IGN Editor Fires Back On Exclusive GTA IV Review Flak, Ethics Concerns

Variety's Ben Fritz opined in his column The Cut Scene last week that the concept of an "exclusive" review, specifically the case of IGN's Grand Theft Auto IV review, was something he found troublesome. His entry on the matter read that Fritz seemed less concerned with the 10 out of 10 score, but that IGN securing an exclusive review—as it often does with game announcements, media and interviews—was the thing ethically troubling. (We suggest you read Fritz's original post, lest we misinterpret it in some sort of telephone game.)

The reviewer in question, Hilary Goldstein, editor-in-chief at IGN's Xbox 360 channel, talked to GameDaily about the GTA IV review mini-hubbub, chalking up Fritz's concerns to a possible grudge.

Variety: Long Ass Interview With Rockstar's Dan Houser

GTA Movie Starring Eminem Almost Happened

Variety's Ben Fritz reports, in his shiny new video game blog, that a Grand Theft Auto movie starring Eminem was virtually a done deal with one of six major studios in place last spring.

It was such a sure thing that Variety and a number of other publications had actually done interviews and were prepping to write the article. But at the last minute the whole thing turned to ash and blew away in the wind.

It's not clear what helped convince the Take-Two folks, who have long been wooed by Hollywood to turn their baby into a movie, or why the deal fell apart, but both likely have something to do more with Take-Two management than Rockstar input.

The Grand Theft Auto Movie That Almost Was [The Cut Scene]

It was just a few hours ago that I posted about the HD DVD group canceling its CES press conference and now we have more news on the format war front lines. In an article in Variety yesterday, buried amongst the Warner's announcement was one line that was very important to the Blu-Ray cause:

Warner sister company New Line confirmed it will shift allegiance to Blu-ray only as well.

Warner's other companies which include HBO and BBC, still have not announced whether they will make the shift as well, but it seems unlikely that they would go the other way. But, time is of the essence for distributors it seems as Warner CEO Barry Meyer states:

"The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger."

One more nail in the HD DVD coffin?

Warner Bros. backs Blu-ray [Variety]

Movie Critics Use Video Game Label as Insult

PS3 Delay Official