You can set your pitchforks down now, because Grand Theft Auto IV will be coming to India on the 29th of this month, just like the rest of the world - courtesy of e-Xpress Interactive. Joyous rapture! Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions will retail for Rs. 2499 and Rs. 2999 respectively. But if you decide to pre-order from GamingIndians, you’ll be earning yourself a 10% discount with free delivery. Sam has all the details posted here. In the meantime, check this fan-made video out and let the good times roll.

(Source: Tech2.com India)

In case you didn’t know that Grand Theft Auto IV had Russian Connection, thanks to Mashkov, it now has an Indian Connection as well, thanks to late Amrish Puri. The rumor goes that the character of the main protagonist of GTA IV is based upon… Mugambo. Well, even if it’s a remote possibility, the uncanny resemblance is surely remarkable. I myself got the cooties looking at it. I’m not sure where it all started, but I found the link in the replies at the Kotaku thread I have mentioned above.

The episodic experiment began in mid-2006 with Half-Life 2: Episode One and SiN: Episodes - Emergence. Grand stories were told about how episodic gaming would mark a major shift in the way games are developed and delivered. All fine and dandy, but a year and a half since all the grand posing, where exactly do we stand?

WARNING (and Disclaimer): Personal opinions, long sentences and an abrupt ending to follow!

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  After netting a cool $50 million from Microsoft for the GTA IV exclusives, the geniuses at Rockstar are at it again, this time, with Sony Computer Entertainment. With many a PS3 owner hopping mad over the Xbox 360 exclusivity of the GTA IV DLC “episodes”, Rockstar has announced that it will be developing an exclusive, all-new franchise for the shiny black console with the Spiderman font. Michael Shorrock, Director of Third Party Applications at SCEA, has said:

As part of our long standing relationship with Rockstar, and the incredible success for both companies with the cultural icon that is Grand Theft Auto, we’ve agreed to the PlayStation exclusive rights of the next great franchise from the Rockstar studios.

Nice, get money from MS for developing exclusive episodes and get some some truckloads of money for developing a new exclusive franchise for Sony. Wonder how much money Sony shoved into R*’s G-string for this one. If it’s anything like what MS paid, it’s enough to have the clever bastards at Rockstar chuckling over how they have effectively managed to double team the bigwigs.

New Rockstar Games Franchise Exclusive to the PS3 [PlayStation.blog]