It’s now even harder to avoid playing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars as Rockstar has announced that a version of the game for the iPhone will be joining the PSP version when it is released this autumn.

Rockstar president Sam Houser believes that the game is a “perfect match” for the iPhone;

“Chinatown Wars is a perfect match for the iPhone and iPod touch. We are very excited to bring this incredibly ambitious version of Liberty City, with this level of detail and immersive gameplay on Apple’s new gaming platforms,” (Source)

The best thing about this announcement is that the iPhone version won’t have to sacrifice the touch screen controls like the PSP version had to, so hopefully this version will be mostly similar to the DS version. I do have some reservations about how you will control Huang Lee (the main character), as some previous iPhone ports have used an on-screen d-pad which can often be a bit frustrating to use.

There are no screenshots yet (unlike the PSP version) but I expect it won’t be too long until we see some.

Rockstar is also bringing Beaterator to the iPhone (originally announced for PSN and PSP), a music mixer that has been developed in collaboration with Timbaland. Let’s hope that people will use earphones when creating their own tunes on the bus or train.

Both games will be out in autumn, with a firm release date to come at a later date.

Image courtesy of the NY Times. 

Guitar Hero has been a massive success for Activision, so it only makes sense that they start to branch out into other areas of musical talent. While details on DJ Hero have been around for a few months now it was still an unannounced project until yesterday.

Speaking on the American news station CNBC, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick had this to say;

“We have this product called DJ Hero coming out later this year, which is a turntable that you actually can play competitively and spin discs and mix songs,” Kotick said, looking frosty at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland -CNBC (Via Eurogamer)

The game will be a musical rhythm game just like its predecessor, except you’ll be using a laptop turntable peripheral instead of a plastic guitar.  Kotaku has more to say on the controller’s design;

“In the latest form, the device looks a lot like a simplified DJ Deck. There is a platter for scratching which will act like the strum toggle on a Guitar Hero guitar. Above the platter are three buttons for sampling. The controller also includes a cross fader and a sound effects dial which will act like the whammy bar in Guitar Hero.“ - Kotaku

Interestingly Activision has also registered a trademark for Dance Hero. So, what’s next readers? Banjo Hero? Suggestions in the comments!

Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith is claiming that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has become the highest-grossing game ever.

During an Activision CES presentation Griffith’s revealed that the game surpassed $1 billion (£675 million) in sales during the 2008 holiday season. He believes that this is the first single game to hit the massive $1 billion milestone.

This has not only put a smile on an Activision shareholders face, but it has also improved music in general.

Data from national instrument retailer Guitar Center indicated that sales of real guitars were also up. Griffith said two-thirds of non-musicians exposed to music games plan to start playing a real instrument in the next couple of years, while three-fourths of musicians said they’ve spent more time with their instruments since picking up a music game. - EDGE Online

See? Video games can lead to good things! If a game is going to get more young people into music then that’s great, and hopefully they will be the superstars of the future.

If you don’t have the game yet then what are you waiting for? Guitar Hero II is an absolute blast to play - especially at parties. However, while the Wii tends to be something I don’t play much unless I’m with other people Guitar Hero is a game that I’ll still continue to play on my own. So, while I’m left here cringing at that fact that I just wrote the word ‘blast’ why not treat yourself to some good old modernised (what? does that even make sense?) musical fun? If all else fails then you could always try Rock Band, just don’t tell Activision I said that.