Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was lauded by reviewers and critics but didn’t sell as well as expected. Now, publisher Rockstar is working on reviving the handheld crime title with a new, higher-resolution version for the iPad...

We really don't know where to start with this one. Okay, the bare facts to begin with: The Daily Star has somehow managed to report that a video game based on killer Raoul Moat is being planned.

It's even gone so far as to parade a picture of a mocked up GTA, entitled: Grand Theft Auto Rothbury - named after the rural Northumberland area in which Moat ended his own life on July 10.

The Star attributes the doctored image to several 'games websites', which it said 'showed the cover of Grand Theft Auto Rothbury'. We read a lot of games websites. We have not seen these websites.

Read this sentence carefully: This image is the only evidence the Star has to back its claim that a Raoul Moat video game is being planned...

IGN: In Take-Two's financial call today, the publisher revealed that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is headed to the iPad. The launch window is just sometime later this month. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is no stranger to the Apple devices. Earlier this year, Rockstar published a version of the DS/PSP game on the App Store to much acclaim. It really is one of the better ways to play Chinatown Wars and it looks sharp on the iPhone. It should look even cleaner on the iPad's high-res screen.

CEO Ben Feder says even sure-fire hits can fail on handheld due to illegal downloads. Rampant piracy is the real reason for GTA: Chinatown Wars' slow sales according to Take-Two CEO Ben Feder. On paper, Chinatown Wars should have been a massive success when it launched on the Nintendo DS a year ago.

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder spoke about the performance of the game, saying it didn't perform badly, and adding that the game sold half of what all the M-Rated games in DS history put together in the US sold. But he still recognizes that the game could have performed better, and what does he blame for that not happening? Piracy, obviously, what else?

Last night, the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards ceremony took place in London, with a number of shocking results. While few would argue that Batman: Arkham Asylum found itself up against some tough competition for the coveted Game of the Year award, the fact that Rocksteady Studios walked away with the award will certainly be a boon to UK videogame development. However, another winner is now going to be a benefit to the UK's gaming public, as the UK's largest high street videogames retailer has announced a celebratory promotion.

Industry Gamers writes: It's time for the latest in our monthly Q&A series with Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter. Last month, the analyst looked at Xbox Live pricing, Reggie Fils-Aime's denial of Wii HD and the third-party situation on Wii. For this edition, we asked Pachter about Cammie Dunaway's recent explanation about GTA Chinatown Wars on DS, the state of Tony Hawk and more. Here's the complete agenda: * GTA Chinatown Wars and mature titles on Nintendo platforms * What will happen to the Tony Hawk franchise? * Can Activision go beyond annual releases with Call of Duty? * Will Halo Reach top 2010 as Aaaron Greenberg predicted? * Is the upcoming CES going to have any major game announcements?

A lot of this season's most talked-about games include ones with excessive violence, negative role models, extreme gore, sociopathic behavior, and other things that have been proven to have a negative effect on kids. So how do you give kids what they want without giving them what you don't want? Know your options. Follow their tips on a choosing great video games, check out their 2009 video game gift guide, and offer alternatives that don't veer into unhealthy territory.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has now launched on PlayStation Portable (PSP) in North America and Europe, and in an effort to extend the launch celebrations Rockstar Games have today announced a number of new features for players of the game at the official online space, the Social Club. The Social Club is an online community including a space for each of Rockstar Games' recent releases, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has received a whole heap of new additions this week.

De Telegraaf writes: Last weekend the TMF Game Awards was presented at the FirstLook event in Amsterdam. Killzone 2, the Dutch development studio Guerrilla Games, received an award for best PlayStation 3 game Gears of War 2 and went with the prize for best Xbox 360 game off.