Eurogamer


Mass Effect 3's free multiplayer DLC pack Resurgance will be released on the EU PlayStation Store today.


The offering includes two new maps and the opportunity to unlock six new character classes, including the first chances to play as the robotic geth and four-eyed batarian races.


Enjoyable Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City and mediocre 5/10 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 are now available to download for fairly cheap prices, as is Goldeneye 007: Reloaded - although you'll need to stump up £39.99 to nab that.


PlayStation Plus subscribers get PlayStation 1 survival horror Silent Hill free until 9th May, while everyone gets demos of bullet-time shooter Sniper Elite V2 and unnofficial Olympics cash-in Summer Stars 2012 to try.


You can even dress up your Final Fantasy 13-2 characters in new costumes, including Ezio Auditore's garb from Assassin's Creed: Revelations.


The full listing of new content lies below, courtesy of the EU PlayStation blog

PS3 Games

  • Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City - £14.99
  • Goldeneye 007: Reloaded - £39.99
  • Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II - £8.79
  • Pure Chess - £4.99 (20% discount for Plus members)

PS3 Demos

  • Summer Stars 2012 Demo - Free
  • Sniper Elite V2 Demo - Free
Eurogamer


Grand Theft Auto 5 launches in October 2012, according to the online CV of a Rockstar North character animator.


As reported by Joystiq, both the employee's LinkedIn page and online résumé both list the date next to the GTA5 entry.


Rockstar has so far refused to comment, however, the CV has been taken offline and the LinkedIn page tweaked to remove any mention of the game.


Neither Rockstar nor publisher Take-Two has discussed a potential release window for the next game in the hugely popular open world crime series since it was unveiled late last year.


Worthy of note is the fact that Take-Two currently has BioShock Infinite scheduled for an October launch. Would it want to release two of its biggest franchises in the same month?

Eurogamer


Multiplayer "crews" that you set up in Max Payne 3 will carry over to Grand Theft Auto 5, developer Rockstar has revealed.


Studio co-founder Dan Houser told IGN that the new Social Club functionality is part of its plan to innovate multiplayer across all its titles.


"Multiplayer is an ever-more important part of all our games moving forward," he said.


"And by creating crews through Social Club, the crews that you create in Max Payne 3 will be ready and available for you to play in Grand Theft Auto V from day one.


"It's all part of our larger approach to make multiplayer deeper and richer than what's currently available, much more easily accessible to the newcomer and rewarding for the hardcore.


"We made a promise not to talk too much about forthcoming games until a little further down the track but, yes, crews will feature in Grand Theft Auto V multiplayer," he added.


Max Payne 3 will let you form private crews with your friends, or join public crews. You can be a member of up to five at the same time, and completing tasks as a crew will gain you XP points.


Among the crew features promised are persistent Feuds, that see you scrapping with opposing gangs who've killed someone on your team.


There's still no word on when we'll see GTA5 on shelves, but Max Payne 3 lands on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 from 18th May.

Eurogamer


Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser has bought the same Brooklyn mansion once inhabited by legendary true crime author Truman Capote for a staggering $12.5 million.


As reported by New York Observer, the house, located at 70 Willow Street in New York's Brooklyn Heights district, was home to the In Cold Blood author for 10 years.


The sale is thought to be the largest ever in Brooklyn, beating the previous record by 1.5 million.


Houser's new 9000 square foot pad boasts 18 rooms over three floors, 11 fireplaces and a showpiece spiral staircase.


The British émigré relocated to New York back in 1998 to get Rockstar off the ground with his brother Sam, Terry Donovan, Jamie King and Gary Foreman. The developer is currently hard at work on Grand Theft Auto 5.

'Rockstar boss buys Truman Capote's New York mansion' Screenshot 1
Eurogamer


Mafia 2 developer 2K Czech is reportedly helping Rockstar out with development of Grand Theft Auto 5.


It's been working on the game for almost a year, a source told VG247, helping produce animations for cutscenes and general gameplay.


Apparently the two studios are sharing tech secrets - part of Take-Two's masterplan to turn Mafia into a monster franchise.


GTA5, unveiled with a trailer late last year, is without a release window.


Meanwhile, work on Mafia 3 is now underway after a year of pre-production "in which the game's concepts and tech were stripped back to basics and rebuilt".


Will Mafia 3 be a next generation game? VG247's source said 2K attended the Durango developer's summit in London last week - rumoured to be a Microsoft showcase for its next Xbox.

Eurogamer


Publisher Take-Two has filed trademarks for "GTA TV" and "Rockstar TV".


As spotted by RockstarSpy, the listings were filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month.


According to the accompanying blurb, the marks refer to the following:


"Computer game programs and software; animated motion picture films featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children's and documentary themes; pre-recorded video discs and other pre-recorded digital and electronic media in the field of live action programs, motion pictures, or animation featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children's and documentary themes."


Could it just be a strategic trademark hold, or does Take-Two have some kind of cross-media masterplan up its sleeve for Grand Theft Auto 5's impending arrival? At the time of writing, the publisher had declined to comment.

Eurogamer


Rockstar is currently mulling the future of last year's crime thriller L.A. Noire.


Will there be an L.A. Noire 2? Rockstar has said it will not "count out the possibility", despite controversial developer Team Bondi now no more.


"Don't count out the possibility of a new game in the L.A. Noire franchise in the future. We simply have not decided anything," a Rockstar spokesperson wrote, answering a reader Q&A on the company's official site.


"We're all very pleased with how that game turned out and are considering what the future may hold for L.A. Noire as a series."


Rockstar said it was in no hurry to create a follow-up however.


"We don't always rush to make sequels, but that does not mean we won't get to them eventually - see Max and Red Dead for evidence of that - we have so many games we want to make and the issue is always one of bandwidth and timing."


Brendan McNamara-headed Team Bondi was shut down by administrators last year after swirling accusations of employee mismanagement during a brutal "crunch" period on L.A. Noire.


In the near future, Rockstar already has its plate full launching upcoming shooter Max Payne 3. Then presumably next on the cards is the already-announced Grand Theft Auto 5, more details of which Rockstar plans to share soon.


"We know that there are a ton of questions you all have about the game, including release date and lots else," Rockstar said of GTA5.


"Right now, we are very hard at work on the game and are excited as well to show and tell you more as development progresses - expect that we'll be talking much more about GTAV starting at some point in a few months' time." E3 then.

Eurogamer


Music publishing giant EMI is working to secure "hidden gems" from its giant audio catalogue for use in Grand Theft Auto 5.


EMI has previously provided tunes for the Grand Theft Auto series and is apparently ready to work with Rockstar again.


"Over the years, the Grand theft Auto series has provided EMI Music Publishing with a unique opportunity to get sync placements for some hidden gems in our catalogue that otherwise may not have landed in the world of video games," EMI exec told Music Week (via MCV).


"We look forward to working with Rockstar Games on future versions of this fantastic series and to continuing to deliver value to our songwriters in this regard."


The track which accompianed the initial Grand Theft Auto 5 reveal trailer, Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake by The Small Faces, is so far the only song confirmed to be in the game.


Rockstar is yet to announce a release date or launch platforms for Grand Theft Auto 5, although the first footage of the game suggested the title was already well into development.

Eurogamer


Two video games, Grand Theft Auto 5 and Call of Duty, will account for around a quarter of all video game sales in the coming financial year, a report suggests.


A third of all money made from video games in the next year will also come from just those two titles, US financial analyst Baird Equity Research states (reported by Gamasutra).


Release dates for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 and Activision's next Call of Duty game have yet to be announced, although it's a fair bet that both will launch before April 2013.


Originally designed to predict Electronic Arts' prospects, the report is less optimistic about EA's chances against the forthcoming financial year's twin gaming juggernauts.


Baird Equity analyst Sebastian Colin said the firm was "sceptical that EA will be able to show growth in its console segment".


Although not confirmed, EA is expected to launch a new Medal of Honor sequel later this year.


"Significantly" increased pressure from mobile gaming rival Zynga, plus uncertainties over EA's Wii U offering could also spell trouble for EA, Colin suggested.

Eurogamer

Update: Rockstar appears to have removed the reference to next-gen consoles in its job advertisement, the original text of which is below. The advert now only mentions that candidates must have "the creative and technical knowledge to achieve the highest quality results within budget". Did Rockstar say too much?

Original story: Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar is currently hiring staff for an unannounced project on "next-gen consoles".


An advert on Rockstar's website called for Environment Artists to build a next-generation console game at Edinburgh-based studio Rockstar North.


"You will be designing, building and texturing the world, have the technical knowledge to achieve great looking results and the skill to get the most from next-gen consoles," the job advert stated.


After Max Payne 3 this spring, Rockstar will focus on Grand Theft Auto 5. Platforms haven't been announced, but the GTA5 reveal trailer showed us what appeared to be a well developed game - not one still in the dark about what "next-gen" will actually be.

What's more, Rockstar will want Grand Theft Auto 5 to challenge the Call of Duty games in terms of sales - maybe even overtake them. Such a feat will only be possible, for the time being, on the widespread current generation of machines.


What, then, could this next-gen Rockstar game be? Could it be the hush-hush PS3 exclusive Agent? Could it be a new Bully game - the brand Rockstar "adores"? Or could it be a new Red Dead Redemption outing?


Or, could Rockstar be planning another dose of Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis - the sports game that tested an engine and also turned out to be pretty good.

...

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