Monday - April 29, 2002   <7:40 PM CST>

SCEE Confirms GTA Vice?   <7:40 PM CST - schu>
It seems that GTA Vice is back in the news, and this time it has appeared in a press release directly from Sony.  Summo originally sent me this story with a link to Game Faction where you can read the original press release.  The strange thing is, I then went to the Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) site to check the press release and the GTA Vice thing was no where to be found.  I doubt Game Faction just added it to the release, so I can only assume that Sony originally had it listed and then later removed it.  GameFaction also has a GTA3 PC preview that mentions the rumors of Rockstar's plans to release an expansion disc (GTA Vice/Miami) and the possibility that it may include multiplayer.  I guess we're on to stacking rumor upon rumor at this point :) .  Right now I think it's fair to say that Rockstar definitely has something in store for us this year and it will most likely be a GTA Vice/Miami expansion.  At this point I think it's a bit premature to assume it will be multiplayer though.  Thanks to Summo, Alastair, and Philip for the help on this one.  If you want to read more on this, Alastair sent me a link to a similar piece on Gaming Horizon and Philip sent in another one that links to UK Games.  Hopefully Rockstar will straighten this all out at E3.

UK Preorder Update   <7:40 PM CST - schu>
Rich sent me a few links to UK GTA3 PC preorders, but as you can see, Play is still leading the way.  I also didn't see any special deals with the other pre-order locations so it should just come down to price and how quickly they can get it to you.

• Play.com - £19.99
• Special Reserve - £24.99
• SoftwareFirst - £26.99
• EB UK - £29.99
• HMV - £29.99

 
GTA3 Commercial Update   <7:40 PM CST - schu>
Just a quick update on the GTA3 PC commercial...  Sphyinx says that MTV2 has been playing the commercial once every two commercial breaks lately, so if you want to check it out, you might want to look for it on MTV2.

GTA3 @ GameStar   <7:40 PM CST - schu>
illspirit sent me a scan of a German GTA3 preview in GameStar magazine.  Apparently they've put the same preview online, as noted by GTA3.com.  The only problem is that they use a combination of PS2 and PC shots.  The shot of the taxi leaving the jump for instance was originally posted in one of IGN's previews on the insane stunts and jumps of GTA3 PS2.  After looking at all the shots I don't really think they have anything new, just the same PC shots that have already been released along with some PS2 shots.  The preview does mention an editor, but I think they are talking about the skin editor that was previously announced on GrandTheftAuto3.com.  So far that's the only editor that Rockstar has mentioned.

Site Updates   <7:40 PM CST - schu>
Just a few quick things about the virus I mentioned on Saturday. First off I didn't actually get the virus, although I thought I did because I kept getting bogus emails sent from people who are infected by it, luckily my virus scanner cleaned those messages before I opened them.  Secondly, Insane2757 sent me a link to a free virus scanner that you can download.  I haven't used it myself, but it does seem to provide email protection and it comes with free updates.  Take a look.

Saturday - April 27, 2002   <8:32 PM CST>

Public Service Announcement   <8:32 PM CST - schu>
This is just a quick warning about the Klez virus.  If you aren't running a virus scanner currently I highly suggest you look into one and update it daily.  I've recently been getting Klez sent to me up to ten times a day :) , luckily my virus scanner has been picking it up and removing it.  You should also be aware that just because someone tells you they got an infected email from you, it doesn't necessarily mean it's from you.  The virus attaches a random FROM address on its emails, so anyone that has you in their address book could possibly send a viral message that says it's from you.  Additionally, the virus also sends emails to uninfected people telling them that their emails were bounced back because they were infected, thereby infecting them.  If you think you are infected you can download a free removal tool from SARC, right here.  Make sure you read the instructions very carefully, it requires that you disable any system restore features (available in WinME/XP) and it requires that you restart in safe mode before running it, but if you follow it step by step you should be ok.  Further information on the virus can be found here.  Currently I've been updating my virus definitions daily, but just to be sure I've done a number of full system scans with my virus scanner and I ran the tool to be sure.

This is especially important right now, because the virus will overwrite .txt, .htm, .html, .wab, .doc, .xls, .jpg, .cpp, .c, .pas, .mpg, .mpeg, .bak, or .mp3 files on the 6th of odd numbered months.  With May 6th rapidly approaching, it makes sense to be sure you're clean.

Site Updates   <8:32 PM CST - schu>
Robert's map pages (posted yesterday) appear to be offline currently because they've been swamped with requests.

Friday - April 26, 2002   <11:45 PM CST>

GTA3 PreOrder's Revisited   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
It seems that GameSpot and Electronics Boutique have both lowered the price of GTA3 PC on their sites to $39.99 and you still get the free stuff with the game.  

GameStop is offering a free hat with their preorder deal, although the $39.99 deal appears to be a limited time offer during their "stopwatch sale", whatever that is.  I'm not exactly sure what happened to their earlier wallet offer, guess they ran out.  GameStop is also offering $2 shipping if you buy two or more games from them in the same order. 

Electronics Boutique (US) has also lowered their price to $39.99 and they are still offering a free soundtrack sampler.  It's not the full soundtrack mind you, just sample of Lips and Game Radio.  

GameFixx is also running at $39.99 but as far as I can tell you don't get any free shit.

Rockstar Warehouse is still at $49.99, but you get a $20 GTA3 t-shirt, while supplies last.  So I suppose if you want the game and half-price shirt, then it's a good deal.

I also rechecked GameBuyer and apparently it hasn't been updated so the prices there aren't correct.

I checked some retailers outside the US but I didn't see any special deals, other than Play.com's ultra cheap price of £19.99 delivered in the UK.

If you know of any other low prices on GTA3 PC or any special pre-order deals, please let me know.

Thanks to Speno for his help with this update.

GameSpot Insider?   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
It seems that GameSpot has finally caved in and will be going to a pay system similar to IGN's, check it out.  I just hope it isn't as annoying as IGN's system.

More on the GTA3 PC Commercial   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
I received a reply back from Rockstar about the GTA3 commercial.  Apparently the Rockstar web guy is working on making the commercial available to us all.  I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything else.

GTA3 Maps   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
Robert put his nice set of GTA3 maps online right here. The maps show a lot of information including jumps, pickups, gang territories, contacts, and more.

GTA Area Name Editor   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
Delfi has created a program that will allow you to edit the area names on original and custom made GTA maps.  You can grab the util here (250k) or visit Delfi's site (it doesn't appear to be working at the moment though).

New GTA Sites   <11:45 PM CST - schu>

• GTA Sajten - (Swedish) - (New URL)
  www.gtasajten.com

  
Crazy Sh*t   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
Don't ask, just click!  This game is mildly entertaining.  There is some ok stuff here as well.

Thursday - April 25, 2002   <11:45 PM CST>

New GTA3 PC Commercial   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
I haven't seen it yet, but apparently a new commercial for the PC version has made its way onto TV, and from what I heard it may contain footage of new missions and/or cutscenes.  Once again I haven't seen it myself so I can't really say.  illspirit and Saggy are both reporting that Noops has screenshots of the commercial on his site here.  While you're there you might want to check out his other screen captures.  I've asked Rockstar to release the footage from the commercial so hopefully I'll hear back from them soon.

Wednesday - April 24, 2002   <10:45 PM CST>

No Multiplayer Patch   <10:45 PM CST - schu>
I heard back from Dan Houser of Rockstar Games on the multiplayer patch and it's basically not going to happen.  On the positive side, Dan did say that he thinks this is the best PC game they've every released, here is what he had to say:

"No. We're only interested in doing multiplayer right, so doing it unsupported is hardly going to do allow us to do that. If people are upset about this, we are very sorry, but the game is going to be very, very polished. We're just not interested in doing substandard unoriginal features."

"It should be seen as a positive, because the game is seriously good on
PC. The best PC version of any game we've ever done."

• GTA3.Macreators.com (French)
  gta3.macreators.com

Tuesday - April 23, 2002   <11:45 PM CST>

Interview Comments   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
I went through the interviews and compiled a list of PC features and information for those of you too lazy to read all three interviews :) :

• Add your own Radio station:
  Les Benzies mentioned that all the MP3s you add will make up their own additional radio station that you can access just like all the other stations.
• Two Control Methods
  The PC version of GTA3 will include two control methods.  The first is just like the PS2 setup, while the other is more suited for PC gamers.  The new control style will allow for camera control and movement with the mouse.  This control style does not feature auto aiming and leaves it up to your own skill to gun down your opponents.
• No Multiplayer
  I'm sure we've all heard this by now :( ...  I had some people write in about the possibility of adding multiplayer later with a patch or something but the outlook isn't too promising.  I floated the question to Dan and I haven't received a reply yet.  I also asked a friend in the gaming industry about it and he said that generally it's "not something you can just drop in.  All the code that interacts with the player needs to be aware of multiple players not just one, etc. Any code that checks to see if something's onscreen, like the spawning or mission code, needs to iterate through every player's screen etc..  Nothing painful, but if you didn't do it in the first place, it's a pain to 'bolt on'."  I suppose it's not completely out of the question, but if the code isn't buried in there to begin with I don't think it's very likely that we'll see a multiplayer patch.  Especially since they took the time to announce that GTA3 won't be a multiplayer game.  I can also tell you from my conversation with them that they really don't want to add multiplayer until they can make it as revolutionary as the game itself.  Personally I would be pleased with just regular deathmatch.  illspirit made a good point citing that regular deathmatch coupled with GTA3 IS revolutionary just given the scope and style of the game.  It's possible and very likely that they tested the idea and it just sucked.  I can tell you that if it didn't suck, they wouldn't have pulled it in the first place, I doubt they would have axed it otherwise.  Regardless I can understand wanting multiplayer just as much as I can understand their decision to pull it, I just hope we get it in the next version.
• Graphical Additions
  The PC version will be much more configurable allowing it to run nicely on a variety of machines.  Adjustments like draw distance and number of peds/cars on screen will be available allowing the PC version to run more fluidly than the PS2 version.  I can also see where it could make for some pretty interesting police chases with more cars around.  The PC version will also sport a much higher texture resolutions in full 32 bit color.   The GameSpy interview seems to indicate that there won't be any "card specific" features, like full screen anti-aliasing, but I hope they at least drop in some sort of texture compression support.
• Replay
  Another new addition to GTA3 is the ability to replay the last 30 seconds of gameplay from multiple camera angles.  You can then save these replays and view them later or trade them with friends.  I can think of many different occasions playing the PS2 version where this would have been very nice to have.
• Audio
  Full 3D audio is supported although no specific APIs were mentioned.  I would guess they are opting for DirectX 8.1's 3D audio support.
• No Censorship
  According to the GameSpot interview the mature rating will apply to the PC version as well, and with mods I'm sure someone out there can up the gore rating to a more impressive level.
• More Immersive
  During my brief phone conversation with PR girl at Rockstar, she indicated that the PC version is much more immersive than the PS2 version, mainly because of the new control scheme.  The higher frame rate, greater level of detail, 3D audio, and more natural control scheme all add up to a new GTA3 experience.  She said after using the scheme for awhile you'll be start noticing a lot of smaller details that weren't very noticeable in the PS2 version.
• Mod Support
  Ok, so this really isn't in there, but the official GrandTheftAuto3.com website mentions skinning support for the main character.  I'm still trying to find out if we'll get any other editing tools or support.  Here's hoping for vehicle skins and tech docs at the very least.
• Release Date
  OK, so I was off by 1 day :) , the PC version is due out May 21st in the US and it will be released a few days after that on May 24th in the UK.
• System Requirements
  Lastly the system requirements, I posted those yesterday so I won't repeat them, but they look like they encompass a variety of systems.

All in all I'd suggest you read through the three interviews.  They share a lot of the same information but it will at least give you an idea of what to expect.  Is GTA3 worth buying if you have the PS2 version already?  Well you'll really have to make that decision yourself, but if the new control scheme and graphics perform as advertised I'd lean toward purchasing it.  ElBazo also has a similar writeup on some things he spotted, check out GTA Scraper for more on that.

More On GTA Vice   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
IRCool was visiting his local Software Etc and they actually had a GTA3: Vice poster above the counter.  According to IRCool, the poster wasn't exactly "official", they basically stuck a piece of paper over the III and wrote Vice :).  Once again, Software Etc. is related to GameStop.com, the place where this whole rumor picked up steam.  So is Vice for real?  Well I can't say for sure, but I can tell you that the last "no comment" I got had a very large grin attached to it :)...  I have a feeling we might hear about it at E3 or something, either that or they still aren't sure if it will pan out or something.  Anyway, I'll keep digging for information and see what I can turn up.

GTA Max Newsletter   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
gta_player 2001 recently started a GTA email newsletter.  If you want to subscribe, simply send an email with your email address and your name to gta_player2001@blueyonder.co.uk.  If you have anything else you'd like to submit to his site, GTA Max, you can use that same address.

New GTA Sites   <11:45 PM CST - schu>

• GTA4 Central (URL Change)
  gta4central.sky-scraper.net
  
  
• A-Technologie´s GTA3 Site
  www.grandtheftauto-3.cjb.net

Monday - April 22, 2002   <6:45 PM CST>

GTA3 PC Goes Solo   <6:45 PM CST - schu>
As you may or may not have heard by now, GTA3 PC will be a strictly single player affair.  I spoke with Rockstar's Dan Houser over the phone today and it really just came down to the fact that the multiplayer component had a very "tacked on" feel to it and they didn't feel right releasing it in that state.  I know regardless of what I say a lot of people will be angry about it, but I can tell you that months ago when I initially spoke with Dan about the possibility of multiplayer on the PC version he was very excited about bringing it to the PC and he really wanted it to happen, unfortunately as things tend to go in game development, some ideas work and others don't.  Hopefully the next iteration of GTA on PC will bring a truly revolutionary multiplayer component.  Just before the GTA3 interviews were posted I got the following comment from Dan on the GTA3 PC multiplayer debacle:

"The pc version will not include multiplayer.  We have felt for a long time we couldn't make a multiplayer game that was as exciting or innovative as the single player game, and have always believed in doing things right or not doing them at all.  The time since the PS2 version came out has been spent insuring the PC game feels like a proper PC game with all of the features and playability of a PC game, not like a lame port.  It feels and looks amazing, so I think people will be very satisfied with it.  Of course, if people are expecting multiplayer they won't be getting it, but the game feels very nice on PC and not like a port at all."

Three New GTA3 Interviews   <6:45 PM CST - schu>
GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN all released GTA3 PC interviews today.  Copies of the interviews were forwarded to a number of GTA3 sites, including mine.  I haven't even gotten a chance to read them yet so I'm going to post them now and comment on them later:

• IGN Interview with Dan Houser and Leslie Benzies
• GameSpot Interview with Dan Houser and Leslie Benzies
• GameSpy Interview with Dan Houser and Leslie Benzies

R* Launches GTA3 PC Site   <6:45 PM CST - schu>
Rockstar has launched their GTA3 PC site over at GrandTheftAuto3.com.  The site features five new PC shots and they've also posted the system requirements.  Here are the five new shots, plus two that were over at GameSpy, and two more from GameSpot:

If you haven't seen them already, I posted some other GTA3 PC shots back in March.

Recommended System Requirements:

• 700 mhz CPU
• 128MB RAM
• 32MB Direct3D Video Card
• Fully DirectX Compatible Sound Card
• 8x CD-ROM
• 500MB Free Hard Drive Space
• Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
• DirectX 8.1
  

Minimum System Requirements:

• Pentium III 450 CPU
• 64MB RAM
• 16MB Direct3D Video Card
• Fully DirectX Compatible Sound Card
• 8x CD-ROM
• 500MB Free Hard Drive Space
• Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
• DirectX 8.1
  

Thanks to Dan Houser, Rev Ted, illspirit, Jae, and justin for the help with today's updates.

Friday - April 19, 2002   <11:45 PM CST>

Crazy Sh*t   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
Don't ask just click!  I'd have to say Get Up, Get Down is my favorite video out the lot, but if you like the vids there you should really pick up EBN's cd, Telecommunication Breakdown.  You might also want to check out their Telepodium/golfbag rocket launcher vid here.  Coldcut's VJamm demo is also a lot of fun to play around with.

Site Updates   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
Absolutely nothing of interest to say really...

Thursday - April 18, 2002   <11:45 PM CST>

GTA3 GBA   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
illspirit spotted a GTA3 listing for the GameBoy Advance on Nintendo's site.  There really isn't much there at the moment, but it currently shows it as a one player game due out in October 2002.  GTA3 GBA is being developed by Destination Software.  Earlier this month Gordon wrote in about Destination Software's site showing up on searches for GTA3 GBA so I suppose this explains why.

New GTA Sites   <11:45 PM CST - schu>

• GrandTheftAuto 3 NL (Dutch)
  gta3nl.cjb.net
  

Site Updates   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
It's been pretty dead lately, but hopefully it will pickup as we get closer and closer to E3.

Tuesday - April 16, 2002   <11:45 PM CST>

GTA: Vice "Rumor" Still Kicking   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
Michael was browsing his local Babbages on his break today when he saw GTA: Vice listed on a "Coming Soon" board with an October 9th, 2002 release date next to it.  I suppose it could be yet another retailer that doesn't have "accurate" information, but personally I think there is more to GTA: Miami/Vice.  One other note is that GameStop.com, Software Etc., and Babbages are all affiliated, and GameStop.com was the first retailer to list GTA: Miami/Vice so this might explain their "Coming Soon" board.

Gamespot's Most Anticipated Titles   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
Insane2757 was hunting around GameSpot and found a blurb about GTA4.  Well, really it's just the feature's editor saying that GTA4 is one of the few titles he is waiting for on PS2, here is the quote:

"Grand Theft Auto IV is definitely on my radar, but if it's released this year I'm wondering just how different it will be from the last game in the franchise."

Thanks to Insane2757 for the update...

Bargain Basement GTA3 PC   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
Tony Sutton found a very nice price on GTA3 PC if you live in the UK.  Play.com recently dropped their price from £34.99 to £18.99!  Play.com is currently showing a May 17th release date.  My sources indicate that the actual release date is more like May 20th, but that may vary depending on where you live.

One other thing I thought I should mention, Tony is still hosting the AGGTA SETI group for all you Seti@Home users...  Join up and see if you can unseat GTA God from his throne.

Weltstadt Goes Beta   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
wsm.bernd's GTA2 project, Weltstadt (World City) is now available in beta form.  Check out his site at www.weltstadtmafia.de.vu and click on DOWNLOAD up top.

Pre-Order Extras   <11:45 PM CST - schu>
There are a lot of retailers out there with pre-orders and some are even offering special deals with extra incentives so I thought I'd list a few here:

• Electronics Boutique (US) - Free Sound Track Sampler ($44.99)
• GameStop (US) - Free GTA3 Wallet ($49.99)
• RockStar Warehouse - Free T-Shirt ($49.99)

The only problem I've noticed is that the sites that have these special deals don't necessarily have the best price.  GameBuyer has a listing with prices as low as $39.  If anyone else knows of any special pre-order deals for GTA3 PC, please let me know and I'll add them to the list.

Site Updates   <11:45 PM CST - schu>

• The "Call Out Gouranga" spam is still making its rounds.  I never heard back from the original ISP that Bob helped me track down but I've got a new lead I'm working on, thanks to Michael.  If you get any spam from an @gouranga.com address, please forward the message to me with the full header details in tact so I can try to track it down.
• I'm finally home again and I'm still working through a mess of forwarded email, so if you don't get a reply within a day or so, try resending your message.

Saturday - April 13, 2002   <12:15 PM CST>

Freeload London Now   <12:15 PM CST - schu>
Freeloader.com is now offering GTA: London as a free 7MB download.  Both GTA and GTA2 still show up as (coming this Spring) so it looks like we'll still have to wait a bit longer to download those.  Thanks to Hultenius and NikesCool for the update.

GTA3 PC Preorder Deal   <12:15 PM CST - schu>
Saggy is reporting that Rockstar Warehouse now has GTA3 PC up for pre-order.  When you pre-order with Rockstar you also get a free GTA3 T-shirt (while supplies last).

Site Updates & Announcements   <12:15 PM CST - schu>

• I've been getting various reports that some retailers (both local stores and online retailers) are reporting an April release date for GTA3.  Right now I'm sticking by Rockstar's press release that announced a May release date, but just to be sure I've contacted them for some sort of confirmation.  Thanks to Elton M.
• I'll be returning back to my apartment and my glorious cable connection on Sunday.

Thursday - April 11, 2002   <12:15 PM CST>

• Maibatsu Monstrosity
• Pogo The Monkey
• Dormatron
• Fernando's New Beginnings
• PetsOvernight.com
  

Thanks to Rockstar and Saggy for the help on this one.

Wednesday - April 10, 2002   <11:58 PM CST>

Site Updates   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
As soon as I can check my damn email I'll have an update for you.  For some reason I've been locked out of my mail account.  Hopefully a call to tech support tomorrow will fix the problem.  Other than that there isn't too much going on...

Monday - April 8, 2002   <11:58 PM CST>

Be Somebody, Somewhere   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
Azz (azz.gouranga.com) haz completed and released his GTA masterpiece, and he was even nice enough to write the following so I wouldn't have to:

"For the past two years or so I've been sporadically working on a conversion for GTA1, Somewhere. And it's finally finished. For just under 3 meg you get, amongst other things, 12 missions, 16 kill frenzies, 1 tram system, 36 new cars, 1 complete map and a whole lotta bad puns.

You can download the version for GTA Windows from the Somewhere website, www.btinternet.com/~gtazz and all things being equal the DOS version will be released within the week.

Hope you enjoy playing, and please give me some feedback from it, Azz"

GTA ?   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
I'm calling it GTA ? because I really don't know at this point if Rockstar's rumored GTA3 expansion is called GTA Miami, GTA Vice or GTA Miami Vice :) (assuming it's even in development).  Regardless, the latest issue of PSW Magazine (UK) is claiming that it's in development and might be called GTA Miami.  I'm not sure if they contacted Rockstar about GTA Miami, but I doubt it.  So far Rockstar denies that any projects named GTA Miami or GTA Vice are in development, no comment on GTA Miami Vice, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, or GTA InsertNameHere :).  Thanks to Gta_player2001 for the update info.

More GTA3 Release Dates   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
Gta_player2001 is also reporting that a show on Channel 4 (UK) has announced a May 24th release date for GTA3 PC in the UK.  This would definitely go along with Rockstar's last press release.  I did some checking around and Take2 Germany is reporting a tentative release date of May 31st in Germany.  Take2 US and UK still show a more general Spring/May date, but I'd imagine the worldwide release dates won't vary too much.

Rockstar In Newsweek   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
Newsweek recently published an article on Rockstar Games and GTA3, definitely worth a read.  Below is a quote I pulled out of the article:

"Rockstar’s certainly on to something: since its October 2001 release, GTA3 has sold nearly 3 million copies at $50 a pop. And Hollywood is noticing. New Line and Miramax have bought film rights to games from Rockstar, and more deals are in the works."

I've heard this before, but it's still very interesting, I just hope they can make movies based on Rockstar's games without f-ing them up.

GTA_max Redesign   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
Gta_player2001 just wanted to mention that his site, GTA_max, is sporting a new look.  Check it out @ uk.geocities.com/gta_player2001.

GTA3 Cubed Correction   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
ElBazo wrote in to correct something I said in the last update.  I thought the deal with GTA3 was that Sony had a 3 year PS2 (console) exclusive, however ElBazo says it's actually only a six month deal, just like Tony Hawk 3.  Personally I thought it was longer than six months, but he is probably right.  He also mentioned the fact that GTA3 PC is coming out in May because it's six months after the October PS2 release, but I really don't think the PS2 release date has anything to do with PC release date.  From what I heard the PC version doesn't fall under Sony's PS2 exclusive rights because it only applies to console systems, not PCs.  At least that's what the guys at Rockstar told me.

Anyway, I'll do some digging and see what else I can turn up.  Thanks to ElBazo (gta.sky-scraper.net) for his counterpoint.

Site Updates   <11:58 PM CST - schu>

• I noticed today that I screwed up the day on Friday's update and it read Wednesday instead of Friday.  I've corrected this, if you missed that update because it read Wednesday, you might want to take a look.
• While I was visiting Take2 Germany I noticed they also have the same six PC shots, all free of annoying logos.  You can also view the translated German GTA3 PC page here.

Friday - April 5, 2002   <11:57 PM CST>

GTA3 PC Shots   <11:57 PM CST - schu>
Don't get too excited, it's nothing new...  However, Cidverte (Take2's Italian affiliate) has posted all the GTA3 PC shots released so far.  I've had them posted for a week now, but Cidverte has shots with no tags or logos on them.  The only shots in the bunch that are real PC shots are the ones with the "New" tag on them, the rest are old PS2 shots.  Here is a link to the translated version of the page.  I'd upload them to G! from here, but my patience with this 56k modem is beginning to wear thin.

GTA3 PC Release Date   <11:57 PM CST - schu>
Well the confusion continues on the retail sites.  Amazon and other retailers are reporting an April 17th release, while others are reporting a May 20th release.  Adam wrote in and said that he has it preordered at EB and that they recently sent him an email stating that Rockstar has set a new date of May 20th.  This also corresponds to Rockstar's own announcement so I'm fairly certain that the sites with April 17th date are simply reporting the old release date and haven't changed it yet.  For now I'd just say, don't count on April.  We'll probably see GTA3 pimped out at E3 early in May to build up hype and then released later in May. Thanks to Adam, Patte, and Mike.

GTA3 Cubed   <11:57 PM CST - schu>
Blake noticed something interesting in IGN's GameCube mailbag.  One reader wrote in asking about the possibility of GTA3 on the Cube and got a response.  Here is the correspondence:

GTA3 Begging
My cousin owns a PS2 with GTA3... I love the game so much it's not even funny. I can have the most fun time not even following the story line and doing missions. Just torturing the city folk. After reading Fran's article on Resident Evil, he said there is a possibility to bring games like GTA 3 to the cube. PLEASE! Save me the $350 of going to buy myself a ps2 and gta 3 just so i can play it, i would love gor GTA to come to the cube! Convince Rockstar to do it! please! hehe ok, that's enough begging, thank you for your time.

Fran responds: I just spoke to Rockstar yesterday. Oddly enough, I found myself demo'ing Resident Evil for them. Needless to say the two representatives were extremely impressed with what Capcom has done on the system. RE is definitely a title that makes jaws drop. I, of course, inquired about GTA3 coming to GameCube and I was only told, "I wish I could tell you that." I then asked what was going to happen at E3, if Rockstar had any big announcements for GameCube and they hinted that there might be a few. So, the mystery continues, but I pointed out that if RE is successful in the states they'll have no excuse to avoid delivering the series to GameCube. Cross your fingers.

So far it remains undetermined when or if Rockstar will port GTA3 to GameCube or XBox.  Personally I don't think it has anything to do with money, system popularity, or the capabilities of either machine, I think it has more to with their relationship with Sony.  Awhile back it was rumored that GTA3 would be a PS2 console exclusive for three years and if that is true they would either have to wait or release a new game that didn't fall under that deal (the PC is excluded from this deal because it's not a console system).  The deal may just be a rumor, but if it is true it would explain why no announcements have been made and why the initial XBox announcement has quietly disappeared.

GTA3 GBA Developer?   <11:57 PM CST - schu>
Gordon was searching around for GTA3 GBA information and this site kept turning up.  There is nothing on the Destination Software site, however if you view the source of the site the keywords listed are "destination software inc, game boy advanced, grand theft auto 3, midnight club, snood, smuggler's run, gaming, software, nintendo".  So this might be the developer working on all of the GBA ports for Rockstar.  I also noticed in the source that they are located in New Jersey, not too far from Rockstar's New York office. Currently the GBA version of GTA3 is set for an October release (there's that October date again :) ).

Site Updates   <11:57 PM CST - schu>
As you can see I finally got this damn computer working so I should be able to update while I'm staying with my parents.  It's painful going from a 1.2 GHz to a 233 MHz, but I suppose it's better than nothing and should be ok until I return to my apartment next week.

Wednesday - April 3, 2002   <9:00 AM CST>

GTA Vice Shot Down   <9:00 AM CST - schu>
Rockstar has officially shot down the GTA Vice rumor.  IGN finally got a comment from Rockstar stating that the rumor and the name of the title are both incorrect.  This just leaves me wondering where GameStop got the GTA Vice name to begin with?  I seriously doubt they just made it up.  Regardless, at this point Rockstar will only say that the next title in the series in development and hinted that something might be announced this coming May at E3.  Thanks to El Bazo (GTA Scraper) and Saggy.

Site Updates   <9:00 AM CST - schu>
Well I'm headed out of town today but if all goes well updates will continue.

Monday - April 1, 2002   <11:55 PM CST>

GTA Vice Release Date   <11:55 PM CST - schu>
While there is still no official release date for GTA Vice, I have some fairly accurate information that leads me to believe that Rockstar is aiming for an October release.  Why October?  Simple, the end of October is the end of Take-Two's financial year and the last chance to get the title out the door and rack up some profit for 2002.  You may recall that GTA2 was released in October and GTA3 was originally supposed to be out in October.  Once again, planning to release in October and actually doing it are two different things, but right now the October date seem very very likely.

The Secret of the Seven Lifts   <11:55 PM CST - schu>
I still don't have an official comment from Rockstar on this, however I got a lot of email that says they commented on this previously.  From what I can gather, the lifts were going to be part of either a mission or another import/export garage that dealt mainly in gang cars.  Apparently the idea was scrapped and building was removed but for some reason the lifts remain.  Once again, this isn't official but I did receive the same answer from a number of sources.  If you want to discuss the lifts, both GameWinnners and GameGossip have extensive threads on this issue.  Thanks to Jandar, Jason, and WaterBoy.

GTA AIM Icons   <11:55 PM CST - schu>
IRCool noticed that BadAssBuddy has a selection of buddy icons for AOL Instant Messenger.  You can find the icons right here.  Thanks to IRCool.

Site Updates   <11:55 PM CST - schu>
On Wednesday or Thursday this week I'll be driving back to my home town for a friend's wedding.  I'm fairly sure I'll be able to update using my parent's computer, but it's old so it's really up to the computer :).  If it's cooperating I'll update :) ...  If not I'll probably post something in the forums detailing when I'll be back.