Yesterday, you may have seen some apparently, “leaked” images of Grand Theft Auto V.

Well, upon closer inspection, many people noticed these were obviously faked and could be easily made with a mod.

Despite the fact that the heavily edited map images were ripped right from San Andreas and that they put the dollar sign after the 235$ and that the guy in the picture is clearing standing RIGHT HERE and has just been reskinned… yeah.  They’re fake.

Just to be sure I emailed my buddy at Rockstar and he was all like “lolwut?”

Oh internet…

Stay tuned to RipTen for any legitimate news on GTA V – or just more silly images.

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It’s time for RipTen Asks, a gathering for the video game enthusiasts who have opinions about things. Video game-related things!

This week, we take our question to the wild streets of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. From Vinewood to Liberty City and everywhere in between, the GTA series has often had memorable characters that help keep the story and world feeling both interesting and entertaining. But if you had to pick just one character to be, who would you choose?

Be it the Hawaiian-shirt sporting Vice City Kingpin ‘Tommy Vercetti’, the constantly stoned South Central San Andreas socialite ‘Ryder’ or even the travelling child molester ‘James Pedeaston’, the GTA universe has quite the colorful cast. Let us know just which character you see yourself as by selecting an option in the poll, or let us know if we’ve missed out your preferred choice!!

Be sure to check out our last RipTen Asks: What’s Your Favorite Final Fantasy?!

• GTA4 DLC Release Confirmed for Feb. 17th
• Are These The First Screenshots of GTA V? No, They’re Not.
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• Is a GTA V Announcement Coming Later This Summer?
• Famous Movie Scenes Remade Using GTA4

Its been a little over three years since GTA IV debuted on consoles then later on PC. With GTA IV being the highest rated game this generation, gamers are impatiently awaiting the inevitable reveal of GTA V.

In the latest issue of the US OXM, they have a nice little crystal ball on the cover (rumor section) that states what gamers have been waiting for.

Time’s up, says The Ball. Expect Grand Theft Auto V to be announced later this summer.

A little over a month ago, we reported sightings of GTA V being spotted on retail list dated for 12/31/12. The game has been rumored to be set in real world Los Angeles location. With GTA V revisiting Liberty City in a New York City fashion, we could be seeing a new and improved version of the state of San Andreas. Get hyped kiddies it’s coming……..eventually.

[Source: CVG]

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• Grand Theft Auto V is Official – Trailer Coming Next Week
• Are These The First Screenshots of GTA V? No, They’re Not.
• This is The GTA V Trailer Recreated in GTA: San Andreas
• Five O’Clock Fan Art: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Ever wondered what roaming the vast landscapes of Los Santos, San Fierro or even Las Venturas would feel like in GTA IV‘s RAGE engine? Wonder no longer.  Well actually, keep wondering for a little while, but for now enjoy this video demonstrating the tech behind the mod that makes said ideas possible:

No official word on when “GTA IV San Andreas” will be completed, but I for one will be playing this mod day one. Unless of course the next Grand Theft Auto releases before then, one can only hope…

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, and feel free to tell me them directly via Twitter -@iamaaronalex

• New Mod Makes GTAIV Look Insanely Real
• 75% Off Grand Theft Auto Classics On Steam
• Feature Length Film Created With GTA IV
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• Are These The First Screenshots of GTA V? No, They’re Not.
• This is The GTA V Trailer Recreated in GTA: San Andreas

As we all wait for the world to end tomorrow (according a handful of nutjobs) we’ve been doing some thinking around the RipTen offices.

If the world does indeed end tomorrow (which it won’t) what video game (that currently exists or not) would we want to be playing as we’re going off to that spirit in the sky?

Well, we asked around and these were what we came up with:

Chad Lakkis: Darksiders 2 (He sort of has a thing for Joe Mad)

Dave Oshry: Planescape: Torment (He’d like to go out while pondering the nature of man)

Bryce Wilson: DiRT 3 (This choice paid for by Codemasters AU)

Dani Cantrell: Chrono Trigger (She likes bosses named Lavos and boys with spikey red hair)

Steph Gutowski: Mass Effect 3 (DUH)

Brandon Fenty: Super Mario World (He’d like to relive his childhood)

Dylan Duarte: BioShock (DOUBLE RAPTURE)

Sam Naylor: Half Life 3 (Who wouldn’t?)

Aaron Alexander: GTA IV (He wants to shoot innocent bystanders while eating hot dogs…)

Dave Ernst: Earthbound (It’s his favorite game of all time)

Justin Berube: Super Mario Bros. (Spoken like a true Nintendo Fanboy)

-

So, that’s what we’d like to play, how about you?

Feel free to let us know in the comments or @RipTen on Twitter if you’re not too busy being sucked up into the sky.

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GTAIV Machinima is quite a common commodity on the internet, and rightfully so. The game has an astounding video editor built in, and the amount of crazy moments the game can harbor is second to none. However, feature length films made with GTAIV is far from common, it’s about as rare as the Holy Grail, until now.

A French director by the name of Mathieu Weschler has created a feature length movie entirely in Grand Theft Auto IV. The films name is “Trashmaster”, and as it implies the movie revolves around cleaning garbage and other undesirables.

The “trashmaster” divides his time between collecting garbage and cleaning up other forms of trash fouling up New York City’s streets: dealers, small-time criminals… When the dancers in his favourite strip club are mysteriously killed, the trashmaster finds himself hot on the trail of a particularly twisted serial killer.

So grab some popcorn, kick-back and relax, as the movie goes on for a whopping 88 Minutes!

Keep checking RipTen for more news on the Grand Theft Auto series, and follow me on twitter for the latest in gaming news -@iamaaronalex

Source: Rockstar Games

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• Can An Angry Birds Movie Be Sexy and Violent? Apparently.

Another cold winter’s day – another day of deals from Steam.  What looks random today?  How about Left for Dead 2 for 66% off and GTA IV complete for 75% off?

As usual, deals that don’t suck have been highlighted and made bold for your viewing displeasure:

DAILY INDIE:

• GoG Gets “Steamy” With 18 Days of Summer Deals
• Steam Summer Sale Day 4: Assassins Creed Brotherhood, Torchlight
• Steam Summer Sale Day 3: Super Meat Boy, Darksiders
• Plants vs Zombies, Need for Speed Series on Sale
• 75% Off Grand Theft Auto Classics On Steam
• Steam Winter Sale Day 13: Mafia II, Half-Life 2 75% off

Welcome to the first installment of Ripten’s Five O’Clock Fan Art!

Five O’Clock Fan Art is perfect for wrapping up the work day. You don’t want to think anymore, you just want to look at awesome things. And there’s nothing more awesome than a well crafted piece of videogame fan art. If you don’t agree, what the hell are you doing at a gaming blog?

I’ve decided to kick off this new feature with some amazing fan art from one of my favorite videogames, Grand Theft Auto IV. This beautiful collage of characters is brought to us from Deviant Artist Patrick Brown, whose art is superior to what I’ve seen in a lot of mainstream comic books. Be sure to click on his name and check out his gallery, which has over four pages of goodness. You can click the below picture to see a larger version.

• Five O’Clock Fan Art: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• RipTen Asks: If You Could Be Any GTA Character, Who Would You Be?
• San Andreas Recreated With GTA IV Tech
• Feature Length Film Created With GTA IV
• Jack Thompson: Anti-Videogame Advocate and Clairvoyant Threatens Take 2
• Famous Movie Scenes Remade Using GTA4

Grand Theft Auto IV’s second downloadable episode, titled “The Ballad of Gay Tony”, is available on Xbox LIVE marketplace right now (complete with Sprunk Extreme Base Jumping) and will run you 1600 Microsoft Points (roughly 20 bucks).

If you get your hands on it, let us know what you think in the comments section.

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Rumors sprouted earlier this week than GTA IV’s 360-exclusive downloadable content would be ready for release this November, but now the ever-churning rumor mill is telling us that it won’t be ready until January or Feburary next year.

Citing a “source close to Rockstar,” VG247 is reporting that Microsoft is “wrong” to expect anything before winter next year. Their source reportedly said:

It’ll be in January or February

Snow might be falling when we finally get our hands on any new adventures in Liberty City.

Source: VG247

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At ComicCon ’08 GameTrailers had the opportunity to catch up with the voice behind Niko Bellic, Michael Hollick. Geoff Keighly prefaced one of his questions by stating that Rockstar has been very tight-lipped about the upcoming DLC, adding that no one knows what to expect. Michael responded by saying “neither do I.”

In the interview, Hollick gave the impression that he had yet to be approached by either Rockstar or Take-Two for involvement in what has been speculated to be some sort of continuation to the overarching story of GTA IV.

Pressing for information, GT TV asked “If Niko was going to be in it, you haven’t done his voice for it yet — would it be fair to say that?” Hollick confirmed that he had yet to do any voicework for the DLC, stating “it’s fair to say that.” You can see the segment in the video below at the 9:30 mark.

The GTA IV DLC has been shrouded in ambiguity since its very announcement. It’s been 4 months since the release of the game, and we haven’t heard so much as a snippet of news regarding downloadable content. The trend continues, this time courtesy of Leipzig Games Convention where Microsoft said, “In autumn there will be news from Liberty City,” followed by a mouthful of marketing mumbo jumbo.

In essence, we continue to wait.

We can also take what Hollick said and extrapolate it into a conspiracy theory of sorts. In an interview with The New York Times, the voice actor stated that he was happy with the opportunity to have worked on the Rockstar title, but went on to discuss the amount paid to him and the lack of royalties stating:

“…it’s tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they’re making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don’t see any of it. I don’t blame Rockstar. I blame our union for not having the agreements in place to protect the creative people who drive the sales of these games.”

Could it be that his candid response upset the Rockstar Gods? If this had been virtually any other medium, be it acting or singing, Hollick would have found himself swimming in a pool of money. Instead, he was paid $100,000 for 15 months of work. Another possibility, is that the actor was approached by Rockstar to do additional voice work, asked for a higher rate of compensation or a cut of the action on the DLC, and was told to go pound sand.

Of course, Hollick’s response to GameTrailers could have just been “Niko speak” for “no comment”. It wouldn’t be the first time that a figure has fibbed a little to maintain the cover of a top secret project.

Source: Gametrailers, CVG, The New York Times

• GTA IV: Lost and the Damned Coming to PC
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Thailand just got an ally in its war on Grand Theft Auto: Jack Thompson.

A caricature of thriving in the face of adversity, besieged Florida lawyer and video game industry critic Thompson has given his two cents on the Thailand ban on GTA.

As reported by  GamePolitics.com, Thompson wrote in an e-mail to Take 2 heads Strauss Zelnick and Ben Feder stating:

“I warned you both that copycat killing by teens would occur upon the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Now my prediction has come true…”

The killer, 19-year-old Polwat Chinno, was arrested after killing a cabbie with a knife, confessing that he did so to support himself. It is not known if Chinno owns a copy of GTA IV as Thompson suggests.

Thompson went on to make threats, writing:

“This is just the latest killing incident prompted by your murder simulators. I aim to make it the last.”

Source: GamePolitics

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“The fact that so many middle income homes managed to find the money to buy the game (having already purchased the expensive hardware to drive it) indicates that the middle class is in no imminent danger of disappearance,” Medved wrote. “But the decision by so many consumers of every age and income group to invest countless hours of time in the dark world of Grand Theft Auto IV nonetheless demonstrates a threat to American values.”

Medved continues to relate the game to the decline of western civilization on GTA IV specifically, if not in general.

Townhall.com is the same conservative site that hosted Kevin McCullough’s similarly misinformed and poorly executed opinion on Mass Effect which garnered the attention of FOX News.

Let the rolling of the eyes begin.

Medved comes a tad late to the GTA IV auto de fe as the title has already been lambasted by the usual suspects. However, Medved’s insinuations border on the hallucinatory as he accuses GTA of America’s moral decline. In that vein GTA is also responsible for the African AIDS pandemic, global warming and the shrinking of the polar ice-caps, and political repression in China.

I can’t help but wonder where is vaunted conservatism was when he was staring at my girlfriend’s chest at the Seattle preview of Spider Man in 2002.

Source: Townhall.com

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Remember the end of Reservoir Dogs when everyone is suspicious of the next guy and they all shoot each other?  Remember the scene in American History X where Edward Norton caps a bunch of dudes with his nazi wrath?  Wouldn’t it be neat to see those scenes remade in Grand Theft Auto 4?  Well, it doesn’t matter what you think because it’s been done anyways.

Some people by the names of Mentok/Burnt Toastt and Ultimate Chance/chance reborn (don’t ask ’cause I don’t know) used the in-game multiplayer to record the video while overdubbing the original movie audio.  The result is akin to any other machinima, really.  That’s why there’s a word for this type of thing.  So anyways, here it is:

Update to source: We have been contacted by the original creators of the video, who explained that Joblo lifted the piece from their YouTube page, and then watermarked it as their own. Apparently Joblo’s media player isn’t the only thing that blows. To rectify the situation, we have decided to link to the original YouTube video instead.

Source:UltimateChance (via: JoBlo.com)

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• Rockstar Games Announces Japanese Grand Theft Auto IV Release Date

This story seems highly unlikely but worth knowing nonetheless. Two jokers emailed Rockstar technical support to tell them they were having trouble with the non-existent PC version of GTA IV. Support man emails back and tells that can’t possibly be right, because GTA IV for PC is still in development. What a helpful chap.

Following a complaint about surround sound in a free version of GTA IV for PC (which once again, doesn’t exist) helpful techie Anthony said, ” The PC version of GTA IV has not even been announced for release and is still in development so is not about to be released on a website we have no knowledge of.”

Whoops.

Helpful techie Anthony didn’t reply to their probing again – he was replaced by matter-of-fact techie Richard. Read into that what you will. The question really is, would tech support know anything about game release dates? After all, tech support for games which aren’t actually on the market isn’t going to be very high in demand, is it? That was certainly techie Richard’s take.

“We are unsure when the PC version of the game will be released as we are only technical support and do not receive information on the matter. I would suggest keeping an eye on www.rockstargames.com for any information.”

Still, notice it’s “when” rather than “if”. Stay put for the obligatory denial from Rockstar.

Source: Rockstar Scammer

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Another batch of idiots have broken the law and pinned videogames as their reason behind it. Awesome. Hit the jump to read all about it.

A group of teenage males went on a crime spree in Nassau County, New York, which included robbery, mugging, and destruction that resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage.

A 17-year-old and an 18-year-old have been arrested, while the remaining three, ages 14, 15, 16, are also being charged with first-degree robbery. They’re all being charged as adults and could potentially face up to 5 years in jail.

According to Det. Sgt. Anthony Repalone, shortly after the arrest, the boys claimed that they were emulating Grand Theft Auto IV.

Is there anything I could say here that hasn’t already been said? It’s infuriating that the boys used video games as a scapegoat and it’s ridiculous that most people will refuse to see that and simply go back to claiming that “vidja games” are the root of all evil.

Source: Xboxist

• GTA IV: Gay Tony on Xbox LIVE Now
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So the May NPD data is out and there are few surprises. The Nintendo Wii remains king of the consoles and Grand Theft Auto IV continues to dominate the software charts. Hit the jump for a more in depth look at the numbers.

Despite Wii Fit’s tremendous success with 1M copies sold, it falls slightly behind Xbox 360 GTAIV sales, which came in at 1.10M. The Playstation 3 version of GTA moved 577K copies.

Other Wii gems include Mario Kart, which sold 854K units, compared to last month’s 1.12M, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which sold 248K units, down from 326K.

Despite the Wii’s software success, the gap between Nintendo’s console and its competitors is smaller this month than last. The 360 and PS3 saw hardware sales increase by 39K and 32K, respectively, while Nintendo only say an increase of 8K.

Which doesn’t mean that the Wii isn’t outselling both consoles combined by 276K. Maybe smaller isn’t the right word. Let’s the gap is <i>less gargantuan.</i>

Rounding out the hardware list is the Nintendo DS with 505K units sold (last month saw 415K) and the PlayStation Portable with 211K (last month was 193K).

Source: The Sim Exchange

• GTA IV: Gay Tony on Xbox LIVE Now
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After concerns of online stability for the PS3 version of GTA4 were aired out online, Rockstar has formally responded with a patch that should fix what they claim are server-related issues.

Rockstar Games said:

Rockstar Games has released a GTA IV patch for Playstation 3 today that prevents Gamespy’s servers from being overloaded and therefore reduces the impact on those servers that were causing the game to stutter and lock up. We continue to monitor the performance of the game both on and offline and will provide further updates as necessary. We want to assure everyone that, together with our hardware partners, we continue to strive to give our fans the best possible interactive entertainment experiences possible. This update will ensure that everyone will experience Grand Theft Auto IV the way it was intended. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.

Maybe now we’ll be able to play a full online game of GTA4 on the PS3 before getting dropped.

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Rockstar’s UK office has given a “no comment” statement to CVG regarding a rumor that GTA IV will be finding its way onto the PC platform towards the end of 2008.

As previous PC ports of the series have roughly taken six to eight months to come about, the tentative 10/30/2008 release date set by German E-retailer City Disc is certainly possible and would maximize sales leading up to the festive period.

For those who don’t speak German, the site reads: “The release date for GTA 4 for PC has not yet been confirmed by the Publisher, Take 2. The release date is not guaranteed and is open to change.”

While this is by no means an admission the PC version does not exist, the prospect will surely have many PC owners waiting on tenterhooks.

San Andreas developed a powerful online following in recent years (even boasting role-play servers– road sweepers FTW!), hopefully if GTA IV makes its way onto PC it will also support more than 16 players online for even crazier online experience.

(Thanks to Evo Gamer for the translation)

Sources: CVG

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According to industry tracker VG Chartz, early sales data indicates that Grand Theft Auto IV has sold a whopping 2.5 million units in the Americas on its first day of release. This is hot on the heels of reports that the game has sold over 600,000 copies in the UK on its first day, and an estimated 1.7 million units across Europe.

Currently, the game with the most successful launch in history is Microsoft’s Halo 3, which earned about $170 million in the US during the first 24 hours of its release. However, it appears that Rockstar’s long-awaited title is poised to take the crown from Microsoft’s bestseller.

On a related note, GTA IV sales gave Microsoft the edge in the console wars, as more consumers bought the Xbox 360 version of the game than the PlayStation 3 version. A similar pattern was found in the UK, with the Xbox 360 comprising 55% of the total Day 1 sales.

Source: VGChartz, MCV.UK

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