Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV is the eleventh game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise. The plot is written by Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser and uses the RAGE engine.

Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition
On May 21, 2007 Rockstar Games announced Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The special edition is packed in a safety deposit box. It comes with a soundtrack CD from selected artist, a book with concept art, a Rockstar key chain with keys to the box, and a Rockstar duffel bag.

Development
On May 9, 2006 at E3 Take-Two Interactive announced that Grand Theft Auto IV will be available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. On February 28, 2007 it was announced that exclusive episodic content for the Xbox 360 will be introduced starting in 2008.

Janco Partners analyst Mike Mickey, a financial consultant for Take-Two Interactive Software reported that around 150 game developers were working on Grand Theft Auto IV.

The first trailer titled "Things Will Be Different" was released on March 29, 2007 at 22:00 UTC. At the time the trailer was released, Rockstar's servers for the trailer's official website became almost immediately overloaded. It featured new graphics and revealed that the game was taking place in Liberty City. It revealed that the main protagonist, Niko Bellic is an immigrant who comes to Liberty City for a new life. In the video he says "Life is complicated; I killed people, smuggled people, sold people. Perhaps here, things will be different."

On April 6, 2007 it was discovered that a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series has recreated the preview trailer and released it on YouTube.

On May 24, 2007 Rockstar released screenshots of the game to Gamespot, IGN and 1UP. They also revealed that the storyline is based on a stereotypical rags to riches theme or pursuit of the American Dream type theme. New features include breaking windows to jack parked cars and calling individuals for missions on a cell phone.

On June 28, 2007 at 12:00 EST, the second trailer was released. The Trailer is 1:06 in length and begins with an aerial shot of Liberty City before showing Niko in conversation who replies "We're all looking for that special someone". The music playing in this trailer is "Arm In Arm (Shy Child Remix)" by a New York-based band, The Boggs. Characters such as Niko's cousin Roman is also revealed. The trailer displays guns, cars, helicopters, and the police in the game.

Controversy
Jack Thompson stated that he will take various measures to keep the game out of the hands of minors. Thompson targeted the Xbox 360 release of the game, but did not mention the PS3 version. This caused Take Two to sue Thompson on March 16, 2007 to prevent him from declaring the game a public nuisance.

New York City officials were appalled with the choice of their city as the model of Liberty City for Grand Theft Auto IV. Despite previous games such as Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories which took place in the same city, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg said "The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers"