. While it isn’t in the hands of Remedy with a story crafted by Sam Lake – although the Finnish developer is consulting on it – Rockstar Vancouver has apparently created something insiders are promising will be “massive”.

And then there’s Grand Theft Auto V. It’s obvious Rockstar North is continuing down the road of character-driven storytelling, even after one trailer, with themes of recession and immigration being forefront to what we’ve seen so far.

And we’re missing one more title. We’ve seen a logo, but nothing more: we still have Agent. We know it’s in the 1970s and we know it’s set in the Cold War. It’s also still (apparently) a PS3 exclusive. That’s it.

Will it be the best Cold War-themed game ever? Probably. It’s time we saw a full, proper CW-based game take the mantle from MGS3. Will it define a genre, expand video gaming as a whole and reach for a storytelling level most other triple-A publishers can only ever aspire?

Knowing Rockstar, it can do it. It’s a mature company after all.

Thanks, Craig.

Strauss Zelnick, head honcho at Take-Two was speaking at the annual ThinkEquity Growth conference, reports IndustryGamers, when he mentioned that the GTA franchise has shipped more than 114 million units to date. Of that, 22 million were GTA IV.

Other Take-Two franchises selling like proverbially warm baked goods: Red Dead Redemption at 12.5m, Midnight Club at 18.5, Civilization at 11, Bioshock at 9, and Max Payne at 7.5 – half a million behind Carnival Games.

Languishing somewhere near the bottom of the charts however is The Darkness, with a mere 1 million units moved. Here’s hoping the upcoming sequel gives those figures a kick in the pants.

• Kotaku spotted this “brief” History of Western Action RPGs. More like “exhaustive”.
• Once upon a time there was (almost) a zombie game called Gunhero. You can look at its remains.
• The interactive Liberty City map now features street view. GTA IV is nearly redundant.
• The first Zelda game was supposed to support Nintendo’s Zapper gun. How about that.
• Nvidia’s put out a pair of $99 stereoscopic 3D glasses – the catch is, they’re wired.
• Nvidia’s also got a new mobile chipset which could double the power of gaming laptops.
• Australian consumer group CHOICE has pointed out how unfair local games pricing is. Here’s hoping the government and retailers are listening.
• Part two of the origin story of the PS Move Sharpshooter is out.
• 2 Player Productions is a making a film about Minecraft, and wants your stories.
• Speaking of ye olde Craft of Mines, someone’s made a creeper plushie. Just… euuugghh.
• Sadly, Keiji Inafune does not have a new PS3 game coming out this month, as previously reported. He meant Hyperdimension Neptunia mk II, in which he appears as a weapon.
• More details of Windows Phone 7′s “Mango” update have emerged, including more stuff to do with your Live Avatar.
• Michael pachter’s Xbox Live account has apparently been hacked. Make your passwords hard, be wary of phishing.
• Spike TV’s Geoff Keighley snapped a picture of this year’s giant E3 billboard going up – it’s Skyrim. Apparently.

Today’s unrelated street art.

The full season calendar has been posted as usual to the Rockstar newswire, highlighting a number of addendums to the existing schedule.

The missed April 28 Grand Theft Auto IV event has been shuffled down to May 25, while a Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare session due on May 6 has been pushed back to May 26.

On the Xbox 360 side, a Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare event scheduled for May 26 has been moved forward to May 6 to fill the gap.

After this bit of shuffling, its business as normal, with developer play sessions and increased XP events rolling out regularly. Hit the link above for full details.

As promised last week, select 2K and Rockstar games and add-ons have gone one sale through Xbox Live.

From now until January 31, you can get the following for up to 50 percent off:

Borderlands

• Zombie Island of Dr Ned Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• New Revolution Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Secret Armory Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Underdome Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Bandit Mask Regular Price: 160 Sale: 80 Save: 50 percent
• Moxxi Hat Regular Price: 160 Sale: 80 Save: 50 percent

BioShock 2

• Minerva’s Den Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Sinclair Solutions Regular Price: 400 Sale: 200 Save: 50 percent
• Rapture Metro Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Protector Trials Regular Price: 400 Sale: 200 Save: 50 percent
• Prototype Big Daddy Outfit M Regular Price: 320 Sale: 160 Save: 50 percent
• Prototype Big Daddy Outfit F Regular Price: 320 Sale: 160 Save: 50 percent
• Big Sister Helmet Regular Price: 160 Sale: 80 Save: 50 percent

Mafia II

• Jimmy’s Vendetta Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Joe’s Adventure Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Fedora Regular Price: 160 Sale: 80 Save: 50 percent
• Vito’s Outfit M Regular Price: 240 Sale: 120 Save: 50 percent
• Vito’s Outfit F Price: 240 Sale: 120 Save: 50 percent

NBA 2K11

• NBA 2K11 Slam Dunk Regular Price: 240 Sale: 120 Save: 50 percent
• Los Angeles Lakers NBA Jersey M Regular Price: 240 Sale: 120 Save: 50 percent
• Los Angeles Lakers NBA Jersey F Price: 240 Sale: 120 Save: 50 percent
• Boston Celtics NBA Jersey M Regular Price: 240 Sale: 120 Save: 50 percent
• Boston Celtics NBA Jersey F Regular Price: 240 Sale: 120 Save: 50 percent

GTA IV

• The Lost and Damned Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• The Ballad of Gay Tony Regular Price: 1600 Sale: 800 Save: 50 percent

Red Dead Redemption

• Undead Nightmare Collection Regular Price: 1600 Sale: 1000 Save: 38 percent
• Undead Nightmare Pack Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Legends & Killers Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Liars & Cheats Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Armadillo Undead Outfit M Regular Price: 320 Sale: 160 Save: 50 percent
• Armadillo Undead Outfit F Regular Price: 320 Sale: 160 Save: 50 percent
• Lasso Regular Price: 240 Sale: 120 Save: 50 percent

Other Titles

• Midnight Club LA South Central Ultimate Content Pack Regular Price: 1000 Sale: 500 Save: 50 percent
• GTA San Andreas Regular Price: 1200 Sale: 600 Save: 50 percent
• Max Payne Regular Price: 1200 Sale: 600 Save: 50 percent
• Max Payne 2 Regular Price: 1200 Sale: 600 Save: 50 percent
• Axel & Pixel Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom Regular Price: 800 Sale: 400 Save: 50 percent
• Sid Meier’s Pirates! Regular Price: 1200 Sale: 600 Save: 50 percent

Mathieu Weschler has worked for two years to create a full-length feature film, The Trashmaster, in GTA IV. Watch all 1.5 hours of it below.

The plot’s about a rogue binman and his hatred of human trash. It features people dying and policemen standing around looking serious.

There’s voice acting, and everything. And plenty of trash. Marvel at it now.

Thanks, Joystiq.

The trashmaster (nouvelle version nouvelle voix-off !)
envoyé par murakawa. – Plus de jeux vidéo !

And it’ll be another whopper, reckons the Janco analyst.

Janco Partners’ Mike Hickey believes it’s “likely” Take-Two will ship the next GTA in its financial 2012, which runs from April 2012-March 2013.

GTA V, or whatever it’s called, could sell 16 million copies and generate $750 million, he added.

The next in the series is rumoured to be set in Hollywood.

BioShock Infinite should release in the same 12 months, Hickey said, as reported by Gamespot, and sell around 4 million units.

Hickey believes Take-Two’s fiscal 2011 will be propped up by LA Noire and Max Payne 3. The two games are likely to be partnered by Duke Nukem Forever.

GTA IV released in April 2008. It was announced in March this year that the game had sold 15 million units globally.

If you live in North American, you may now run out and purchase the Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition at your local shop.

The standalone disc bundles the main game, with Episodes From Liberty City’s The Lost and Damned along with Ballad of Gay Tony.

“Each story in the Grand Theft Auto IV trilogy brought new perspectives and new gameplay to the amazing world of Liberty City,” said Rockstar founder Sam Houser. “We’re happy to bring these three experiences together for the first time in one complete package.”

The Complete Edition also contains new cover art, along with a collectible map and poster for both PS3 and Xbox 360.

It will run you $39.99, and is expected to hit Europe on October 29 for £34.99/€49.99.

Honestly. Who hasn’t played this yet? Really?

Amazon’s listed a “Complete Edition” of Grand Theft Auto IV for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, two years after the main game released.

The collection will feature the full GTA IV, as well as its two subsequent DLC episodes The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.

There’s no PC version mentioned, though. We’ll email Rockstar.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition releases on October 26, according to the retailer.

Thanks, Kotaku.

GTA IV has now sold more than 17 million units worldwide, Take-Two said in its Q2 earnings release today.

The game was released in April 2008 for PS3 and 360. Sales for the two versions weren’t split out.

All of GTA IV’s DLC has now released for both 360 and PS3.

All eyes will be on E3 in LA next week for as GTA V reveal, although hopes for a look at the giant IP’s next instalment were apparently dashed last week when Rockstar said it would have no “presence” at the show.

Want Grand Theft Auto in its entirety? On your computer? With all the DLC? Now you can for less money.

Steam’s offering a Rockstar Collection this week for $42.49 (or €42,49), a big saving over the $169.90 (or €169.90) value of all the contained games combined.

You’ll get 13 titles for your money, including Bully: Scholarship Edition, Manhunt, Max Payne, Midnight Club 2, and every Grand Theft Auto, including The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.

What’s not to like? Get to it. Via Joystiq and BigDownload.

Rockstar has revealed that GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City will be delayed into April.

Originally slated for March, blame it on SCEE, apparently, because according to Rockstar, Sony wanted it to edit some of the content in media bits of the game.

“Due to a last minute game submission request from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to edit some of the in-game Liberty City radio station, television, and internet content – we are forced to delay the worldwide release of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City for both PlayStation 3 and PC for an extra two weeks,” wrote Rockstar on its blog.

“The new release date for Episodes from Liberty City – and the two downloadable episodes The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony – on those platforms is now April 13th in North America and April 16th in Europe.

“This new date will enable us to rectify these changes for Sony Europe, and still allow for a level playing field for all of the Grand Theft Auto fans that have been waiting patiently for this release. In the meantime, we’re moving full speed ahead towards the new game release date. On that note – please be aware that the Grand Theft Auto IV PlayStation 3 leaderboards at Rockstar Games Social Club will be down for maintenance for one week starting March 22nd as we work on their re-launch in support of Episodes from Liberty City.

“Unfortunately, with each round of changes comes fully re-testing the game and a full re-submission to PlayStation. This is the nature of the game submission process. Believe us, if we could expedite the turnaround any sooner – we would. We are dying to get this game in the hands of fans who’ve waited for it for so long in the first place.

“This was a tough decision but with a simultaneous release, everyone can experience multiplayer simultaneously, take part in online events together, be on level ground on leaderboards, etc.”

So there you have it. April 13 in North America, and April 16 in Europe.

Thanks, D’toid.

GTA IV may be simply too large to succesfully carry DLC, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter’s told VG247, as the majority of owners never actually finish the main game.

Pachter was talking in response to comments made earlier by AmTech analyst Ben Schachter (via Industrygamers and Joystiq), who expressed “concern” about the state of the GTA franchise in general thanks to The Lost and Damned, Gay Tony and other related games failing to match expectation.

“Ben’s right that the DLC disappointed, but I suspect that the reason is that GTA games are so massive that a substantial majority of the GTA audience hasn’t finished the core game, so they don’t feel especially compelled to buy the DLC,” Pachter said.

“GTA IV was at least a 50 hour game (for me, probably more like 100 hours), in contrast to the typical Call of Duty, which is a 6-10 hour game. Almost anyone who bought CoD finished it, and if they liked it (that’s a high percentage), they were interested in DLC. On the other hand, my guess is that fewer than 20% of GTA owners finished the game (100% of VG247 readers, of course), so fewer were interested in DLC.

“I think that is a fair assessment, and don’t think that the slow pace of DLC sales reflects poor performance for the franchise.”

They’re watching, kids. And they know you’re hardcore. No further GTA games are public at this point.

Grand Theft Auto titles do not need to be annualized said Take-Two during its Q4 fiscal call to investors.

According to Take-Two, GTA is a strong enough franchise that it does not need a new release annually, especially with the completion of the GTA IV story through DLC proving to remain profitable.

Guess GTA V will be landing sometime in 2011, then.

The call is ongoing, we’re listening, and will update you if anything interesting happens.

Looks like The Lost and Damned may be heading to PC if an Achievements page over on GTA4.net is to be believed.

Shown through the link there, is a screen grab of the Achievements listed for GFWL.

The Lost and Damned is only available on Xbox 360 as per an agreement with Rockstar, for the present at any rate.

We’ll sent a mail over and see if anyone bites, but if it is a surprise or a secret, don’t expect more than the canned “no comment” response.

Via CVG.

Rockstar’s Imran Sarwar has said that GTA IV’s downloadable episodes were “part of the plan from the beginning”, and Niko’s story was designed to “make him feel like a small part of a much larger world.”

“Even at the end of [Niko's] story, he’s not the king of the town by any means, ” the associate producer told CVG. “The idea was to use the episodes to reveal the rest of that world, to show some of the characters and events that were invisible to Niko and yet still had a bearing on events in his life.

“I think if we had [put all on one disc] it would have been impossible to focus on each separate aspect of gameplay properly, the stories and the gameplay are inextricably linked.

“We’ve always maintained that Liberty City is the real star of these games, and what makes it truly amazing is that it’s so full of potential as an environment.”

The last bit of DLC for the game, The Ballad of Gay Tony, is out now.

Nelson’s confirmed the release of GTA IV DLC The Ballad of Gay Tony. It’s your for 1,600 MSP.

The first reviews went live last night. Get them here.

Blurb, should you need it:

The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (a.k.a. “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.

Get dancing, kiddlewinks.

The reviews for GTA IV’s final bit of DLC, The Ballad of Gay Tony, are starting to pour onto the net.

So far, the reviews are generally positive.

You can get in on the action when the episode is released tomorrow via XBL and on disc at your local retailer.

As more reviews hit, we’ll be sure to update the page, so be sure to keep checking back.

• Eurogamer – 8/10
• Kotaku – N/A
• MTV – N/A
• Videogamesdaily (Kikizo) – 9/10
• 1UP – A-
• NowGamer – 9.3/10
• IGN UK – 9.2/10
• IGN – 9.2/10

Rockstar has sent over the final video for The Ballad of Gay Tony before its launch tomorrow.

It features Luis Lopez, a new protagonist for the second episode and right-hand man to Tony Prince.

The full bio for the character as well as the video are posted below the break.

About Luis Lopez:

Things weren’t always so good for Luis Lopez. Growing up with a strict single mother in the tough neighborhood of Northwood Heights, he managed to get himself into a lot of trouble at an early age. It wasn’t until he was 25, after serving some time and taking part in a criminal outreach program, that he met Tony Prince, the man who changed everything. Having worked his way up from doorman, the Dominican playboy now acts as personal bodyguard, confidant and friend to Tony, Liberty City’s most successful – and delusional, neurotic and drink and drug addled – nightlife impresario. Although Tony is a Liberty City legend, he is also over his head in debt to gangsters and back on a path to self-destruction, Luis now has a fulltime job just trying to keep his boss, and the clubs he owns afloat.

Luis helps to run Tony’s two current nightclubs, Maisonette 9 and Hercules, but even though he moves in different circles now, he still tries to remain close to his roots, helping his mother when he can and staying tight with his best friends from the old neighborhood, Armando Torres and Henrique Bardas. Luis is doggedly loyal to his two buddies, and once took the fall for Armando after a deal went wrong when they were teenagers. Getting caught was both the motivation and means by which Luis moved on from that street life. The same cannot be said for Henrique and Armando, who are still found hustling on the same street corners. They have seen Luis move up the food chain and want his help to do the same.

Luis has two siblings who both moved away from Liberty City, so his mother lives all alone. Luis feels responsible, but no matter what he tries to do for her, nothing ever seems to be good enough. His siblings both went to college and got respectable jobs. It’s a constant struggle to balance the needs of friends and family, all the while looking out for Tony and his business interests in a town where everybody wants their piece of the action, and will stop at nothing to get it.

To celebrate the launch of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City and The Ballad of Gay Tony, Rockstar has announced a weekend filled with multiplayer mayhem on Xbox Live.

From Friday, October 30 through Sunday, November 1 players can experience multiplayer in Liberty City with special guests from Rockstar North and singer/composer Henry Santos Jeter from the band, Aventura.

Multiplayer for the game will be free all weekend for people playing GTA IV, The Lost and Damned, and The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Those wanting to play with the Rockstar team or Jeter should add the Gamertags posted below the break to their friends list.

Friday, October 30: 5 – 10 p.m. ET: Game with Developers session featuring members of the Rockstar North team.

• GwRockstar1
• GwRockstar2
• GwRockstar3
• GwRockstar4
• GwRockstar5
• GwRockstar6
• GwRockstar7
• GwRockstar8
• GwRockstar9
• GwRockstar10
• GwRockstar11
• GwRockstar12
• GwRockstar13
• GwRockstar14
• GwRockstar15
• GwRockstar16

Saturday, October 31: Xbox LIVE All-nighter – Jump in to Xbox LIVE and play Grand Theft Auto from dusk ‘til dawn with the Xbox LIVE community.

Sunday, November 1: 3 – 5 p.m. ET: Game with Fame session featuring Henry Santos Jeter of Aventura.

Gamertag: GwFHenryHH

Rockstar’s released yet more screens of the imminent Gay Tony, this time showing the eponymous club owner doing some kind of funky chicken in front of a TV. They’re on Kotaku.

The GTA IV 360 DLC is actually out this week. Buy it. Relive the dream.

The BBFC’s rated GTA IV DLC The Ballad of Gay Tony as an 18, saying the add-on has “quite strong sex” and “hard drug use”. Shocker.

You can read the full description here, but be warned: spoilers abound.

It’s out on October 29. Thanks, EG.

Indian 26-year-old Chirantan Patnaik has taken the official Guinness world record for the longest continuous play session of GTA IV.

Patnaik played the Rockstar epic for 40 hours 20 minutes at the offices of blog NeuralChaos.com from September 4-6.

An exercise regime of running and yoga helped him reach his goal, apparently, which beats the previously held record of 28 hours and 1 minute, held by an American.

What format? He was playing the game on PS3.

Thanks, MTV.

Rockstar has sent over the new video for The Ballad of Gay Tony, which shows the Nightlife in Liberty City.

The video teases an upcoming episode of the celebrity gossip show, Fizz!, where people are exposed doing all sorts of drunken, scandalous, and not-so-glamorous things.

Can’t wait for its release later this month.