Burger King Welcomes Germany to Veg City

Over in Germany, Burger King is running an edgy Vice City inspired campaign called Veg City. The website has a true Grand Theft Auto-style map, and there are mini games like a sniper games, red light district multiple choice game minus vegetable fucking, and an airport baggage game. Nothing quite like pickle hookers and capsicums getting cavity searches! Imaginative stuff.

Welcome to Veg City! [Official Site via Marblehead Blog via GamePolitics]

Games Today: We Do Melodrama?

You know the "rule." The rule that states "pornography or sexually related material exists for any conceivable subject"? A recent Suicide Girls spread is further proof of the theory, as one of its models, Bob, has taken Grand Theft Auto IV cover girl lust and turned it into an excuse to get naked. (Yes, Bob's a woman.)

This particular Lola looks to only have five fingers, so the fantasy may be blown for some of you. But for anyone looking for a NSFW thrill, carry on. Membership is obviously required, as we all know the internet doesn't give away its smut for free.

GTA A Tribute to Lola [Suicide Girls]

Wall Street Journal: GTA IV's No Godfather

First we have a thematic discussion on Metal Gear Solid IV in the New York Times, and now we have a thorough treatment of Grand Theft Auto IV in the Wall Street Journal by Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Dìaz. Really exciting stuff, if you ask me.

Dìaz examines the art value of GTA IV, prompted by exultant commentary from the games press that calls the game on par with or exceeding film triumphs like Scarface and The Godfather - and, in an editorial well-supported by factual comparisons, he finds it comes up short:

Connecticut Senator Searching For "Rape Scene" In GTA IV

Connecticut Senator Gayle Slossberg (D) recently told The New Haven Advocate that the rape scene in Grand Theft Auto IV, where you earn "points for rape," is so alarming that she'd like to see a law passed that features better warning labels.

Yeah, of course, there's no rape scene in GTA IV. But Slossberg appears to be pretty convinced she'd see it, if she could only play well enough to reach that point in the game. Or so she said during a Capitol press conference, according to the Advocate.

The article says she'd like "confirmation" that there is no rape scene in the game. I suppose this is another "write your representative" situation where she could use some (polite) information?

Connecticut State Senator Alarmed Over (non-existent) Rape Scene in GTA IV [New Haven Advocate via GamePolitics]

"Hot Coffee" Class Action Suit Claims Show Very Few Were Offended

Spare A Rodent?

To: Last Brian Standing
From: Totilo
Re: Serious Question: GTAIV or MGS4?

When I was a kid, I ate all my beans before I ate my carrots, all my fish before I ate all my corn. These days, I eat all my fries before I eat my burger and I finish any console game I'm enjoying before I start the next one.

So if you are enjoying GTAIV and are as close to the end as you say you are, then forge on ahead and complete it. Remember, the next game you're going to play is a Metal Gear game, and, in order to understand one of those epics, you need to give it your full attention. One game at a time.

By the way, I think one of the hamsters that powers the Kotaku engine sprained a leg today or something. If you have a replacement rodent, you might want to send him scurrying in.

What you missed:
My Brief Surprise Visit To Sony's PS3 Home Beta
Skate It Wii May Get Skateboard Frame for Balance Board
ESA Responds To Crave Departure
Sporepedia A Million Strong And Growing

'Metal Gear Solid 4' And The Lack Of Sad Games

GTA IV "Beginning Of The End" For Next-Gen?

Over at GigaOM, Wagner James Au argues that the mammoth launch success of Grand Theft Auto IV is "the beginning of the end" for the next-gen. If a launch that universally successful can't budge hardware sales - and GTA IV really didn't - then "drastic changes" may be to come, says Au:

Expect to see games made for lower budgets, targeted at wider audiences (ones that aren’t fixated on high-end 3D graphics) and delivered over broadband with a micropayment program in place. Don’t expect a follow-up to the 360 or PS3 anytime soon, either. In other words, the days when so-called “next-gen” gaming reigned supreme are coming to end — instead, the industry’s future will be shaped by games like Rock Band.

Once a month or so, N'Gai Croal and I debate a video game. Usually we do it well after a game's been released. We call our exchanges Vs. Mode, co-publish them on both of our blogs, and hope that people have enough bathroom time to read them.

The latest debate concluded this morning. It's all about Grand Theft Auto IV. We talked about bringing our A game for this one. Or at least we would have if we spoke in sports metaphors. It's full of spoilers... about the game's moral quandaries, its ending and other stuff. So beware.

But if you're looking to see him have a go at me for preferring San Andreas to GTA IV and if you're interested in stuff like this...

N'Gai: I'm wondering whether the fault lies not with inconsistencies in the work of Rockstar's writing team, but with the credulity of all of us. Liberty City is filled with self-deluded characters like Playboy X, Manny and Brucie, who present themselves one way only to be exposed by their behavior. Why do we take Niko at face value? Is it just because he's our avatar? ... Maybe Niko is deceiving himself as much as do the rest of the lowlifes he runs with. Maybe as much as he believes he's fatigued with death and killing, he's actually drawn to it? Maybe we have all misunderstood Niko Bellic.

...then head to either of our sites and read the loooong debate. I'm linking to his version, because I'm classy.

Round One
Round Two
Final Round

Rockstar Patches GTA IV

Grand Theft Auto IV players logging in today for their daily fix will be greeted by a quick little patch that addresses several small issues in the game on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Highlights include increasing the frequency and reliability of leaderboard updates on the PS3 version, fixing Cops 'n Crooks so that players can no longer earn ridiculously high scores, and my personal favorite - fixing the countdown timer for multiplayer matches so it no longer resets every time a new player enters the game, causing the assembled players to call said newbie names I cannot repeat in this space.

Other than that, a few quick fixes to address hangs and such. Hit the link for the full skinny on the newly polished GTA IV experience.

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV PATCH [Rockstar Games Social Club]

Back in February we spotted a rumor that a GTA movie starring Eminem almost happened. It was knocked down the same day by Rockstar's Dan Houser, who said "we never entertained proceeding with the project." Maybe the story pitch was crap, but even if it wasn't, now we know at least one reason why.

LA Weekly's Nikkie FInke reports on her blog that a settlement prohibits Rockstar from making a movie based on Grand Theft Auto, which is the same name as a 1977 film whose rights are owned by Fox. The settlement also prohibits Fox from making any video game based on that movie. I've never seen it, but considering all the crappy adaptations done out there, obviously this settlement was more about protecting Fox's copyrights than Rockstar's.

Interestingly, the Grand Theft Auto film in question got an updated box right around the time the original GTA craze hit (above), and you can see the similarities in the typefaces. Not sure if this was part [or provocation] of the settlement or not.

All About the Grand Theft Auto Movie [Nikkie FInke's Deadline Hollywood Daily, via Shacknews]

Real Niko Bellic Is Real Swarthy

GTA IV's Lost Phone Music Feature

There was a time in the development cycle of Grand Theft Auto IV that Niko Bellic had a cell phone that could play music, MTV Multiplayer reports, but the option was cut.

“Some people on the team didn’t like the music/mobile phone idea for various reasons, but they went back and forth on the idea until the very end,” Rockstar spokesperson Darlan Monterisi explained in an e-mail on Tuesday. “This is VERY common. We do it in every game we make. We still prefer the balance of music in car and the ambient world’s noise on foot, but we are constantly reviewing this stuff.”

I wonder how much having a mini-stereo with you at all times would have changed the experience? It must have been something that the Rockstar folks thought would have had quite an impact to remove it. Why else would they cut the thing entirely instead of allowing gamers to go out and buy a phone with the feature in game?

Actually, I'm still surprised at the limit of phone tech in the game. I was expecting that the phone, because it plays such an important role in the game's interface, would come in a lot more flavors and that at least one of the was going to support video capture. Maybe next time.

GTA IV Cutting Room Floor [MTV Multiplayer]

Riccitiello: Take-Two Bid Focused On Holiday Season, Not GTA IV

Don't believe what the timing tells you - EA's bid for Take-Two was never about Grand Theft Auto IV. That's what EA CEO John Riccitiello told an audience of investors during William Blair & Company's annual stock conference, where he was a speaker today.

"For clarity’s sake, I think you’ve got a slight mis-remembering of what we said," Riccitiello told an audience member who asked about capitalizing on GTA IV's release value. "We were extremely explicit that there was no possibility whatsoever that we would be able to acquire the company or close the transaction prior to the release of GTA IV."

"What we said is we wanted to close the transaction in time to affect holiday sales for some of the games like Midnight Club, catalog for GTA and others. And so the reason we’re continuing to extend it, that was our plan all along and that was the way we described it at the time."

The questioner was probably prompted to the question by EA's recurring comments about the time sensitivity of their offer, but Riccitiello said that "the depreciating nature of the asset was not necessarily about GTA."

"It is that one more holiday period where we can sell more puts money onto the bottom line."

UK newspaper The Sun is trying their best to drum up some British outrage over Grand Theft Auto IV's inclusion of a child pageant site on the game's faux internet.

In GTA IV a little exploration at the game's cyber cafe yields LacySurprisePageant.com, when you visit the site a message pops up that it has been shut down by the game's police and that your IP address has been "cataloged" for possible future investigation. A visit also instantly maxes out your wanted level.

When I first noticed this, while playing through the game, I had a pretty good laugh, but at least one South Wales man was offended. And you know what they say: One person pissed off equals a story in The Sun.

A report from Spiegel online points to someone who isn't that bright theorizing that Grand Theft Auto IV's designers were inspired by attacks from the Osama bin Laden lead terrorist group. Spiegel cites a member of a message board populated by "cyber-jihadists and al-Qa[e]da sympathizers" who contends that GTA IV's use of cellphone triggered bombs "shows the power and effectiveness" of, well, something Al-Qaeda related that is just too dumb to reprint.

The theory is fleshed out by evidence that things explode in GTA IV. Compelling stuff. You've given us a lot to think about this day, random internet moron.

Was Grand Theft Auto IV Inspired by Al-Qaida? [Spiegel via GamePolitics]

Analyst: Saints Row 2 Trailer "Pompous"

Have you seen the recent Saints Row 2 trailer that makes direct comparisons to Grand Theft Auto IVto show why it's more fun? It's more tongue-in-cheek snarky than truly nasty, but apparently it prompted one analyst to counsel investors to take it with a grain of salt.

Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey said that going toe-to-toe with GTA IV on content is "an unusually pompous position... considering GTA IV is estimated to be the highest grossing 1st week entertainment release of all time."

Hickey also nodded to GTA IV's Metacritic-leading score, and maintained his "conservative" estimate for Saints Row 2 sales, "in light of mediocre game previews and a delayed release in-part from quality concerns."

In general, it seems a bit of a risky strategy for any title to compare itself, even jokingly, to a sales record-smasher like GTA IV. When I spoke to THQ during their preview event, though, a rep told me the aim was to show what was different about Saints Row, not necessarily to make superiority claims.

Hickey: Saint's Row 2 'Pompous' To Attack GTA IV [Gamasutra]

Pachter: GTA IV So Did Not Drive Console Sales