Take-Two Interactive just announced that the previously Nintendo DS-exclusive Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is coming to the Sony PSP. The game will be sold both in UMD form and as a download on the PlayStation Network for PSP Go owners (and PSP owners who loathe UMDs).

I can’t say I’m surprised by this announcment. The DS version of Chinatown Wars didn’t exactly set sales records, except maybe in the area of  “Oh crap, this game bombed.” Take-Two and Rockstar no doubt wish to see a return on their investment for their GTA handheld title, so porting it to the PSP is a no-brainer.

I’m curious to see how the stylus control will translate. Perhaps they’ll remove that feature, or maybe just tweak it to work with a mouse-like interface utilizing the analog stick. We don’t know much about changes at the moment; in fact, we don’t know much at all about the port, except a vague release window: this fall.

Curious to know more about Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars right now? Don’t want to wait until the fall to learn more? Click here to read our review!

The fact that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is the best handheld GTA in the series greatly amuses me. The two entries on Sony’s PSP, Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories, should be the superior games. Both had the benefit of a more powerful handheld console, after all, and all of the features that allows (better, full 3D graphics; better music; smoother animation; and so on). And yet somehow, Rockstar worked its best car-jacking magic on the Nintendo DS. Who saw that one coming?

Probably the biggest — and definitely the most pleasant — surprise concerning Chinatown Wars is that it isn’t missing any of the usual GTA shenanigans. Do you want to jack cars? Go ahead, steal as many as you please. Want to go on a rampage, destroying everything in sight with an arsenal that would make the Army jealous? Feel free, psycho! All of the missions, radio stations (with noticeably less interesting music, sadly), races, and other over-the-top side activities from previous GTA installments are here, along with a few new features.

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Grand Theft Auto IV will be available for the PC on December 2nd, sporting upgraded visuals, a built in video capture and editing tool, and Games for Windows Live support.

The game will be available for download from Steam, and they’re currently running a pretty good deal where preordering the game will get you Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for free. You’ll be able to download Vice City immediately, GTA4 when it unlocks.

Not a bad deal for $50, especially with the hundreds of hours of gameplay that both games will give you.

So the news today has been a bit slow in coming down. I suppose not every day can have a flood of news. Here are a couple of news snippets for you in the meantime.

GTA: San Andreas is coming to Xbox Originals

More rumors claiming Metal Gear Solid 4 is coming to Xbox 360

Rock Band 2 Prices and Release Dates for Wii, PS3, and PS2

Now, just to keep moving things along here, here’s your discussion topic: should Metal Gear Solid 4 come to the Xbox 360? Why or why not? Proper spelling and sentence structure please.

Those of you wondering if Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will tone down the adult themes for the Nintendo DS can put those thoughts to rest. British gaming magazine Edge is reporting that the game will feature a drug-dealing minigame allowing you to distribute six different types of drugs. Rockstar vice-president Sam Houser is quoted as saying, “…GTA has to be an M rating. It can’t be softened to make it family-friendly – that’s not the game we’re making. We’ve never not done well by sticking to our guns.”

I can’t wait for the media firestorm this will create.