Grand Theft Auto IV” may have gotten some things wrong about New York City (we were only kidding, angry Rockstar fans!).But one of the things the developers got right was the home of MTV.

Our MTV building, where this very post was written, resides at 1515 Broadway at the heart of Times Square. Our office tower was faithfully recreated in the game as MeTV at 1717 Burlesque, in the heart of Star Junction.

We went outside, and then into the game to prove just how good a job Rockstar did representing us. It’s almost like our own virtual Cribs.

Check out some comparison photos after the jump:

(Video not viewable by anyone logging in to this site from Canada or the U.K. Sorry)

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Right now, I can buy a 120GB hard drive to drop in a PlayStation 3 for $69.99 from NewEgg.com [Update: I’d previously listed this as $44.99 with an incompatible drive]. To do the same thing with an Xbox 360, it’d cost me $179.99.

But why does it cost so much?

Microsoft has claimed that comparing their plug-and-play hard drive is akin to comparing apples to oranges, that Microsoft goes the extra mile to ensure the customer can simply slap their hard drive on a machine and it’ll work.

MTV Multiplayer contacted iSuppli, a company with a long history of examining consumer gizmos to discover their real cost. We had them look at Microsoft’s 120GB hard drive and estimate whether — or how much — the company’s marking it up.

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On Friday I explained why Terminal Reality decided to focus on PlayStation 3 from the get go, but that’s not the approach for most studios. For many, Xbox 360 remains the lead platform.

Last week, I sat down to see a short demo of Disney’s upcoming off-road “SSX”-meets-ATV racing title “Pure.” Between loading screens, I probed “Pure” game director Jason Avent, part of Disney’s Blackrock Studio in the UK, about his team’s development approach.

Blackrock has always started development on Xbox 360. That approach wasn’t altered for “Pure,” and Avent’s team haven’t had any regrets.

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We’ve seen many developers struggle with multi-platform development this generation. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are different technical beasts. Complications with the wildly popular Unreal Engine 3 middleware have made things even more difficult.

Terminal Reality, the studio behind the upcoming “Ghostbusters,” spent a lot of time evaluating each console before moving forward with their first next-generation game, Terminal Reality president Mark Randell told MTV Multiplayer at a Sierra media event last month.

In the end, contrary to most teams this generation, they decided to make PlayStation 3 their lead development platform for “Ghostbusters.” Here’s why.

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I broke the news last month that Microsoft is actively working with UK-based developer Rare on producing a motion controller, similar to Nintendo’s Wiimote, for the Xbox 360.

UK trade publication MCV recently sat down with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, asking him to respond to our report. “I am also aware of the [Microsoft Wiimote] rumour and have seen a fake image made by a fan on the web which looks like a Wii Remote with the rumour that such a controller may be launched,” said Iwata.

I can assure you, Mr. Iwata, the prototype image presented was anything but fake, and came from a well-placed development source close to Microsoft’s project.

Iwata wouldn’t directly comment on the potential competition. “All I can say today is, it is not that easy to develop software which leverages the characteristics of the Wii Remote,” he said. “We are not concerned about what other companies may do.”

MTV Multiplayer continues to investigate the progress of Microsoft’s motion controller. As soon as there’s anything new to report, you’ll find it here first.

I’m not sure what the animal cruelty laws are in Norway, but I guess they don’t include covering a horse in ping pong balls.

A few weeks ago, I saw a demo of “Age of Conan,” the new MMORPG from Funcom.

With the game due out next month, we’ve heard lots of things about it already: how difficult it is to adapt the controls for the Xbox 360 controller, and whether or not the game features nipples.

But there was one fact during the demo that caught my attention: in order to capture realistic movement for the in-game horse mounts, they motion-captured real horses.

I had to see it to believe it.

So I asked for proof, and Funcom gladly sent it to me. From Product Director Jorgen Tharaldsen:

“In order to make [the horse movement] believable, we looked for someone who could help us to make it look as you would expect in a real-life situation, and we found this in a team of crazy British guys who lined up an entire stable and even a stadium for motion capture. As a thank you to the Brits, we naturally had to put the jolly old lance in the game when fighting mounted! I’m not sure if we are the first or only ones to do this, and it really doesn’t matter. What I do know is that riding a horse in ‘Conan’ looks mighty cool, and even realistic, so as far as we are concerned we reached our goals.”

Click onward to see more photos of the horse and rider in action, as well as the screenshots of the final results.

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Since we launched the Rhythm Game Track Finder back in January, there haven’t been too many rhythm games actually released. Our updates have mainly been focused on downloadable content, or adding classic rhythm games from years past. However, this past week “Battle of the Bands” was released, and it was the ideal candidate for inclusion in the database.

THQ released this Wii-exclusive title with 30 songs from artists from drastically different genres. Whether you like Korn or The Commodores there’ll be something for you to play in “Battle of the Bands.” All the tracks are covers, but that actually plays into the game itself, since the challenge is to complete the songs as they are “remixed” into different styles by the “bands” in the game. Multiplayer’s own Patrick Klepek describes it as a “refreshingly different” rhythm game.

The Track Finder was also updated this past week with “Karaoke Revolution American Idol Encore” PS3 downloadable content, as well as “SingStar”’s official release date and track list for here in the States. Last, but not least, we added three more song’s to “Rock Band” (one of them being The Smashing Pumpkin’s greatest song of all time, “Zero”).

The full list is below:

Battle of the Bands (Wii) 30 Songs Added
Karaoke Revolution American Idol Encore (PS3) 43 Songs Added
Rock Band (PS3, Xbox 360) 3 Songs Added (The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Zero,” and The Mother Hips’ “Red Tandy” and “Time Sick Son of a Grizzly”)

As always, go to trackfinder.mtv.com, for all this and more — it’s the definitive search engine for all your music gaming needs.

Seven hours into “Grand Theft Auto IV,” I can confirm that the game is an evolution of the world’s most notorious video game franchise.

It bears none of the design flaws of its predecessors and smartly enhances many of their core qualities. And it’s full of interesting things to do (as I’ve just begun to note in this list).

What I haven’t found yet, for better or worse, is a reason to call the game revolutionary.

I haven’t found a reason for it to merit the numerical title that the creators at Rockstar Games say is a signal that a “GTA” game will leads in directions that others will follow. Such progress is, of course, what “GTA III” wrought and what, as well-made as they were, “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,” “San Andreas,” and the “Stories” spin-offs did not.

From what I’ve played so far, I don’t expect “IV” to trigger an industry transformation. Still, I can’t wait to finish writing this piece so I can go play more, to find out what this game about America has to say and show me next. It’s a compelling piece of work, so much more interesting and well-acted than other games, as is always the case with a “GTA.”

Here are my main impressions virtually spoiler-free (unless you mind knowing where the first seven hours of the game mostly takes place and how the basic mechanics work.)

“GTA” In My Neighborhood

I’ve spent as much of this weekend as possible playing “GTA: IV,” in what I imagine are stranger circumstances than anyone else who has obtained an early copy of the game.

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EA has figured out how to make Monopoly fun again. And as a video game, no less.

Shocking, I know, but I swear it’s true.

Later this year, “Monopoly” the video game will be released for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2, and it won’t be the game you grew up playing.

Sitting down and playing the upcoming version of Monopoly is like sitting down to play a game loosely based on the board game of the same name.

For example, the board you have come to know and love is receiving a complete overhaul, replacing the Avenues with cities from around the world - picked by fans for the Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition that will be released later this year.

A facelift is nothing new, but for the video game one particular game mode that made this version of Monopoly stand out over every edition of Monopoly that you’ve ever played - even the Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy Edition. [NOTE FROM STEPHEN: I have a set of John Deere: Monopoly next to my desk.]

The big breakthrough in EA Casual’s upcoming video game is an optional play-style called “Riches Mode.” There’s no money involved in this mode. It’s based entirely on property ownership, and you get to play with multiple pieces each turn. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to play this new version of “Monopoly.” Read more…

UPDATE: Microsoft just contacted MTV Multiplayer with an official statement, confirming the prospective hires will work on Peter Jackson’s “Halo” project.

“A Peter Jackson-helmed Halo project was announced at X06 in Barcelona,” said a Microsoft spokesperson. “Since then, Microsoft Game Studios has been hard at work collaborating with Peter Jackson and Bungie on the development of that project. At this time, it’s necessary to grow the internal team to keep pace with development. Bungie will continue to remain involved in multiple aspects of the Halo Universe with MGS.”

[END OF UPDATE]

A few days ago, Microsoft quietly added several job listings to its careers website.

The company is looking for a Creative Director, Producer, Game Engineers and more to “help develop a new experience in the Halo universe.”

It appears Microsoft Game Studios is looking for folks to become a new “Halo” development team within their Redmond, Washington offices. And they’re not part of Bungie Studios. There’s no mention made of working with Bungie anywhere in the job postings.

Bungie continues churning out map packs and managing the “Halo” community, but have repeatedly suggested they’re working on a new game not set in the “Halo” world.

There are other “Halo” games coming. “Halo Wars” is well into production at Ensemble Studios and slated for a 2008 release.

There’s also a Peter Jackson project coming called “Halo: Chronicles.” We haven’t heard much about that one since it was announced in late 2005.

Cleverly disguised language in the job postings point us in Mr. Jackson’s direction.

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