At Joystiq Headquarters, we're all about bumpin' the latest Fiddy track and tossing around the ol' crystal skull (that's a basketball to you). So it should come as no surprise that we're psyched for the news that avid Joystiq reader 50 Cent is hoping for a sequel to his well-reviewed third-person shooter, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.

According to an interview with MTV News, our favorite Vitamin Water investor responds rather positively when asked about the possibility of a sequel, saying, "I'm hoping we'll be able to do it ... with the success of this actual project, we'll try to do it again." Furthermore, though he's stated it before, he's more interested in doing future games that don't revolve around his persona, telling the interviewer, "I'd like to be a part of designing and marketing a video game I'm not actually in." And what of that Saint's Row movie you were optioning, Mr. Cent? "I was trying to option the rights, [but] the more we talk about it, the more expensive it will get," he says. Those "bigass chains" can get expensive, can't they?

Hit the break for the full, "actual" video (only for those in the US unfortunately, per MTV.com restrictions -- sorry!).

THQ's wild swings have finally brought the axe down on Red Faction and Saints Row creator Volition, reportedly culling the bulk of the Champaign, IL studio's QA staff out from the developer's ranks. Speaking with Kotaku, a THQ spokesperson confirmed that Volition lost 86 employees in the cut, including 47 temporary workers and 39 full-time staff.

The numbers represent the lion's share of the QA department's 102 employees, with quality assurance duties now "primarily" falling to "THQ's centralized QA facilities, with a small staff remaining on-site in Champaign," according to a THQ statement. The layoffs are part of THQ's larger move to eliminate nearly a quarter of its jobs in an effort to cut costs and keep analyst bankruptcy predictions from coming true.

Update: THQ's Julie MacMedan chimed in this afternoon to clear the air as well as any confusion regarding these layoffs, which according to the corporate communications VP only affected the publisher's QA facility in Champaign, IL and left Volition's "core development teams" untouched.

"This will result in the eventual closure of the facility with a transfer of sixteen employees to Volition," wrote MacMedan in an email statement. "It will not result in any layoffs within the core development teams at Volition. Volition remains a key development studio within THQ and will continue to employ 236 staff."

Confirming earlier information, she added: "The layoffs include 47 temporary employees who will not be having their service extended. Unfortunately, fluctuating headcount among the temporary staff is common based on when our games ship. In addition, 39 full-time staff will be laid off."

In conclusion, and in a refreshing change of pace to these sorts of reductions, MacMedan wrote: "All laid off employees (both full-time and temporary) will be given at least sixty days' notice. We will do what we can to assist them in finding work in the community or elsewhere in THQ."

Rapper and game character 50 Cent has just revealed an interest in creating a Saint's Row movie, in a conference call about 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. According to our man on the scene, Mr. Cent told the assembled journalists, "My relationship with THQ, you'll see Saint's Row. I'm optioning the rights for that right now."

50, we'll save you some time, in case you can't figure out how to make a sandbox game like Saint's Row into a movie -- just make it a musical and hire Panic's Cabel Sasser to write the songs. We're already daydreaming about buying tickets to that.

Taking a page or two from GTAIV's playbook, THQ just announced the eleven radio stations that'll be featured in the upcoming Saints Row 2 as well as all 170+ songs that are aired.

If you believe in variety being the spice of your Saints Row 2 life, then you're in for a treat, because there's quite the mix of songs and genres to be listened to. With radio station names like 99 Underground, 89 GenX, Four20, 102.4 Klassic and Ezzzy 105, you can expect to be jamming to Young Jeezy one moment, Paramore another and then another moment Beethoven. Make the jump to view the complete list of Saints Row 2's expansive, yet diverse soundtrack.

No, not really. Let's just get that out of the way. That said, there are obvious facsimiles of the two major United States presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, featured in this co-op trailer for Saints Row 2. For the record, there are also cops and robbers, rednecks and tree huggers, and let's not forget pirates and ninjas. Silly pairings aside, the video serves to highlight the drop in / drop out online co-op, which can be carried through the entire single player campaign. Anyone with a copy of Crackdown knows that open world destruction is more fun with a friend. Cooperative open world destruction complete with crazily customizable characters? That's even better.

Strangely absent from the video: pimps teaming up with whores.

This latest Saints Row 2 trailer is suppose to highlight their co-op gameplay mechanics, but who's going to notice that when you have the most awesome combination of McCain and Obama lookalikes walking side-by-side together with a firearm in their hand? We like it better when Saints Row 2 takes the amusing route, rather than trying to take that other sandbox title head-on. The game is coming out October 14th. We don't wanna spoil too much for you, so take a gander at the trailer, after the jump:

[Via MaxConsole]

Is there anyone as delightfully insane as Gary Busey? We submit that there is not. Mr. Busey has returned for another round of Saints Row 2 videos, and we're pleased to report that they are as crazy as the last batch. The video above begins, quite eloquently we think, with the words "Let's be honest, who hasn't wanted to kill someone with a garden gnome." Who indeed, Uncle Gary, who indeed.

Find two more videos (one of them is NSFW, by the way) after the break.

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It's been a while since we checked in on Saints Row 2. It made a splash earlier when it compared itself to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV, promising over-the-top crass humor which the somewhat emo Liberty City game failed to offer this time around. But, it looks like Saints Row 2 isn't just all about potty humor -- it looks like there's going to be a story in this one too, continuing the gang violence featured in the original. For some reason, we liked it more when it just trying to be funny.

A new trailer has been released showcasing one of the new gangs in Saints Row 2, the Ronin. Hailing from the Far East, the Ronin have a penchant for flashy jackets and swords. Honestly, if people can walk around in broad daylight with swords on their backs, we'd say that the game's city of Stillwater is in bad shape. It looks like the Saints have their work cut out for them as well if all the action in the trailer is any indication. Check out the trailer after the break (NSFW thanks to some language and some pretty nasty violence).

You may have heard that Tera Patrick -- do not Google her name at work! -- was "hired" as a "special" "producer" on Saints Row 2. It looks like we now have an idea of what she'll be "contributing" to the game's development: developer diaries. The first dev diary is really just a tease of future Tera Patrick dev diaries. She gabs about the game's features and takes off her clothes, all with the kind of forced sexiness that only a porn star can deliver.

We miss Gary Busey. Find the (slightly NSFW) video after the break.

Gaming buffet GameTap just announced that THQ- and ValuSoft-published titles will begin finding their way onto the service starting this summer. Notable titles include:

• Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War and expansions
• Company of Heroes
• Red Faction
• Supreme Commander
• Saints Row 2
• Puzzle Quest
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

It's nice to see relatively new titles like Supreme Commander make the list. We're also curious to find out if Saints Row 2 releases on the service the same day as retail, similar to GameTap's deal with Codemasters. The THQ agreement is apparently a "long-term partnership" and some titles will also be made available on GameTap's free ad-supported service. This THQ announcement comes only a few months after Interplay returned and Take-Two committed to the service.

Even though Saints Row 2 and GTAIV are very different, Saints Row 2 isn't totally forgoing some sort of fleshed out storyline. Per the latest Saints Row teaser trailer, we're treated to a taste of what sort of story Saints Row 2 will follow, a glimpse at the characters involved and (of course) some in-game footage. It's a pretty interesting trailer at that. What's our favorite one liner you ask? "You definitely need a stripper pole in this b*tch" ... now that's classic Saints Row.

Despite what the previous trailer might tell you, Saints Row 2 isn't all fun and games. In this trailer titled Saints Gang, the focus is on the story. After being in a coma, the unnamed protagonist breaks out of jail with the help of another inmate, and promptly rescues Johnny Gat, the Chinese-American lieutenant of the Saints gang, from the brink of the electric chair. Our main character then learns another gang called the Brotherhood has taken over in Stilwater and he is determined to gather forces to return for a "second coming." Featuring katana swords, strippers, a S.W.A.T. team and a gun-to-the-head confrontation with former Saints leader Julius Little, this looks to be as grand a saga as a certain other sandbox game. Despite a previously confirmed release date of almost two months earlier, look for Saints Row 2 instead on October 14th.

[via Shacknews -- thanks, Leigh B.!]

Though the teaser trailer left us wondering why THQ even bothered, we were amused at their attempt to distinguish themselves in the eyes of gamers from another franchise in their other trailer. This attempt continues with investors -- THQ's CEO, Brian Farrell indicates that Saints Row 2 is "a very differentiated product in this open-world genre." in an investor's meeting for Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Company.

Farrell also implied that he was relieved GTA4 is going in a more epic direction while Saints Row 2 will involve more "tongue-in-cheek ... silly, over-the-top gameplay." Additionally, Farrell hinted at other areas where it will try and trump GTA4: DLC, "a larger, richer environment," combat system and a two-player mode.

We like how THQ is taking the series in a more humorous and slapstick direction, but we'll wait to make any final judgments until see the final product when Saints Row 2 is released on October 12th.