You know the "rule". The rule that states "pornography or sexually related material exists for any conceivable subject"? A recent Suicide Girls spread is further proof of the theory, as one of its models, Bob, has taken Grand Theft Auto IV cover girl lust and turned it into an excuse to get naked. (Yes, Bob's a woman.)

This particular Lola looks to only have five fingers, so the fantasy may be blown for some of you. But for anyone looking for a NSFW thrill, carry on. Membership is obviously required, as we all know the internet doesn't give away its smut for free.

GTA A Tribute to Lola [Suicide Girls]

From the Good Ideas Division at Rockstar Games comes new Grand Theft Auto IV branded swag that's sure to get the game violence wonks in a lather. Popular Mechanics bloggers were on the optimal end of an aluminium baseball bat recently, something they wanted to show off. No word if that's fake blood or just sloppy calzone eating. Now, the mailman has already come to my house, but perhaps Rockstar has dispatched these via UPS or DHL. They always run a bit late.

You know, I actually live in a sketchy neighbourhood, Rockstar bat-givers. If I'm assaulted by a local vagrant, you'll have my blood on your hands. Just a thought.

GTA IV Baseball Bat Moves Gaming Violence From Couch to the Streets [Popular Mechanics]

First we have a thematic discussion on Metal Gear Solid IV in the New York Times, and now we have a thorough treatment of Grand Theft Auto IV in the Wall Street Journal by Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Dìaz. Really exciting stuff, if you ask me.

Dìaz examines the art value of GTA IV, prompted by exultant commentary from the games press that calls the game on par with or exceeding film triumphs like Scarface and The Godfather - and, in an editorial well-supported by factual comparisons, he finds it comes up short:

Connecticut Senator Gayle Slossberg (D) recently told The New Haven Advocate that the rape scene in Grand Theft Auto IV, where you earn "points for rape," is so alarming that she'd like to see a law passed that features better warning labels.

Yeah, of course, there's no rape scene in GTA IV. But Slossberg appears to be pretty convinced she'd see it, if she could only play well enough to reach that point in the game. Or so she said during a Capitol press conference, according to the Advocate.

The article says she'd like "confirmation" that there is no rape scene in the game. I suppose this is another "write your representative" situation where she could use some (polite) information?

Connecticut State Senator Alarmed Over (non-existent) Rape Scene in GTA IV [New Haven Advocate via GamePolitics]

Over at GigaOM, Wagner James Au argues that the mammoth launch success of Grand Theft Auto IV is "the beginning of the end" for the next-gen. If a launch that universally successful can't budge hardware sales - and GTA IV really didn't - then "drastic changes" may be to come, says Au:

Expect to see games made for lower budgets, targeted at wider audiences (ones that aren't fixated on high-end 3D graphics) and delivered over broadband with a micropayment program in place. Don't expect a follow-up to the 360 or PS3 anytime soon, either. In other words, the days when so-called "next-gen" gaming reigned supreme are coming to end -- instead, the industry's future will be shaped by games like Rock Band.

Once a month or so, N'Gai Croal and I debate a video game. Usually we do it well after a game's been released. We call our exchanges Vs. Mode, co-publish them on both of our blogs, and hope that people have enough bathroom time to read them.

The latest debate concluded this morning. It's all about Grand Theft Auto IV. We talked about bringing our A game for this one. Or at least we would have if we spoke in sports metaphors. It's full of spoilers... about the game's moral quandaries, its ending and other stuff. So beware.

But if you're looking to see him have a go at me for preferring San Andreas to GTA IV and if you're interested in stuff like this...

Grand Theft Auto IV players logging in today for their daily fix will be greeted by a quick little patch that addresses several small issues in the game on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Highlights include increasing the frequency and reliability of leaderboard updates on the PS3 version, fixing Cops 'n Crooks so that players can no longer earn ridiculously high scores, and my personal favourite - fixing the countdown timer for multiplayer matches so it no longer resets every time a new player enters the game, causing the assembled players to call said newbie names I cannot repeat in this space.

Other than that, a few quick fixes to address hangs and such. Hit the link for the full skinny on the newly polished GTA IV experience.

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV PATCH [Rockstar Games Social Club]

Back in February we spotted a rumour that a GTA movie starring Eminem almost happened. It was knocked down the same day by Rockstar's Dan Houser, who said "we never entertained proceeding with the project". Maybe the story pitch was crap, but even if it wasn't, now we know at least one reason why.

Pixeloo's rendition of a "real" Mario was more than a little creepy. Those giant, giant eyes. Ungh. But Pixeloo's latest work - "real" Niko Bellic - is a much more subdued affair. Mostly because everyone's favourite bloodthirsty Serb had more human proportions to begin with. Though he does now look a little thinner. And a lot more cranky. Embiggened version after the jump.

There was a time in the development cycle of Grand Theft Auto IV that Niko Bellic had a cell phone that could play music, MTV Multiplayer reports, but the option was cut.

"Some people on the team didn't like the music/mobile phone idea for various reasons, but they went back and forth on the idea until the very end," Rockstar spokesperson Darlan Monterisi explained in an e-mail on Tuesday. "This is VERY common. We do it in every game we make. We still prefer the balance of music in car and the ambient world's noise on foot, but we are constantly reviewing this stuff."

I wonder how much having a mini-stereo with you at all times would have changed the experience? It must have been something that the Rockstar folks thought would have had quite an impact to remove it. Why else would they cut the thing entirely instead of allowing gamers to go out and buy a phone with the feature in game?

Actually, I'm still surprised at the limit of phone tech in the game. I was expecting that the phone, because it plays such an important role in the game's interface, would come in a lot more flavours and that at least one of the was going to support video capture. Maybe next time.

GTA IV Cutting Room Floor [MTV Multiplayer]