Ready to Sing "The Ballad of Gay Tony"?

Today, Rockstar announced the title of the latest Grand Theft Auto IV expansion pack to the world. Everybody knew that an expansion pack was on the way, but the name or the theme behind the pack was unknown till now.

I don't need to tell you that the title of this expansion pack is going to raise a few eyebrows among the general population and the media (for better or worse), but before we jump into conclusions as to what this is about, let's put the whole thing into perspective.

From the Business Wire:

Grand Theft Auto IV's second downloadable episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.

Other than the fact that the main character works for a guy who goes by the nickname "Gay Tony", on the surface there doesn't seem to be anything..."gay" about it. While Rockstar is known for controversy, such as this video game existing in the first place, the Hot Coffee scandal and ESRB approved male full-frontal nudity (SFW), I don't see this product turning into anything you would expect anything with the word "Gay" to be about.

I applaud Rockstar for being progressive enough of a company to put that word in the title of arguably the most masculine game series out there. In the grand scheme of things, I don't see the problem in it. However, I'm sure that the media will and start laying ridiculous and untrue accusations about the product just because it has the word "gay" in it. That's to be expected at this point.

What really interests me though is the reaction from the gamers. From the people who actually buy Grand Theft Auto games. My perception of the people who play GTA games is that they are not the most open when it comes to that particular subject matter. Will the name of the game be a deterrent? So far I've been kind of surprised at how well overall the name has been received, but just to be a sensationalist, let's end this post with some of the user comments you would expect.

From Twitter:

georgelab georgelab.com - Rockstar goes gay with GTAIV: The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC - http://tinyurl.com/plo9lx

SeanMHayes @JosephFrost I suppose. Where would Gay Tony get a helicopter from? I hope its not pink with frills, or in the shape of a massive cock.

DarrenWells "The Ballad of Gay Tony"? Oh, grow up, Rockstar Games. What next - "The March of Nazi Rapists"?

From Joystiq:

Captain Planet @ May 26th 2009 7:13PM

Did they really have to put the word "Gay" in there? Why couldn't it just be "The Ballad of Tony"? It's pretty sad to think Rockstar would put that in there to turn a few heads and sell a few extra copies, but it wouldn't be too far I guess, we are talking about Rockstar. I'd like to see them release their next pack and call it "The Return of Straight Nico".

Sources: Joystiq, Gaming Age, warzonegamer