A blockbuster movie spin-off of the Grand Theft Auto series very nearly happened last spring, with one of Hollywood's six major studio's lined up to develop the Rockstar film.

Dan Houser, Rockstar's VP and writer for GTA IV, recently said in an interview with Yahoo! News that he expects the fumes of controversy to waft especially thick and heavy over this particular chapter in the GTA franchise.

Gone were any framerate inconsistencies, and Rockstar was no longer hiding elements of the game from us, like the use of Niko's cell phone or dialog bits that needed to be muted from our delicate ears. Indeed, the extra time taken for development was very well spent, and GTA IV looks to be just about done... Grand Theft Auto IV is looking fantastic at this point. The framerate has been solidified (on the 360 at least - PS3 demos are coming soon) and the gameplay looks to be wholly intact.

"Rockstar Games has begun the "viral" portion of its Grand Theft Auto IV marketing campaign, posting convincing wanted posters on Brooklyn-area telephone poles featuring Niko Bellic, the game's protagonist. The GTA IV poster also features an e-mail address and web site for the Liberty City Police Department. While the site isn't currently up, the e-mail auto responder is."

Thompson issued an e-mail on Thursday threatening unspecified legal and political mayhem for Take Two when GTA IV launches: "What the [stock] market is not factoring in, however, is the downside risk coming Take-Two’s way with the sale of this “Mature” game to kids, which is a murder simulator for violence against women, cops, and innocent bystanders..."