Like what our Gramps used to say, "When you're way up, there's nowhere to go but down; and those below have a knack for aiming at those who are on top." Such is the case with Rockstar. After achieving unprecedented success with its Grand Theft Auto franchise, it has been receiving blows from all directions in the form of lawsuits. It's sometimes hard to imagine how they still find time to develop games with all these distractions.

Well, Rockstar may have just gotten a huge break as a US district judge ruled on their favor regarding the complaint filed by a Los Angeles strip club. The complaint says that Rockstar Games breached copyright by designing a similar-looking virtual strip club for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

April of last year, The Play Pen club owner E.S.S. Entertainment filed a lawsuit against GTA creator Rockstar. The suit accused the said game developers of trademark infringement; a strip club in the game carried the name The Pig Pen and allegedly has a similar logo, awning, and 'Totally nude' advertising slogan.

While Rockstar admitted that their artist produced most of the game scenes inspired with photographs of actual spots on Los Angeles, including the Play Pen, they argued that they "changed the names, building designs and overall look and feel of the locations... To make them fit the virtual, cartoon-style world of San Andreas and the series' irreverent tone." To further cement their defense, Rockstar likened their situation with that of MCA Records who also got the "not guilty" verdict after being accused of the same violation with the song Barbie Girl. They got cleared with the judge saying trademark rights "do not entitle the owner to quash an unauthorised use of the mark by another who is communicating ideas or expressing points of view."

After reviewing all the evidences, Judge Margaret Morrow sided with Rockstar ruling that their "use of the Play Pen trade dress and trademark bears some artistic relevance to the game, and does not explicitly mislead consumers as to the source or content of the game."

That could finally settle the issues surrounding GTA: San Andreas, especially that it came after the ruling by FTC over the Hot Coffee scandal. Well Rockstar may have just weathered a storm but things aren't likely to stay this good for long with the controversy magnet company set to release another game - the alleged violent, school-based Bully,  before the end of the year. Let the stone hurling begin.

If you've ever seen a sports movie that has a character trying to hit, catch, or shoot a flying ball, you've probably heard that saying, "You've gotta BE the ball!" Well, there's one thing they haven't thought of in the movies. How can you be the ball if you can't see it?

That's a problem one colorblind gamer has with Rockstar's Table Tennis, and in his case, it makes playing the game an exhausting task.

Conrad Quilty-Harper, a gamer who has had trouble distinguishing different shades of colors since birth, hasn't had much of a problem with his colorblindness affecting his gaming. This all changed, however, with Rockstar's newest release. One aspect of the game involves reacting to the spin of the ball that the opponent places on it when hitting. The ball's color changes according to the type of spin, and the player responds to this by pressing the appropriate button to counteract it.

While this isn't so much of a problem with the usual game levels, the training levels that teach you how to add spin and counter it become utter hell. Skill gives way to guesswork, making the game harder than it ought to be, and more frustrating than it was intended.

We can all probably sympathize with the idea of the "impossible" level. Most gamers have had to deal with a superboss in one form or another in their games, requiring a lot of practice or a well-planned strategy.

When the impossibility of a game, however, comes as a result of a design problem rather than an intentional addition to the game, it does bear mentioning. People with disablities also want to play games, and it's both good business sense and good PR to make sure that you don't alienate a section of your consumer base.

Look for the word "controversial" in the dictionary and you'll probably see Rockstar's logo right beside it. We really don't know if Table Tennis is another controversy magnet, but judging from the raves it's been getting from gamers who recently bought a copy of the said company's latest project, the infamous game developers might have another adjective attached to their name - extraordinary.

Now more people can get hooked on the latest buzz (or should I say ping?) Rockstar has created as the demo of the said indoor sport-themed game hits the Marketplace today at 13:00 (GMT). The press release puts it best with:

"Wield your bat with Zen-like focus and mastery in either one- or two-player modes to witness all the authentic, addictive, high speed thrills of the real thing. Compete as pro players Mark or Liu Ping in a three-game match in China’s National Table Tennis Auditorium to experience the lifelike graphics and hyper-realistic physics featured in the full game."

At least there are still some "bat wielding". Yep, Rockstar's making 'smashes' with this one, only it's not the type of 'smash' we've come to expect from their games. Garnering praises like “Simple, direct, expertly balanced and unpretentious, this is like a shot of concentrated Red Bull” (ZOO Weekly); “Rockstar has served up the best game on the 360 so far” (Observer Sport); and “…I can confirm that Rockstar has created another classic” (The Star on Sunday), looks like we've got another 'smash' hit within our grasp.

The Federal Trade Commission decided against imposing fines or taking other punitive actions against Take Two Interactive and Rockstar games after an exhaustive investigation into the "hot coffee" mod led to a settlement agreement between the FTC and Take Two instead of further charges.

The new agreement requires the two companies to "establish, implement and maintain a comprehensive system reasonably designed to ensure that all content in an electronic game is considered and reviewed in preparing submissions to a rating authority."

The agreement also states that Rockstar and Take Two must clearly disclose all pertinent ratings information about a game on the outside of the game's packaging. In the event that Rockstar or Take Two fails to meet the conditions they agreed to in the settlement with the FTC, they will be fined $11,000 per incident.

Maybe this situation has something to do with Rockstar Games' decision to release a ping- pong (or table tennis) game instead of yet another mega-popular violent shoot 'em up! All jokes aside, both sides seem to want to claim victory in the case and both sides seem ready to move on with their lives.

The ruling was followed by a 30 day period where politicians and the public alike voiced their disapproval about the agreement. Now that the debate is over and the settlement has been ratified, it is unlikely that Rockstar or Take Two will ever face any further prosecution over the hot coffee issue.

Microsoft and Rockstar Games, publishers of the (in)famous Grand Theft Auto series, have recently announced an alliance to bring exclusive episodic content to Xbox Live for the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV.

This is a good move for Microsoft as it aims to provide the console with more ammo for the upcoming release of the PlayStation 3 which is due to arrive this November. At present, there's no word from the Sony camp as to whether it will counter with an offer of its own; but Sam Houser, executive producer and founder of Rockstar was quoted saying that "through Xbox Live, we have a unique opportunity to reach out to our audience in new ways." Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business, also added, "few franchises have had the profound impact on our industry as Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto IV in high definition on Xbox 360? We couldn’t be more excited to have the title on our platform from day one."

The Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV is expected to hit North American stores on October 16, 2007. Whatever this new episodic content is will surely be welcomed by GTA enthusiasts.

Rockstar's Table Tennis has been out for quite some time now. It may just be a ping-pong game but it's proving to be one worthwhile play - last week, it has made the top ten games played over XBL. If you're still apprehensive on jumping onto the group of Xbox 360 users who have been enjoying this game in the past months, here's something that just might lure you in: a demo.

Xbox Live's Major Nelson has been talking with the guys of Rockstar Games and they told him that a Table Tennis demo is on its way to the Marketplace. The demo will feature single and two-player modes but no Live play.

Asked about that perennial question on release dates, "Exactly when?", the Rockstar folks answered the dreaded "very very soon" - which, in release date languages, can mean tomorrow or in the coming weeks. Well, there's not much to do but wait. As soon as the Table Tennis demo is up in the Marketplace, we'll let you know.

Future Publishing is coming up with what may be the biggest Xbox World 360 magazine issue to date. The August issue of the said magazine will be jam-packed with exclusives and freebies that any Xbox 360 fans will love to get their hands on.

First on the list of exclusives is the abridged version of Dean Takahashi's The Xbox 360: Uncloaked, which promises to be controversial due to the press release that the book will uncover the real story behind Microsoft's next-generation console. Included in the "for Xbox World 360"-only excerpt of the book are insider details on the development of Halo 3 and Microsoft’s often-rumoured plans for an Xbox handheld.

On the cover of the coming issue is Prey. Splattered inside is a six-page review and money-off voucher that will let gamers save £5 on the game. Also inside will be details on Lost: The Game, as well as the latest news on Halo 3, Bioshock, Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto 4 and the long-awaited Pro Evolution Soccer. Of course, the usual reviews and ratings are there - August issue will put the rate-o-meter on Saints Row, Splinter Cell 4, Mass Effect and Test Drive Unlimited.

A covermounted DVD will be included in Xbox World 360's latest issue. The DVD features 57 Xbox 360 games plus five hours of high-definition trailers, Halo 3 included. The DVD also has Splinter Cell and Gears of War behind-the-scenes plus exclusive video tips on Rockstar's Table Tennis.

You'd still have 17 days to cough up that £5 ($9) to get your hands on Xbox World 360's August issue.

Rumor has it Microsoft has its eyes set on Take-Two's Rockstar. The details and the events taking place at present are leading us to believe that this may be true to some extent.

Because of the "Hot Coffee" incident, T2 is under scrutiny by both the ESRB and the government. There's also the news that the company's being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission because of the stock option grants given to employees starting 1997.

ESRB also gave the company's game Oblivion an M rating instead of the T they were hoping for because of the player-created nude mod in the PC version of this game. You might also recall the fire that broke out and destroyed T2's New York Studio, causing them to lose important records, software and hardware.

These events almost pushed the game company to file for bankruptcy. Come to think of it, Rockstar had a big hand in T2's streak of bad luck. And it's no wonder T2 will be opting to sell Rockstar.

Events in Rockstar on the other hand, were also indicative of the game company's own bad (or good) luck. Massive firing of over half of its employees (including the co-founder) implies that Rockstar may be making room for some more people - preferably those that will come from another company that will be buying them out.

Yup, you heard that one right. Expecting a buyout of Rockstar is supported by the facts relayed. Also, take into consideration Peter Moore's announcement regarding the famous Rockstar game. Microsoft's Moore proudly announced that GTA IV will be exclusive to the Xbox 360, and that Rockstar were smart businessmen.

He must have been implying something with those statements, right? Sony had admitted to letting go of the GTA franchise even though it's one of the games that "made" Sony's consoles.

May I reiterate, these are mere speculation; neither Microsoft Corp. nor Rockstar has addressed this rumor. But it would really be interesting to know what exactly will happen to the controversial game company Rockstar...if only to be ensured that the GTA franchise has a future.

Just when the perennial bad boys at Rockstar and Take Two thought it was safe to uncurl from the fetal position they get slapped in the face again. This time by the formidable hands of a Warrior, or ex-Warrior, in the form of Roger Hill. Roger Hill played Cyrus in the movie The Warriors, upon which the Rockstar game of the same name is based. Hill's suit is for a mere 250,000 big ones and he seeks to bar the companies from using his likeness in the game. He states that Rockstar and Take Two made him an offer to use his voice and name in the game, but after he refused negotiations were terminated.

For their part a Take Two spokesperson mentioned that they had obtained third party rights that granted the companies the use of Hill's character and likeness.

On the one hand the man has a point, twenty seven years ago when The Warriors was filmed he probably never dreamed of the possibility that his face could appear in a videogame made by one of the most controversial game developers of the modern era. I guess you just have to be careful about putting your name down on that dotted line. But seriously, just how much abuse can these guys take before either the company goes under, or they're bought out?

The creator of the fake Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot is... Imagine Publishing. It's definitely them, because if you received the email from the "disgruntled Rockstar employee" with the fake GTA IV screenshot, have a look in the email header. It was sent from here. If you go to that site, you'll see the mail server the email was sent from is: mail.imagine-publishing.co.uk. Imagine Publishing has many magazines under its name. My guess is they just wanted to create a story to be put in their next issue(s). I just can't believe they're that dumb.

I admit it was pretty well done in Photoshop, and although it has already been confirmed to be fake before, this once again debunks this stupid thing. Some real screenshots would be nice. GTA IV is expected in stores in North America on 16 October 2007 and in Europe on 19 October 19 for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.