GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony now available

Rockstar Games has released Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony for download from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and at retail stores everywhere as part of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City for the Xbox 360. The retail package contains The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on a single disc and does not require a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.

In The Ballad of Gay Tony, players assume the role of Luis Lopez – right-hand man, bodyguard, and confidant to Tony Prince, the nightlife impresario of Liberty City. Luis’ story explores Liberty City’s nightlife as he struggles to balance the temptations of money and vice with family loyalties. In addition to new story missions, The Ballad of Gay Tony introduces new vehicles, weapons, music, television content, multiplayer features, and side activities such as base jumping and managing Tony’s various clubs.

Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, rated M for Mature by the ESRB, is available for download now via Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 1600 MS points, and as part of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City at retail stores everywhere for $39.99 / £34.99 / €45.

Find out more at www.rockstargames.com/episodesfromlibertycity.

GTA IV The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC this fall

Rock Star Games announced the next round of downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV. The new DLC will be called The Ballad Of Gay Tony and will be released this fall for 1600 MS Points. Described as an “overdose of guns glitz, and grime,” the DLC will feature new stories and new missions that center on Luis Lopez, an assistant to night club owner and part time criminal Tony Prince. As Gay Tony’s assistant, Luis will have to choose his loyalties among family and friends as the story unfurls. Not a lot of details at this time, but expect to hear more during E3 next week.

Rockstar Games also revealed that a special bundle featuring the previous released DLC, The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony will be released at retail on a single disc for $39.99. As expected this disc and the digital release will be rated “M” for “Mature” by the ESRB.

GTA IV: The Lost and the Nude

Update: The ESRB responded to our request for clarification on a couple of issues related to the rating for The Lost and the Damned. When asked about whether or not the ratings board saw the full frontal male nudity in in the DLC prior to its release and if it thought it put the game beyond the threshold of a “Mature” rating, ESRB spokesperson Eliot Mizrachi offered the following response:

“This content was disclosed and found to be consistent with the game’s Mature rating; however, it did prompt the assignment of a content descriptor for ‘Nudity.’”

So, while some may find this content a bit of a surprise, at least the ESRB knew about it in advance and rated appropriately. I guess Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two have learned a lesson from all the nonsense surrounding “Hot Coffee.”

Original Story: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned is out as we’ve already mentioned but people aren’t necessarily only talking about all the new characters, multiplayer modes, weapons and vehicles found in this DLC. No, they are also talking about a cutscene in the game that involves full frontal male nudity. That’s right, one of the characters in the game shows you what he has to offer unabashedly and without shame. The sad part is that the dude he’s having a conversation with doesn’t blink as this nude man chats him up.

 While this cutscene is amusing on so many levels, it also raises a few questions: did the ESRB see this clip when it rated the game “M” for “Mature” (it does list nudity in the game’s descriptor)? Does an extended look at a man’s junk constitute an “AO” rating and how will the mainstream media portray this clip once it is out there? We’ll let you judge for yourselves - follow this link - but keep in mind that it is intended for mature audiences and is appropriately age gated.

Both the ESRB and Rockstar Games are unavailable for comment at this early hour but we hope to get a responsefrom both later today.

The Lost and the Damned Available Now

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned is now available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace. The Lost and Damned is the first piece of downloadable content for Rockstar’s popular sandbox game, offering a new main character named Johnny Klebitz, and a plot that intersects with the original storyline from Grand Theft Auto IV. That means you’ll get new missions that offer an entirely different perspective, new ways to explore Liberty City, new multiplayer modes, new weapons and vehicles; and some new original in-game music.

This DLC pack will cost you 1600 MS points and weighs in at a hefty 1.8 GB - as anyone on Twitter would tell you right now if you were stupid enough to be awake.

Microsoft also released some free Avatar costumes on Xbox Live Marketplace to commemorate the occasion. For the guy avatars there’s the Rocker Jacket, Pixie Boots, Grunge Pants, Metal Combats, Top Hat, Skull Ring, Leather Biker Gloves, Left Feather Earring, and Right Feather Earring. For the girl avatars there’s the Punk Tee, Black 60’s Boots, Leopard Print Leggings, Biker Jacket, Biker Gloves, Skull Wrist Band, Left Feather Earring, and Right Feather Earring. It’s all free so even if you don’t give a damn about the DLC, at least you can play dress-up.

Microsoft Promotes Lost and the Damned Week

You know your downloadable content is huge when Microsoft gives silver members the ability to play it online for free - even if it is for a limited time. Microsoft is doing everything it can to make sure that the Lost and the Damned DLC is a success, but to be honest with you it probably doesn’t have to do all that much to hit that milestone.

The company announced today that, starting Tuesday, February 17 at 9:00 am (PST), Xbox LIVE multiplayer service usually reserved for Xbox LIVE Gold members will be completely free of charge for LIVE members while playing Grand Theft Auto IV or The Lost and Damned. Grand Theft Auto multiplayer promotion is applicable only to players of either Grand Theft Auto IV or The Lost and Damned expansion episode, and will end on Sunday, February 22 (11:59PM PST).

Naturally the blatant self promotion doesn’t end there (and why should it); this is exclusive DLC, after all. Rockstar Games and Xbox LIVE are putting on a week of special events with the chance to take on Hip Hop DJ and producer, Statik Selektah in a special Game with Fame event and a Game with Rockstar multiplayer event. Sweepstake promotions and an Xbox All Nighter will also be part of the week of activities

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned will be available for download exclusively through Xbox Live beginning February 17 for 1600 Microsoft Points ($19.99). More on this week of events can be found at www.xbox.com/lostanddamnedliveweek.

Game Developers Choice Award Finalists Announced

The ninth annual Game Developers Choice Awards finalists have been announced this morning, with Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet leading with seven nominations and Jonathan Blow’s Xbox Live Arcade title Braid following closely with five nominations.

Other nominees include Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, Fable 2, Far Cry 2, World of Goo, Metal Gear Solid 4, Grand Theft Auto IV and many others. The Game Developers Choice Awards are held annually in tandem with the Game Developers Conference in March.

The full list of categories and nominees after the jump:

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EA, Activision Dominate PC Charts

According to numbers from NPD Group for the week ending Jan. 24, The Sims 2 Double Deluxe was the top selling PC game in North America. More importantly Electronic Arts and Activision dominated the week’s charts, with only Bethesda’s Fallout 3 and 2K Games’ Civilization IV. EA had four titles on the charts, while Activision had four -0 three of which were World of Warcraft SKU’s. The complete list after the jump, along with digital sales numbers from Direct2Drive and Steam:

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