Hot off the heels of the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on PSN, Rockstar has released even more PlayStation 2 games from it's archives on the PlayStation Network. Bully, Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition and the classic Red Dead Revolver are now available for purchase on the PlayStation 3 for $9.99 a piece.

Rockstar has confirmed that Vice City will also be making the jump on PSN soon along with a "few other classics". The ESRB has been kind enough to shed some light on those "few other classics" by listing Midnight Club 1 and 2 along with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories as coming to the PlayStation 3. We think it's safe to assume that Liberty City Stories will be right behind them. Some have asked if The Warriors will see a PSN release, which is an interesting question as Rockstar would most likely need to clear it with Paramount first.

Last night we posted an article about a leaked Rockstar Games Collection that was coming this November. Today Rockstar has formally announced the pack, confirming the game lineup and retail price of $59.99.

One thing to note that the leaker did get the date wrong, the pack is actually coming November 6th to North America and not the 15th. Also, Rockstar has confimed that the pack will only be available in North America for now and there are no plans for a European release.

In case you missed the lineup or the box art, head on over to our article from last night or hit the quote below for the formal press release.

Rockstar Games Announces Rockstar Games Collection: Edition 1

 

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2012-- Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce that the premium four-game Rockstar Games Collection: Edition 1 box set will launch in North America on November 6, 2012 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft at a suggested retail price of $59.99. 

 

“The Rockstar Games Collection includes four amazing and wildly diverse experiences,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “From the vast plains of the dying West to the chaos of Liberty City; and from a dark crime thriller to street racing in real-world Los Angeles, this collection contains some of our best work so far.”

 

The Rockstar Games Collection: Edition 1 includes four of the most critically acclaimed titles ever made for the Xbox 360 and PS3™, representing four different aspects of the incredible storytelling, immersive experiences and addictive gameplay for which Rockstar Games is renowned:

 

Red Dead Redemption® – Winner of over 170 Game of the Year awards, Red Dead Redemption brings the dying West to life with a vibrant open-world, powerful story, and intense single- and multiplayer action.

Grand Theft Auto®: Episodes from Liberty City – The explosive conclusion to the highest-rated game of all time*, Grand Theft Auto IV, featuring two complete games on one disc: The Lost and Damned & The Ballad of Gay Tony.

L.A. Noire® – The revolutionary crime thriller featuring MotionScan, a breakthrough technology that captures every nuance of a real actor’s facial performance, providing a level of realism, detail and emotion never before seen in a video game. Featuring brand new gameplay and a dark, hard-boiled detective story, L.A. Noire became the first ever video game to be recognized by the Tribeca Film Festival.

Midnight Club®: Los Angeles Complete Edition – One of the highest-reviewed racing titles of this generation, featuring deeply customizable real world cars, non-stop open world street racing and intense multiplayer action. The Complete Edition also includes every downloadable real world vehicle and city section released since launch.

All four games will be available together in time for the holidays as the Rockstar Games Collection at a suggested retail price of $59.99.

 

The Rockstar Games Collection contains games rated Teen to Mature by the ESRB and will be available at retail stores in North America beginning November 6, 2012.

Looks like Rockstar is planning to release complete collections of current-gen Rockstar games. Listings for "Rockstar Games Collection: Edition 1" have popped up at a few online stores such as Buy.com this week however none had any details on what the pack was. Today, an elusive gentleman by the name of "thekonamicode" on NeoGaf has posted the above box arts and mentioned the collection will be releasing November 13th in the United States (Most likely November 15th for UK) at a retail price of $59.99.

According to the packaging, the collection will include five games: Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned, Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, L.A. Noire (base game), Midnight Club: Los Angeles (complete with DLCs) and Red Dead Redemption (base game). With each game in the pack averaging at about 40-50 hours of gameplay each, it's one heck of a deal for the price of one game.

The box art also points out that this is edition 1 of the collection. While nothing has been leaked or confirmed about a second edition, the most popular theory is that a second edition will release with the games this pack is missing. Missing games include Grand Theft Auto IV (base game), Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (and DLCs), Bully: Scholarship Edition and Rockstar Table Tennis. The biggest question is how will it work with the last two games on that list only ever being released on the Xbox 360.

While Rockstar has yet to confirm any of this, everything does seem to point in the direction of being legitimate. NeoGaf has been a known, trusted source for having industry insiders among their member base and has a stringent registration process. Not to mention Buy.com is a reputable online retailer.

Source: NeoGaf | Buy | CD Universe

Having recently completed the development of Max Payne 3, Rockstar has announced that Rockstar Vancouver will be shuttered. Instead of the 35 person team being let go, they will all be offered the opportunity of either joining Rockstar Toronto or to take positions at other Rockstar (and Take-Two) studios. However, it's not all a walk in the park as families will have to be up rooted and moved over 2,600 miles to Oakville, though we hear that the Candian government does offer incentives to assist the moving process. To accommodate the large increase in staff, Rockstar Toronto will be moving into a large new, custom-built facility in Oakville, Ontario (just outside Toronto). The Toronto studio expansion is being financially supported by the Ontario government. The move and merge of the studios will happen over the next 6 months and will create 50 new job openings at Rockstar Toronto.

Rockstar Vancouver, originally founded in May of 1998 as Barking Dog Studios, worked on four games before being acquired by Rockstar in 2002. Games worked on before Rockstar include Counter-Strike, Global Operations and Treasure Planet. After being acquired, Vancouver was originally tasked with creating a Rockstar developed sequel to Take-Two's Spec Ops franchise due to their experience with Counter-Strike. However, the Spec Ops game was canceled and Vancouver became best known for creating Bully which released in 2006. Many fans had been hoping for a sequel to Bully but instead Vancouver was tasked with creating Max Payne 3 while Mad Doc Software (now Rockstar New England) and Toronto ported Bully to current-gen platforms in the form of Bully: Scholarship Edition. For most of Max Payne 3's development, Rockstar Vancouver was the head studio for the game. However, in the last few years other studios were brought in so the moniker Rockstar Studios ended up being used as opposed to it being called a Rockstar Vancouver production.

Rockstar Vancouver isn't the first studio to be closed in Vancouver. Recently, a number of studios such as Radical Entertainment, were shuttered due to the high costs associated with doing business in the British Columbia province of Canada. A number of BC citizens have actually partnered together to create the We Can Do It campaign in an attempt to get the government to do something about the gaming industry leaving the area.

Fans of Bully shouldn't worry however, as Rockstar's Dan Houser has expressed interest in creating a sequel. What better than the newly expanded Rockstar Toronto, combined with staff from Vancouver, to take up the helm of doing so?