Michael Hollick, who voiced Grand Theft Auto IV protagonist Niko Bellic, revealed to the New York Times that he was paid over $100,000 for the voice work he did for the game, with no royalties or residuals from the $500 million that was earned by the game during its first week of sales.

He, however, is thankful to Rockstar for providing him the opportunity, blaming the actors union for setting contracts without any provisions for electronic media such as video games.

“Yes, the technology is important, but it’s the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies,” Hollick added.

Legal loopholes may allow the release of Manhunt 2 in the UK, where it has been denied classification twice now. According to MCV, the game could be released as a digital download without needing any BBFC rating, as the Video Recordings Act does not cover mediums of delivery like the Internet.

Neither Take-Two nor Rockstar have commented on the matter. The game has been re-rated M in North America and will be released in the region on October 31 for PS2, PSP and Wii.

Following up on the BBFC rejection, EuroGamer reports that Rockstar is appealing to the British ratings board and that they find the refusal “unacceptable”.

Apparently, the version they submitted is the same as the M-rated Manhunt 2 that will be released in North America on October 29. “We are continuing to appeal the British Board of Film Classification’s decision to deny the edited version of Manhunt 2 an 18-plus certificate and thereby ban its release in the United Kingdom,” the company said. “The changes necessary in order to publish the game in Britain are unacceptable to us and represent a setback for videogames.”

The BBFC issued a statement announcing that they have rejected a revised version of Manhunt 2 that was submitted for approval from the ratings board. This follows the rejection of the original version which was last submitted in June.

Apparently, the changes weren’t enough. Says David Cooke, director of the BBFC: “We recognise that the distributor has made changes to the game, but we do not consider that these go far enough to address our concerns about the original version. The impact of the revisions on the bleakness and callousness of tone, or the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient. There has been a reduction in the visual detail in some of the ‘execution kills’, but in others they retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature.”

He also states that further changes were suggested to Rockstar for getting approval. As it stands, they have refused to change any more of the game, resulting in the rejection of the game from the board.

I was always under the impression that the people at Rockstar were ones to embrace parody, as their games have always had bits of satire and parodies of products thrown in. Apparently, they don’t like it when someone parodies them. The upcoming Simpsons game makes fun of Grand Theft Auto and, as it turns out, people at Rockstar weren’t happy.

“I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it’s a sign of respect… If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we’re not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto… But yeah, we’ve definitely had some reactions - we’ve had to pull stuff from the game”, revealed Greg Rizzer, lead designer of The Simpsons.

However, not all companies are like that, and it appears the dudes (and dudettes) at Harmonix are cool. “I don’t know if you’ve seen Sitar Hero? We did Apu playing this 60-button controller and songs like Pour Some Curry On Me - we made this wonderful parody poster and the guys from Harmonix loved it and we sent them 20 copies of the poster. They just loved it so much.”

Want to get a blood-splattered Wii? Enter this Manhunt 2 sweepstakes then. The prize is the aforementioned bloody Wii, a 50″ plasma screen TV and a copy of the upcoming game.

Some people just aren’t happy. Gamespot reports that the recently rerated Manhunt 2 has come under fire, specifically ESRB, who are now asked to reveal details as to what has changed since the game got the AO (Adults Only) rating. California senator Leland Yee has asked the advisory board to explain why the game has received a new rating of M (Mature); similar calls have been made by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

ESRB president Patricia Vance has responded. She said, “Publishers submit game content to the ESRB on a confidential basis. It is simply not our place to reveal specific details about the content we have reviewed, particularly when it involves a product yet to be released. What can be said is that the changes that were made to the game, including the depictions themselves and the context in which those depictions were presented, were sufficient to warrant the assignment of an M (Mature 17+) rating by our raters.”

She also suggested that instead of making such complaints, one should work with parents to educate them about the ratings system and ask them to buy games accordingly for their children. She added, “It is a parent’s rightful place to make choices for their own children. The ESRB and console manufacturers provide families with the tools and information to help them do so.”

Politicians are tough people to please though. When contacted by Gamespot, Senator Lee responded with “What are they trying to hide?” He went on to say that the ESRB cannot be trusted for their “culture of secrecy” and blames the board for not “protecting children” from ultra-violent games.

Some new screenshots from Midnight Club 3: Los Angeles. It is being developed for PS3 and Xbox 360.

New media from Midnight Club 3: Los Angeles has been released. Here is the first trailer from the upcoming street-racing game.

Take-Two Interactive has revealed through its conference call that Grand Theft Auto IV has been delayed to 2008. Originally scheduled for release this October, the game now has no exact release date except that it is expected sometime during February and April 2008.

The guys at Kotaku have more on the issue. Apparently, company executives Strauss Zelnick and Ben Feder were there fielding questions. When asked if any specific platform was the culprit behind the delay, Zelnick responded: “I know there have been rumors in the marketplace about frame rate and some other issues. We don’t think it’s helpful or beneficial to go into exact details of what the technological issues are. We’re pushing the envelope on both the platforms.”

He also said that the decision to delay the game wasn’t something that “Rockstar took lightly;” he goes on to mention that they reviewed a build prior to this announcement and they didn’t feel that the October release date could be met.

As for the Xbox 360-exclusive episodic content, Zelnick stated that the deal with Microsoft wasn’t affected by the delay, telling analysts that “We’re not gonna send money back to Microsoft. That’s not part of the deal.”

Following Manhunt 2’s rejection from BBFC over its rating, Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive have appealed the decision with the Video Game Appeals Committee. A date has now been set for the hearing, which will take into account both the BBFC and Rockstar’s position; they will also view demonstrations from the game to back up their views.

The decision of releasing the game now lies with the chairman of the VAC John Woods. BBFC originally rejected the game, effectively banning it from release, for its “unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone.”

According to this post on the PlayStation Blog by Michael Shorrock, director of third party relations at SCEA, Rockstar is going to develop a franchise exclusive to the PS3. Though the post does not go into any detail on the project itself, it does mention Sony’s relationship with Rockstar Games, which is very good, to say the least.

Rockstar is hoping to make a game that will truly make use of the PS3’s resources, exploit the power of CELL and Blu-ray. The franchise is not LA Noire, but something all new that will be detailed soon, according to the post.

The fifth annual Develop Industry Excellence Awards was held to honor the visionaries behind the greatest games in the gaming industry. Voted for by an independent panel of industry experts, this year’s winners include Motorstorm (PS3), Crush (PSP), Crackdown (Xbox 360) and many other titles. In all, there were 17 different companies and individuals claiming the 18 awards.

Evolution Studio’s PS3-exclusive racer and Zoe Mode’s Crush picked up the best new IP awards, while Traveller’s Tales picked up best indie developer and best use of a license for Lego Star Wars II. Test Drive Unlimited by Eden Games picked up the best use of online award, while Rare’s Viva Pinata grabbed the award for visual arts. Other winners include Sega, Ubisoft, NCSoft and many more. Below is the full winners list:

New Console IP
MotorStorm (Evolution/SCEE External Development)

New Handheld IP
Crush (Zoe Mode)

Best Use of a Licence
Lego Star Wars II (Traveller’s Tales)

Visual Arts
Rare (Viva Pinata)

Audio Accomplishment
FreeStyle (B-Boy)

Publishing Hero
Sega

Innovation
Real Time Worlds (Crackdown)

Tools Provider
Havok

Best Use of Online
Eden Studios (Test Drive Unlimited)

Services & Outsourcing
Babel Media

Recruitment Company
Datascope

New UK Studio
Realtime Worlds

Handheld Studio
Rockstar Leeds

Business Development
Blitz

Independent Developer
Traveller’s Tales

In-house Developer
Ubisoft France

Development Legend
Ian Hetherington

Grand Prix
Sony

Rockstar Games has announced that it will release Bully: Scholarship Edition on Wii and Xbox 360 this Winter. The game will retain the gameplay of the PS2 original, but will boast additional new content, though the nature of the content was not disclosed.

Bully, before its release, had its fair share of controversy, with Jack Thompson going as far as to have a gameplay session in front of a judge to ban the game. His attempt failed, thankfully. The game has since then gone on to garner awards and achievements, putting players in the role of a 15-year old as he experiences Bullworth Academy, a boarding school.

No further details or media were revealed.

In a surprise move, Rockstar Games has announced that it will release its Table Tennis game for the Wii this Fall. Previously exclusive to the Xbox 360, the game is being developed by Rockstar Leeds in collaboration with Rockstar San Diego and will make use of the motion-sensitive Wii remote.

“Ever since we released Table Tennis, fans have been asking us to create a Wii version,” said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games. “By bringing Table Tennis to the Wii and utilizing the motion-sensitive Wii Remote, a new audience can now experience a game that is beautifully designed and impossible to put down.”

No other information or media were released.