In a recent interview with The Times of Lodon Dan Houser, one of the big wigs at Rockstar, has been caught talking about GTA V, which we all knew was coming out, but it's always good to know where they are in development on it. Houser says they're hard at work on Rockstar's upcoming Red Dead Revolver game and are also putting together the pieces for GTA V.

"We'll think of a city first, then the characters,” said Houser. He also explains that the script he will end up co-writing will run to around 1,000 pages, nearly ten times as much as a feature film. Feature films are mentioned because most of the article is actually about the unfair treatment Rockstar and the gaming industry in general gets when it comes to violence in games.

Houser actually has some great quotes and opinions on the subject so I'm hoping that this bit of non-news promoted by Captain Obvious actually prompts you to head over there and check out the entire article or maybe Jim's post on the story already did that.

A new update (noticed by GTA4.Net) for Grand Theft Auto IV on PC all but confirms "The Lost and Damned" add-on will one day be heading beyond the Xbox 360's exclusivity. The patch added Achievements for the first of, uh, two DLC packs for the game, as shown above.

This of course leads us to the logical conclusion that the add-ons are only timed exclusives for the Microsoft console. But that raises the question, does this mean PlayStation 3 owners will get their day too?

Considering how quite a few games that come out on Xbox 360 and PC are still, for whatever reason, labeled as 360-exclusive, such an idea might be pushing it.

More than anything else, I'm just disappointed that this wasn't leaked by Tom Morello.

[Via CVG]

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We told you about the anime Princess Robot Bubblegum in GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, and Conrad was kind enough to record the entire thing so that we could take a moment to enjoy and discuss the piece. Clocking in at around 11 minutes, the show does what GTA has been known for in its more recent iterations: lampooning culture.

Except, in the case of Princess Robot Bubblegum, it's about fifteen years late. I really shouldn't mind, and it's not like this bothers me on the scale of Modern Warfare 2, but it's still ticked me off just a bit. Follow me after the jump so I can rant a bit.

_{Every week, sort of, features editor (Reverend) Anthony Burch discusses games and gamer culture in his "Rev Rant" video series.}

Sorry about the lack of a rant last week. Camera was in the shop.

This week, I'd like to talk about portrayals of homosexuality in games and how they tend to be either really bad, or underwhelming despite good intentions on the part of the writers.

Relatively mild spoilers ensue for Persona 4, GTA IV, Polaris, and Handle With Care. Click above to watch the video, assuming none of that bothers you.

And, er, try to ignore the mirrored credits for this fanvid playing over the end of the video.

We have little doubt that Rockstar has provided some quality radio listening for Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, which was just made available today for Xbox 360. But if you're looking for something a little different, our friends at Gamertag Radio have something for you. 

WGTR is a "pirate" hit-hop radio stations were put together by Gamertag Radio's Petrocc, along with Wrekonize and DJ Idee who created a mix just for the show. The show also features exclusive new music from Miami-area hip-hop artists, MayDay. 

The idea here is to throw the mp3 on as an Xbox 360 custom soundtrack, and kick back while it plays during your tour of Liberty City. Pretty cool idea, especially if you're into hip-hop. If not, well, maybe it's time to put your own radio station together, isn't it?

First, a little housekeeping -- I cheated a bit with this Ten Minute Taste of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. It's more like a 12 minute and 30 second taste of "The Ballad of Gay Tony," one of the two bits of standalone Grand Theft Auto goodness that shipped on the retail disc. 

Why the extra two minutes and thirty seconds? Well, Grand Theft Auto games have come to be known for their story-telling, and "The Ballad of Gay Tony" is no different. In fact, most of the first ten minutes of the game is intro and story setup. The only game play involves getting in a car and driving to a nightclub. You then have a few options, one of which is a dancing mini-game. 

I chose the dancing mini-game, as you'll see, and one thing led to another, and well... let's just say that the above video is not safe for work unless you work for Bangbus.

Enjoy.

As expected, the next GTA IV episode is now. The downloadable version of Grand Theft Auto: "The Ballad of Gay Tony" is live on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Weighing in at a modest 2 GB and priced at 1,600 Microsoft Banana Bucks, the latest episode brings new vehicles, new weapons, new game modes and, more importantly, a fresh narrative starring Luis Lopez, a protector of sorts for the nightclubs owned “impresario” Tony Prince.

As Major Nelson points out in his post, this episode is available on as a stand-alone retail disc, coupled with its predecessor downloadable “The Lost and the Damned.” This disc, dubbed Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, is listed by the GameStop database as “shipping” this morning, so it may or may not be on shelves quite yet.

We’re playing this thing.  Are you digging it?

With the release of Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes From Liberty City, Rockstar has declared that this is the end for Liberty City, the game's New York-inspired location. In the manual for the freshly released game, a teaser page bears the message: "Liberty City! It's Over!" Underneath that message is the phrase: "Next Stop."

The image has a pretend rip in the paper, "revealing" the location underneath it. However, all that's pictured is a small bit of landscape and the word "seagull," which gives us no clue whatsoever as to where the next location may be. That said, wasn't Vice City supposed to be famed for its beach, upon which there CAN BE SEAGULLS SOMETIMES!? My journalism sense is tingling ...

Where do you think the "next stop" for Grand Theft Auto will be? Are we returning to Vice City, will we be skipping straight to San Andreas, or does Rockstar have something entirely new up its sleeve? Let the rudderless speculation begin!

Only one more day until Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony. Can you feel it? Rockstar sent out a last-minute trailer, dedicated to Tony's main man Luis Lopez.

Swearing, guys being thrown off of buildings, cursing, helicopters blowing things up, name calling ... uh yep, this is the GTA we know and love. Base jumping is something I have always longed to see in multiplayer, and I'm happy it's finally being implemented with The Ballad of Gay Tony.

There is also potentially good news for anyone planning on downloading the episode: Rockstar North will be in attendance for multiplayer on Friday from 5:00 - 10:00 PM EDT. Better yet, the online will be open to everyone all weekend for GTA IV and both downloadable episodes.

This is your chance to shine, Xbox LIVE Silver members. Jump past the break to see the Rockstar gamertags.

If for whatever reason hours worth of new single-player gameplay and multiplayer additions won't do it for you, Rockstar's added a bit more to Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony -- all new Achievements. 

Rockstar has revealed today that the "expansion" will add ten new Xbox LIVE Achievements when it's made available this Thursday, October 29. You'll get 15 gamerpoints for "dancing "perfectly in both of Tony's clubs" ("Catch the Bus"), or another 15 gamerpoints for winning the L.C. Cage Fighters championship. Yeah, that's right -- cage fighting. 

You can see the full list of achievements on the official Web site for The Ballad of Gay Tony. There are even pretty pictures!

As we’ve been told by Rockstar Games, the next downloadable installment for Grand Theft Auto IV won’t be short on content. In addition to having a new narrative for players to explore, ‘The Ballad of Gay Tony’ will introduce new vehicles, new tunes and even new television anime ‘toons. The above is an example, pulled from the expansion.

The show is called Princess Robot Bubblegum. In Rockstar fashion, it serves as a scrap of satire that beats on anime as hard as we’ve been smacking GTA hookers with baseball bats all of these years. It’s hilarious and worth the scan, but probably not something you want your boss to see you hitting up at work -- the bikini and phallus-walking stick portions are a bit intense in addition to other things.

Not only can you BASE jump in Grand Theft Auto Ballad of Gay Tony/Episodes from Liberty City, but you can do it with up to 15 friends!

Rockstar has revealed that among the game's multiplayer modes will be a 16-player BASE jumping challenge mode, where players can jump from nine different locations. And shoot at each other with rockets, of course. The game will track stats with full Rockstar Social Club integration, detailing things like total completion time for all nine jumps, distance to the ground before opening the chute, and more. 

Looks hot. Do want. It hits next week exclusively for Xbox 360 as DLC (Ballad of Gay Tony) or standalone retail disc (Episodes from Liberty City).  

Wondering how Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars looks and plays on the PlayStation Portable? We've pulled the first ten minutes of the game (loading screens and all!) for you to check out, so wonder no more. 

The game itself is handled pretty well on the PSP, the transition from the Nintendo DS mostly seamless. The impact of one of the game's early uses of the touch screen in the original -- tapping a pane of glass with your stylus to crack it -- is lessened on the PSP, however. Check it out at the 6:28 mark -- you're just tapping the shoulder buttons on the PSP, which certainly feels less "in the moment" than it does with short taps of the stylus. 

Otherwise, from what I've played so far, this is still the same great game that was on the DS. It's easy to move both on foot and in a car using the PSP analog nub, and the higher resolution textures give the game a nice sharp, clean look.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is out today.

["Ten Minute Taste" is something new we're trying here at Destructoid. Simply put, we'll rip the first ten minutes of a game to video -- loading screens, warts and all -- just so you can get an idea of what you'll expect when you first pop the game in. Let us know what you think.

To see the latest games, be sure to visit our work-in-progress Videos section, and be sure to subscribe tour video RSS feed to see the latest videos first.]

Rockstar ships Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the PlayStation Portable tomorrow, and I'm pleased as punch over it. I loved it on the Nintendo DS, and look forward to seeing how Rockstar Leeds (in association with Rockstar North!) handled porting it over to the non-touch-screen Sony portable. 

The publisher/developer sent sent over a copy of the game today, and I'm happy to report that we haven't had a chance to even take off the shrink wrap. Why? Papercraft time!!!!!

Bundled with the boxed UMD (the game will also be available on PlayStation Network) was a Sabre GT papercraft model kit. Never one to back down from a challenge (I'm pretty handy with a pair of scissors, and an expert at folding), I dove right in, spending all afternoon putting the little sucker together!

Hit the jump to see the completed papercraft Sabre GT, and feel free to try it yourself using the included high resolution scans I've included in the gallery.