Remember the lawsuit over the Chicago bus ads for Grand Theft Auto IV that the city took down after a TV report created bad publicity? Seems a settlement is in the pipeline. GamePolitics is reporting an agreement has been reached but there's no comment and no specifics.

Back in April, Chicago saw a headline-grabbing wave of violence — close to 40 shootings, seven of them fatal, 13 of the casualties school age. Around that time the GTA ads went up on city buses, like they were in other cities, per a $300,000 contract between Take-Two and the city. Because local television's business model depends heavily on the exploitation of others' fear and misery for profit, Fox News Chicago called up a bunch of chickenshit pols and huffed about the appropriateness of the ads. So they were taken down. Take-Two then sued for breach of contract.

I'm not sure what the terms of the deal are but maybe this'll teach someone to show a little spine next time some blow-dried shit-for-brains TV reporter waves a microphone in their face.

Take-Two Nearing GTA IV Ad Settlement with Chicago Bus Company [GamePolitics]

After two underwhelming years spent trying to be just as essential to PC gaming as Xbox Live is to console, Grand Theft Auto IV might just take Games for Windows and kiss away all its tears of frustration. Or, if Microsoft drops the ball, it could be another nail in the coffin of PC gaming, writes Wired. That might piss off PC gamers who are just fine with Steam and are tired of hearing more talk about how their way of life is going extinct. But Microsoft's exclusive control of GTA:IV for the PC does have implications for PC gaming at large.

Grand Theft Auto IV Live Weekend Kicks Off Today

They won't surprise you. Grand Theft Auto IV, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Metal Gear Solid 4 float to the top of the NPD Group's top five for the year, further proof that Americans like shooting and punching things in virtual worlds.

We also love our sequels. The only new properties to crack the top five on each of the big three platforms are Army of Two, Wii Play and Wii Fit.

Another fact that will likely not blow your hair back are the best sellers on the Nintendo Wii side of things. Four of the console's best sellers are published by Nintendo and four feature strong peripheral tie-ins. Consider us nonplussed!

2008's Top-Selling Games So Far: How They Stack Up [Gamasutra]

GTA IV PC Is Coming To Games For Windows Live

GTA Weekend Coming to Xbox Live

Next weekend the Rockstar's development team is hopping on Xbox Live to take on all comers in Grand Theft Auto IV.

The special Xbox Live Weekend runs from Friday, September 26 through Sunday, September 28 in the United States and Canada and is only open to Xbox LIVE Gold members.

Members of the team will be online between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday to hand out ass-whoopings. There will also be a sweepstakes, which anyone can enter by registering online at www.xbox.com/causechaos before midnight on Sept. 28. You can also register by downloading the free GTA IV Live Weekend Gamer pic before the deadline. Prize packs include Rockstar gear and an Xbox 360 Elite with a 12-month Live Gold subscription card.

Another contest, held on Rockstar Games webportal Social Club, will hand out prizes to some of those who sign on to their web accounts anytime between today and September 28. Those prizes include a home entertainment system worth more than $6,000, a GTA-branded Xbox 360 and other GTA merch. Hit up the Social Club for more details on that.

No, you read that right. There are fears that, despite already being one of the biggest-selling games of all time, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV isn't selling as well as overlords Take-Two would have hoped, with the game slipping to 46th on the NPD sales charts in August. CNN Money reports that, as the silent, secret takeover talks between EA and Take-Two continue, these "sluggish" sales are hurting Take-Two's only real negotiating point. With 10 million copies of the game already sold, this is all a bit hard to believe, but then we weren't the ones drinking the kool-aid at T2 HQ when coming up with official sales targets.

GTA IV' Sales Slow, Complicating Take-Two/EA Merger [CNN]

Take-Two Interactive announced alongside its quarterly results that Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV has sold over 10 million units as of August 16. The release noted that the publisher's fiscal third quarter was "led by the blockbuster" and continues to exceed the company's expectations.

With the PC release and the localized Japanese version still to come, it's looking more and more likely that GTA IV can hit that 15 million mark in 2008, as Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst predicted.

A cheaper Xbox 360 and forthcoming episodic content sure won't hurt GTA IV's chances this holiday season.

GTAIV DLC Due In November, Two Ten-Hour "Episodes"

According to "sources close to Rockstar North", GTA IV's 360 DLC is still on-track for a Fall release. Specifically, it's on-track for a late November release, which backs up earlier rumours. But wait, there's more! The sources, speaking to Eurogamer, disclose what the DLC will actually be. They say it'll take the form of two ten-hour episodes, both of which will feature new achievements. Could be real, could be not real, if it really is November guess we won't have long to wait to find out.

GTA IV DLC on track for November [Eurogamer]