Gamespot are reporting that the Royal High Court today held the BBFC’s judicial review over the decision by the Video Appeals Committee regarding the release of Manhunt 2 in the United Kingdom.

In an all-day hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today, the Honourable Mr Justice Mitting sided with the BBFC's argument that the VAC (the original appellate committee) had erred when considering whether Manhunt 2 could be considered harmful to minors who viewed it. Whereas the VAC interpreted this as "actual harm," the BBFC and Mitting believed it should be taken in a broader scope of "potential harm and risk of harm." The BBFC also argued that the VAC based its decision on whether or not the game would have a "devastating effect on society," and argued that this "harm threshold" was too high.

Honourable Mr. Justice Mitting has stipulated that the original seven members of the VAC that heard the appeal by Rockstar are to reconvene and re-evaluate the situation under the guidelines laid down in the courtroom. This is said to happen within the next two weeks.

This is just getting ridiculous now. I have put an email into Rockstar, we will be sure to let you know if and when these guidelines are discovered or what the implications of all of this mean.

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Rockstar have announced the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV, according to the press release it is due for a simultaneous worldwide release on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on the 29th of April.

Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV, the new title in the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto franchise. Developed by Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto IV will be simultaneously available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and will be in stores worldwide on April 29, 2008.

"We are so excited to be releasing Grand Theft Auto IV," said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games. "We've pushed ourselves very hard to make something incredible and hope the game sets a new benchmark for interactive entertainment."

That is a Tuesday, for those curious. While this is pretty standard in North America it breaks from tradition for games released in European territories which are usually released on Fridays.

So who is all purchasing it, for what system and are you buying the special edition? I pre-ordered the special edition for the PS3 back when they first announced it, I think I may call the retailer and make sure my order still stands. If you are still on the rails as to purchase the game or not then I suggest you read the latest previews that were published online just yesterday.

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Rockstar have added their PC titles to IGN’s Direct2Drive and Valve’s Steam digital distribution services.

Through Direct2Drive you can download Manhunt for $ 19.95 or as part of the Rockstar Collection for $59.95. The Rockstar Collection includes Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, San Andreas, Max Payne, Max Payne 2, Manhunt and Midnight Club II. Direct2Drive is only available to residents of North America.

Or if Steam is more of your sort of thing, you can purchase Grand Theft Auto 1, 2, 3, San Andreas and Vice City, Manhunt, Max Payne, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Midnight Club 2 and Wild Metal as part of the Rockstar Collection for only $69.95 or if you purchase the collection before the 11th of the month you can nab them all for only $62.95. Alternatively you can purchase Manhunt on its own for $12.55 (regular price is $13.95). Steam is available worldwide.

Rowan Hajaj, the head of finance and corporate development at Rockstar had the following to say of the inclusion of Rockstar Games on Steam:

We were immediately excited by the opportunity to offer our PC catalogue via Steam because it allows us to reach out to gamers around the world in exciting new ways. We are continually looking for ways to give back to our fans and this collaboration will give people a chance to easily revisit some of our greatest titles.

Before anyone points it out, I realise that Rockstar added their titles to Direct2Drive in December and to Steam last week. We just never posted about it as posting about the availability of titles in the past has resulted in little or no interest from the site users. But due to the amount of emails we continue to get informing us that they are now available through digital distribution I thought it would be best for all involved to acknowledge it through a news post. With that said thanks to everyone that has emailed in about it.

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