(Just a short piece on the rise and success of one of the biggest names in the games market, Grand Theft Auto.)
One of the biggest names on the games market right now is Grand Theft Auto. Beginning its saga in the early 90’s, this vast improving game is a fest of criminal activity, obscene language and extreme gore. It started with a simple 2D design, yet still managed to take the world by storm. During its early beta code days, it had several clashes with the censory system, and barely made it through to the market. With a computer full of editing, both for the programming and the script, Grand Theft Auto was released on the PS1 and PC games systems. There is no record on exactly what was in the original beta version, and no one person in the world claims to have a copy; it simply disappeared. Since its release, it suffered several blows from households around the world, claiming that it promoted too much violence to young children. The creator of the game, Rockstar, countered with the noting of the small symbol in the corner of every genuine copy of the game: 18.
From there, two more games were created in the same 2D design. First, an expansion for the first game, Grand Theft Auto London and then, running on a new graphics program, Grand Theft Auto 2. Thus, the saga of GTA, and the journey of infamous game business Rockstar, began. Upon the release of the two follow-ups, it became clear that Rockstar were, in fact, mirroring well-known and crime-ridden cities throughout the world. The first game took place in a virtual state, containing cities:
a) Liberty City
b) Vice City
c) San Andreas
These were mirroring:
a) Chicago
b) Miami
c) Los Angeles
The games also featured well-known crime gangs throughout the world including the Mafia, Triads and the Columbian Cartel plus, in Grand Theft Auto London, an amazing appearance by notorious English crime bosses Reggie and Ronnie Kray. The third game, Grand Theft Auto 2, was quite different to its predecessors, and was set in a future world made up of solar cars, enhanced weapons and grittier crime. It fell.
Fans were now looking for something completely new, something that would give them the feeling they had when the first game had hit the shelves. So, following the release of the PS2 in the late 90’s, Rockstar hit back with Grand Theft Auto 3. At first, fans seemed disappointed at the fact that this was, in fact, a 3D remake of the first city in the first ever game. Yet, it was indeed 3D. The game was set in Liberty City, which Rockstar had split down into three islands:
a) Portland
b) Staunton Island
c) Shoreside Vale
This new wonder brought with it replicas of real cars, a whole new arsenal of weapons and rich graphics. Once again, the world was impressed by the efforts in the game. However, once again, Rockstar suffered an onslaught of horrified parents. The “promotion of violence to young child” card had reared its ugly head again. This time it went a lot further, and CEO of Rockstar, the Houser brothers, had a law-suit filed against them. The games business tried to counter-act with the advisory system, claiming that if the game fell into the hands of anyone under the age of 18, it was not the blame of Rockstar. Somehow, though the world never knew, the court blew it back in Rockstar’s face. Grand Theft Auto 3 was on the verge of being banned. Fortunately, a group of crazed GTA fans stood against the parents and explained to them how the fact that children playing GTA was of no fault of Rockstar’s. This, plus a few others restraints, were enough to get the Houser brothers back in the office. Within a year of Rockstar only just escaping a ban, Grand Theft Auto Vice City hit the shelves, and parties broke out worldwide.
This was, obviously, another revamp of the original game. Rockstar had taken the name of Vice City, turned it into a vast map and placed the gamers in the middle of a city under siege. Fans played in the 60’s/70’s as an American-Italian from Liberty City, sent to Vice City to “grab a piece of the pie”. The game emphasised a lot on the movie Scarface, which is apparent throughout as an outsider rises from the gutter and finally holds the city in his palm. The cars had been improved, the weapons remade and the attitude, of the whole script and game-world, broadened. At this point, fans were beginning to realise that the next game to hit the shelves would undoubtedly be San Andreas, a revamp of the third city from the original game. How right they were.
In 2004, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was released. This time, however, Rockstar had added originality to the setting. They had renamed San Andreas a state, and within the state they created three cities. The first being Los Santos, a virtual Los Angeles, and the original city of San Andreas. The second was San Fierro, an impressive collage of San Francisco, complete with tram system, it’s very own Chinatown and a wonderous Golden Gate Bridge. The last was Las Venturas, a fully motivated, gambling, singing, dancing Las Vegas. Fans were knocked down by its originality on both the setting and the scripts, this time playing as a ghetto-gangsta trying to get out of the hood and take his family with him. To present, it still stands as one of the top selling games in the world, and leaves only a few questions in its wake:
1) Will Rockstar continue on the revamping path, releasing next a 3D version of Grand Theft Auto London?
2) Will the next one live up to the legend GTA has become?
3) Will Rockstar be able to continue improving the standards of the game, no matter what they do with it?
One of the biggest names on the games market right now is Grand Theft Auto. Beginning its saga in the early 90’s, this vast improving game is a fest of criminal activity, obscene language and extreme gore. It started with a simple 2D design, yet still managed to take the world by storm. During its early beta code days, it had several clashes with the censory system, and barely made it through to the market. With a computer full of editing, both for the programming and the script, Grand Theft Auto was released on the PS1 and PC games systems. There is no record on exactly what was in the original beta version, and no one person in the world claims to have a copy; it simply disappeared. Since its release, it suffered several blows from households around the world, claiming that it promoted too much violence to young children. The creator of the game, Rockstar, countered with the noting of the small symbol in the corner of every genuine copy of the game: 18.
From there, two more games were created in the same 2D design. First, an expansion for the first game, Grand Theft Auto London and then, running on a new graphics program, Grand Theft Auto 2. Thus, the saga of GTA, and the journey of infamous game business Rockstar, began. Upon the release of the two follow-ups, it became clear that Rockstar were, in fact, mirroring well-known and crime-ridden cities throughout the world. The first game took place in a virtual state, containing cities:
a) Liberty City
b) Vice City
c) San Andreas
These were mirroring:
a) Chicago
b) Miami
c) Los Angeles
The games also featured well-known crime gangs throughout the world including the Mafia, Triads and the Columbian Cartel plus, in Grand Theft Auto London, an amazing appearance by notorious English crime bosses Reggie and Ronnie Kray. The third game, Grand Theft Auto 2, was quite different to its predecessors, and was set in a future world made up of solar cars, enhanced weapons and grittier crime. It fell.
Fans were now looking for something completely new, something that would give them the feeling they had when the first game had hit the shelves. So, following the release of the PS2 in the late 90’s, Rockstar hit back with Grand Theft Auto 3. At first, fans seemed disappointed at the fact that this was, in fact, a 3D remake of the first city in the first ever game. Yet, it was indeed 3D. The game was set in Liberty City, which Rockstar had split down into three islands:
a) Portland
b) Staunton Island
c) Shoreside Vale
This new wonder brought with it replicas of real cars, a whole new arsenal of weapons and rich graphics. Once again, the world was impressed by the efforts in the game. However, once again, Rockstar suffered an onslaught of horrified parents. The “promotion of violence to young child” card had reared its ugly head again. This time it went a lot further, and CEO of Rockstar, the Houser brothers, had a law-suit filed against them. The games business tried to counter-act with the advisory system, claiming that if the game fell into the hands of anyone under the age of 18, it was not the blame of Rockstar. Somehow, though the world never knew, the court blew it back in Rockstar’s face. Grand Theft Auto 3 was on the verge of being banned. Fortunately, a group of crazed GTA fans stood against the parents and explained to them how the fact that children playing GTA was of no fault of Rockstar’s. This, plus a few others restraints, were enough to get the Houser brothers back in the office. Within a year of Rockstar only just escaping a ban, Grand Theft Auto Vice City hit the shelves, and parties broke out worldwide.
This was, obviously, another revamp of the original game. Rockstar had taken the name of Vice City, turned it into a vast map and placed the gamers in the middle of a city under siege. Fans played in the 60’s/70’s as an American-Italian from Liberty City, sent to Vice City to “grab a piece of the pie”. The game emphasised a lot on the movie Scarface, which is apparent throughout as an outsider rises from the gutter and finally holds the city in his palm. The cars had been improved, the weapons remade and the attitude, of the whole script and game-world, broadened. At this point, fans were beginning to realise that the next game to hit the shelves would undoubtedly be San Andreas, a revamp of the third city from the original game. How right they were.
In 2004, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was released. This time, however, Rockstar had added originality to the setting. They had renamed San Andreas a state, and within the state they created three cities. The first being Los Santos, a virtual Los Angeles, and the original city of San Andreas. The second was San Fierro, an impressive collage of San Francisco, complete with tram system, it’s very own Chinatown and a wonderous Golden Gate Bridge. The last was Las Venturas, a fully motivated, gambling, singing, dancing Las Vegas. Fans were knocked down by its originality on both the setting and the scripts, this time playing as a ghetto-gangsta trying to get out of the hood and take his family with him. To present, it still stands as one of the top selling games in the world, and leaves only a few questions in its wake:
1) Will Rockstar continue on the revamping path, releasing next a 3D version of Grand Theft Auto London?
2) Will the next one live up to the legend GTA has become?
3) Will Rockstar be able to continue improving the standards of the game, no matter what they do with it?
