Rockstar Newswire

Saturday Night Live veteran, Portlandia co-creator/star, and longtime Rockstar friend, Fred Armisen, recently sat down with Adult Swim to confess his obsession with Grand Theft Auto as well as Red Dead Redemption...

"[Grand Theft Auto] means more to me than just me saying I really like it. First of all, when I play it, it takes me a year. I get so into it that I get very emotionally attached to being in the game. There are times I'll be away from Grand Theft and I'll be thinking of new strategies to try to finish the mission. I used to play it on PlayStation, and then I started playing it on Xbox. The first one I ever got was Vice City, which is the Miami-looking version. Then I got into San Andreas, and I even bought the guidebooks and everything. I never did any of the cheating codes, but I really tried to utilize the symbols and buttons.

Then I went onto the Niko Bellic version [in Grand Theft Auto IV], which is like New York. Each of these took me a year. When I finish all the missions, I don't go back and replay them—it just makes me too sad...

The most logical continuation of all is the one in Red Dead Redemption, which I consider the next step. That's a truly emotional game."

Thank you for the awesomely kind words, Fred - we are honored.

You can all read the entire interview here which also includes backstory on how he wound up doing a cameo appearance as a voice in Grand Theft Auto IV (you can hear Fred calling up radio shows as various characters while you cruise around Liberty City in the game).
 

A new automatic title update for L.A. Noire is now available for download on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. You'll be prompted to download the title update as soon as you sign into the PlayStation Network or Xbox LIVE.

Noteworthy changes and fixes include:

• Implemented a handful of physics changes to prevent floating, falling and traveling outside the map
• Improved crash handling
• Fixed an issue where a clean installation interrupted by a Title Update would still show a "game data is corrupt and is being repaired" message (PS3 only)
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from getting beyond Rank 19 in certain instances
• Fixed an issue where case objectives might not appear in the notebook after replaying cases

As always, if you are experiencing any issues or have questions related to this title update, please contact our technical support team through either of the outlets listed below:

Today a new automatic title update (version 1.00) for L.A. Noire will be deployed on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. You will be prompted to download the title update as soon as you sign into PlayStation Network or Xbox LIVE.

*** UPDATE ***

The entry period is now over. Thanks to everyone who entered. All entrants should pay close attention to their inboxes as we will be contacting the winner via email. For winner announcement, make sure you’re following us at the Rockstar Newswire, Facebook or Twitter or are subscribed to the Rockstar Games email list.

***

In honor of this spring's release of L.A. Noire, we are proud to present your chance to win a trip for two to Los Angeles from Thursday April 14th to Monday April 18th to experience the gritty and glamorous world of L.A. Noire for yourself. The lucky grand prize winner of the Los Angeles Noire Weekend Sweepstakes will be chosen at random for a weekend getaway for two that will include:

• Round-trip airfare to Los Angeles, and accommodations at the historic Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard
• Weekend Passes to attend the prestigious 13th Annual Los Angeles Festival of Film Noir held at the beautifully restored Egyptian Theater in Hollywood (a theater which makes an appearance itself in a scene in L.A. Noire)
• Passes to The Real Black Dahlia bus tour presented by Esotouric on Saturday April 16th - explore the sites and notorious locales related to the original haunting case.
• And last - but certainly not least - be one of a very select few to get your hands on L.A. Noire and play it early. A full month before the game's worldwide release, you will be our guest at a special private hands-on play session.

10 runners-up will also be chosen to win a copy of the Criterion Collection DVD release of the 1948 film noir classic "The Naked City", the original movie that our pre-order exclusive Vice desk case of the same name is based on - along with an official L.A. Noire t-shirt.

To enter you must be a registered member of the Rockstar Games Social Club. If you don't already have a Social Club account, you can sign up right here.

Enter to win now at www.rockstargames.com/socialclub/sweepstakes/lanoire where you can also find official rules and further details - you have until March 25th to enter. The lucky grand prize winner will be chosen at random and announced in early April.
 

The Red Dead Redemption Rockstar XP Challenge has officially been met. We asked you guys to go hard in multiplayer and hit the 100% threshold to unlock avatar awards and you answered in astounding fashion. In just 18 days, the community racked up a total of over 6 billion XP. PSN members were the first to hit that 100% mark about a day-and-a-half ahead of XBL players, and because of your collective efforts everyone in the Red Dead Redemption community has earned a set of new Red Dead Redemption avatar items. Now you can bless your Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 avatar with some signature John Marston style - maybe the hat and gloves for formal events and the Crimson Posse shirt for casual Fridays? Kudos all and enjoy. 

Check out images of the freshly unlocked avatars after the jump

Previously:
Red Dead Redemption Rockstar XP Challenge - Pitch in to Unlock Avatar Awards

The Red Dead Redemption Rockstar XP Challenge has officially begun, ladies and gentlemen. Grizzled veterans and greenhorns alike in Red Dead Redemption multiplayer on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network will be on equal footing as the entire online population works starting today to unlock special avatar rewards for their respective platforms. In lieu of the originally announced "Skin It to Win It" and "I Shot the Sheriff" Challenges to unlock these avatars, the test will now be for players on each console to harness their collective XP earning skills online and get that thermometer up from zero to 100%.  

Here's how to do your part.  Boot up your platform of choice and jump into any Red Dead Redemption multiplayer session.  From Free Roam to Grab the Bag - whatever your pleasure.  Enjoy your multiplayer game as you normally would and when your session ends, all of the XP that you accumulate will be automatically added to your platform's XP grand total.

You can track the progress of both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 earnings via the live XP thermometer at the Red Dead Redemption Social Club Community page, the Social Club Homepage, or even at the sidebar here at the Rockstar Newswire.  When a platform reaches 100%, we will unlock the avatar awards for that platform community. 

The unlockable avatars will grace your Xbox LIVE and/or PlayStation Home characters with the spiffy Gentlemen's Attire just like the unlockable one Marston himself rocks in the game. And when the occasion calls for something less dressy, there will also be the crimson Posse t-shirt.  Each available for both male and female avatars.  Check out some preview shots of all the unlockable avatar outfits after the jump.

A new automatic title update that addresses issues in Red Dead Redemption, Undead Nightmare (disc release and DLC pack), and the Liars & Cheats DLC pack has been deployed on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. You will be prompted to download the title update as soon as you sign into PlayStation Network or Xbox LIVE.

Click the link below for a full list of fixes included within this update:

In the spirit of giving, we're opening up a whole week's plus of Double XP for all players of Red Dead Redemption online starting today, Christmas Eve December 24th all the way through til Monday January 3rd 2011.