Ah how the mighty have fallen. If anyone was ever interested in what a (rumored) corporate power grab from a mother company to it’s prodigal son would produce, this is it. Rockstar Games has announced the release of their web-based music sampling and creation toy, Beaterator, for the PSP, complete with a celebrity name attached, that being hot (as in mainstream hot) Timbaland. No word on if the beats provided by Timbaland will feature any obscure Finnish demo scene samples.

Press release after the jump..

Read more of “Rockstar Games announces Beaterator PSP featuring Timbaland“

So it seems Take-Two investors have finally had enough. A group of investors at Rockstar’s mother company, who together own 46% of shares, is taking over the board and flushing senior management starting at the top, with CEO Paul Eibeler. The shakeup is boosting T2′s stock price, which is up over $1 per share as of this moment. Take-Two has been no stranger to controversy on pretty much every level, it just seems that investors have finally had enough of that controversy coming from the top. It’s a shame there won’t be a Rockstar shake-up, but, considering that’s how the bills get paid, I’d understand them not wanting to touch their golden goose.

Read more: Take-Two power struggle | Rebellion at Take-Two

Nearing a year after the closure of Rockstar Vienna, who was rumored to be developing Manhunt 2 for the PS2 before their sudden closure, Rockstar Games has announced Manhunt 2 for the PS2, PSP and (shock!) Wii! Not that anyone still cares about the Manhunt license or anything, the exciting news here is that Rockstar is making a go at a Nintendo Wii title! If anyone was doubting that the big N was trying to attract the 3rd parties, eat up a bit of that piping hot crow. Granted, I’d rather have a GTA Wii or Max Payne Wii, but who knows, if things work out well for Manhunt 2 Wii, guaranteed we’ll see more Rockstar titles appearing on the platform. Rockstar Games also went on to say that Rockstar London is developing the PS2 version, Rockstar Leeds the PSP and Rockstar Toronto the Wii version, with of course, Rockstar North overseeing all three. Look for all 3 versions appearing this Summer.

Read more: Manhunt 2 announced for PS2, PSP and Wii

Amid more threats of NASDAQ de-listing, Take Two, the publisher behind Rockstar Games and the Grand Theft Auto line of games, has disclosed their discovery that founder and former CEO Ryan Brant backdated multiple stock options over a six year period while head of the gaming giant. TTWO is no stranger to financial difficulties of course, but, this could mean even more problems for a company who was slowly rebounding from the destruction the infamous Hot Coffee incident reaped. Brant served as chairmen of Take Two up until 2004, and there appears to be proof of backdated options from 1997 through 2003. Take Two has not disclosed any restatements or accounting adjustments, but, we’d expect some news very shortly.

Read more: Take Two discloses CEO backdating

In a further sign of Take Two solidifying their hold over Rockstar Games, the company has appointed industry veteran Gary Dale as Chief Operating Officer of the famed GTA developer. Most recently European managing director of Capcom, Dale was previously the president of games at BMG until Take-Two acquired them in 1998. What this means for Sam Houser’s control over the company remains to be seen but if any of the gossip is to be believed, around the time of the closure of Rockstar Vienna in May, a behind the scenes power struggle has ensued, resulting in a small exodus from the company. In other news, a games analyst has gone on record questioning the success of Rockstar’s recent media storm, Bully, estimating it to see less than a million sell-through worldwide, not exactly a hit (but also not really that bad). But taking into consideration the title took more than 5 years to get out of the door, it doesn’t exactly look promising that a Bully 2 would be coming out anytime soon, if at all.

Read more: Bully 2 not gonna happen according to analyst

“Major” electronics retailers, PC World, Currys and Dixons are refusing to stock Rockstar’s latest masterpiece, Bully or Can-whatever whatever edit as it’s known outside of Americonia. All of the retailers are owned by one conglomerate who states that Edit doesn’t fit with their family-friendly image, but they will continue to enjoy a good relationship with Take Two and Rockstar Games. Which is evident since all 3 stores are advertising pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PSP, a title which apparently DOES fit in with what may be one of the most twisted definitions of “family-friendly’ I’ve ever heard. And yes, this is another Rockstar-related story, sheesh, you’d think I used to work for them or something…

Read more: Major UK Retailers refuse to stock Bully

Bully, the much anticipated “GTA for teens” from Rockstar Vancouver, is receiving rave reviews for it’s innovative gameplay, mini-games and sandbox environment. Garnering a perfect 10/10 from 1UP, Bully appears not to be the Columbine, murder, death simulator that everyone fears, but actually a fun and enjoyable title. We’ll see what Jack Thompson’s next move will be, but I’d go so far as to say that Rockstar has won this battle. Now why oh why can’t there be an Xbox version?

Read more: Bully @ Metacritic

Jack Thompson once again wastes lots of people’s time and tax money, this time filing a ‘pioneering’ wrongful death suit in New Mexico against Sony, Take-Two and Rockstar Games. The suit is on behalf of the relatives of a family slain on Sam Donaldson’s ranch earlier this year, when a 14 year old boy killed his family after his father hit him for not cleaning horse stalls fast enough. The young boy alleges his father had abused him for years, but that was all forgotten by Jack Thompson, who instead of addressing the fact that an abused child resorted to such desperate lengths to escape further abuse, grandstands and tries to buy himself and his twisted ideals more air time on the evening news.

Read more: Rockstar / Take-Two blamed for all of society’s problems yet again

We missed this, partially due to the Wii craziness of last week AND because we have the tendancy to avoid Rockstar whenever we can, but, it seems that Bully will be granted the holy grail of ratings, TEEN! I bet Jack Thompson was one step closer to that heart attack after reading that at his breakfast table. Well, good news for Rockstar, especially since this allows teens to purchase the title without parental supervision, a rare thing for a Rockstar title.

Read more: Bully to receive TEEN rating from ESRB

Those Rockstar fans in or around San Diego on September the 28th will be lucky enough to see a presentation sponsored by Rockstar Games and IGDA San Diego, titled, “The Characters of Table Tennis“. Wolfgang Engel, author and senior developer will discuss the real-time graphic algorithms used in Table Tennis, as well as the shaders used to mimic skin, sweat, eyes, eyelashes, cloth and the various hair-types. The event will take place Thursday, September 28th at Qualcomm Auditorium in San Diego, California.

Read more: Wolfgang Engel presents the characters of Rockstar’s Table Tennis