The Future of the Grand Theft Auto Franchise

The Grand Theft Auto franchise has certainly done wonders for gaming innovation over the last decade, but how long can you really live a life of crime? Sure, the cities, characters, and motivational storylines change with each passing iteration, but how different are GTA III and GTA IV in the overall aspects? For the series to really continue to be gaming's golden child it needs to evolve into something more. PlanetXbox360 has a few ideas that might just make you want to pluck down your pre-order cash today.

[El_Colombiano]

Yeah I definitely see GTA going PS3 exclusive.

[Deadman64]

unless sony can pay r* for the amount of revenue they would lose for the gaming selling on xbox, it wont happen. sony does have the pockets

[UltimaEnder]

ps3 exclusive won't happen, not with the sales it did on the 360 or the DLC factor; won't happen!

[UltraMafia]

they can poop in a bag and it will win game of the year.

[Valkyrie83]

I have to agree with you on some level, GTA-IV was easily one of the most loved and hated games of 2008. It will probably be the same way for any game Rockstar (or Bethesda, or Bungie) ever releases; has something to do with the massive amount of hype these developer's titles receive, nothing can live up to that!

[Tony P]

What's with the exclusivity arguments? The article doesn't touch on that at all.

To the point, I think this presents some interesting ideas. Rockstar did good things graphically and technically with IV, but the general flow of the game leaves much to be desired. Playing as the lowly misfit who kills his way up the food chain gets pretty stale.

[Valkyrie83]

WOW, you hit my thought process exactly....I really wanted GTA-IV to be how you described, and it did some of those things great, on the other hand it fell short on a few others which will hopefully be fixed the next time around!

[RedVsBlue]

Any exclusive system will not earn a GTA game its budget back with it being exclusive to any system

[UltimaEnder]

Exactly right, these are huge games with even bigger monetary costs, thus the reason GTA and FF went multi... ...

[Lou-Cipher]

I disagree

If the GTA series was exclusive to the PS3 or the 360 it would still sell at least 5-10 Million units on either console. (and that many units sold means big profits)

I don't think Rockstar would ever make the GTA franchise exclusive to a particular console, but I do think if GTA 5 was exclusive to the PS3 it would be a much bigger, better GTA then it would be if it was multiplatform.

There is no doubt in my mind that the reason GTA 4 was not as good as GTA: Vice City or GTA: San Andreas was due to the fact that they shorted the game so they could fit it on the DVD disc.

[Shadow Man]

That way it would fit on a DVD9 plus they can improve the graphics. No way R* would make the next GTA exclusive to the ps3. They would lose alot of money.

[Queers of War]

make the next GTA ps3 exclusive. DVD9 is definitely limiting GTAs full capabilities. if not theres going to be disks for each goddamn city

[Hercules]

but i still play gta4 til this day,..,and i got it at the midnight release party....i love the story, gfx, physics, mp, and just gameplay...hell i like killing michelle on every date...i still cant get six starts, only five...i want the damn trophy!!!!

[Joe Dirt]

If R* wants to make loads of cash, then keep thier games multiplat, if they want to make AAA titles that are amazing then go PS3 exclusive, simple as that, imagine the size of the maps and cities if it was exclusive to PS3.

[Dark General]

I have to say i would love a game like one mentioned int the article. Be it grand theft auto or some other new IP.

[Julia Bond]

Rockstar puts you in this amazing city but gives you limited freedom to interact with it. Sure you can go run around shooting people and run from the cops but how does that affect Liberty City? What GTA needs is more "freelance" missions if i want to start selling drugs to NPC's i should be able to do that.All it needs is a simple version of dope wars implemented in the game.

I should also be able to use that cash to purchase property. You should also be able to purchase business where you can control aspects of said business. It should be as deep as madden's franchise mode but simple enough to wear it can run itself if you dont wanna waste your time with it. Some of these concepts have been in early iterations of the series and i think they should be reincluded with more depth.

[Aclay]

I like how GTA4 implemented open-ended gameplay by allowing you to choose between various senarios, but I'd like to see that expanded upon....essentially I'd like to see a future GTA game have a feature similar to Heavy Rain, in which every decision you make will determine the outcome of the game.

Even though bigger doesn't always mean better, I'd like to see a future GTA game the size of GTA3, Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA4 combined. I want a HUGE, MASSIVE world that feels like the game takes place in several states or something.

Whatever Rockstar plans to do with GTA next, I have a feeling that it's going to be even more ambitious than GTA4 was because Rockstar themselves mentioned that Microsoft needs to do something about a Storage Solution for the 360, and I hope that statement was somewhat of a confirmation that with the next GTA game, they are really going to be utilizing the Blu-ray space and not hold back.

http://www.gamesradar.com/x...

[DNAgent]

The GTA series is a flop. It has been going downhill ever since GTA3 and GTA4 is the worst 3D game in the series. GTA will end up with the other series of flops like Sonic & Tomb Raider. They could've put GTA4 on the last gen consoles because at least then they would have a reason to why it flopped but I guess it's due to the outdated 360 and they couldn't get the most out of the game.

[Deadman64]

wah wah

[wibble]

I found the missions to be a chore. Go do this, go do that. I felt like a slave.

I wanna see them remove the missions completely and let the player just goof around stealing cars. Go back to basics.

Have a place to sell the cars and let the player save the cash to buy stuff like apartments (if they feel like it).

But ultimately the folks walking around need to be far more interesting to help make goofing around more fun. For example - have more varied responses from the folks that are about to be carjacked. Some should lock their door and start shouting while others may pull a gun out. You could even have the central character smash the car window and lean in to drag the occupant out through the window. :)

They need to spend less time scripting mundane missions and more time making the city fun and unpredictable.

[N2NOther]

"Back" to basics? No GTA ever, had no missions. That and I get bored incredibly fast without anything to do mission-wise. And a lot of other people as well...Getting rid of the missions and having the game just be random is a TERRIBLE idea and would cost them a great deal of fans.

[wibble]

Well of course people get bored without missions because the game is quite shallow without them. What I'm saying is that if they make the GTA citizens more interesting then you'll have fun interacting with them.

We've all had fun just messing around in GTA, but it quickly becomes boring because the AI and the responses soon becomes predictable. It doesn't have to be like that.

[N2NOther]

I see them more as interesting set dressing. The meat of the games, for me, has always been the story and the missions and the extreme amounts of variety of ways I can complete them.

[jkhan]

Make GTA5 like GTA San Andreas or GTA Vice City, those were really fun to play. GTA4 was alright there wasn't much to do in it compare to previous GTA games. The visuals were great but it wasn't as fun to play & please drop that cousin crap.

[cryymoar]

9GB games for life!!!

/s

seriously, quit wanting to live in the past, lets move on already to MORE than 9GB games please?
I expected an entire country for GTAIV, and went back to a single city.

[Valkyrie83]

Wow, an entire city, sounds cool to me!

[showmethegames]

do you really want to know why GTA4 felt empty?
here is 20 reasons why it sucked

1)missing the sword
2)missing the flametrower
3)missing the TANK (i mean "THE FVCKING TANK")
4)missing the minigun
5)weapon choices were much lower than SAN ANDREAS
6)the map size was at least half the one from SAN ANDREAS
7)the music was very limited and felt repetitive
8)player customization was very, very poor
9)Niko looks, sounds and acts like a goddamn moron
10) the jet fighter was missing
11)the jet pack was missing
12)there wasn't many sweet ramps to jump like on previous GTA's
13)the story was SH!T
14) the multiplayer was crap
15)the choices of vehicles was much lower than SAN ANDREAS (where is my mexican bicicle?)
16)Niko didn't know how to fight
17)everytime u try to have fun, the cops send a ton of cops after u in less than 10 seconds
18) u gotta drive forever to get rid off a 1 star wanted, if u get a 2 star, u mind as well restart the mission
19)if u leave your car outside your apartment, someone will hit it or steal it
20) THE GAME WAS TOO DAMN SHORT!!!!!

now that i think about it. maybe they couldn't fit all that on a regular DVD. so much for multiplatform been good for all gamers.........
i'm sure there is more to add to the list so if anyone else wants to express their dissapointment keep on adding to it.................
this game wasn't only overhyped but it was also a huge letdown to the real fans of the series

[jkhan]

I don't really think it was DVD9 issue. It was more like they wanted to take the series towards a different direction. The story I felt was better than previously GTA games but I still think it was no way 10/10. For me it was 8.5/10. The game was good but it wasn't really that much fun. The approach they took with the game was simply not right in my opinion. This game is all about the freedom to cause mayhem & this game stops you from causing that.
About character customization? Was there any? All you can do was change a pair of clothes, which was very limited mind you.
May be it was because of DVD9. But again its there problem, they should have used 2 DVDs or something. But the truth is this game sold as well as they wanted. So they are justified with there logic of multiplatform release for them. If the game's budget was 100 million dollar and rumor is they got 50 million dollar from MSFT. Then you can see they have covered there cost half way through.

[wibble]

"19)if u leave your car outside your apartment, someone will hit it or steal it "

Karma...

[N2NOther]

And yet another person that missed the point of the game they were playing...

The story was amazing and easily the best in the series. It had actual themes at work that comment on something rather than aping a Brian DePalma or John Singleton film. It was superbly written and acted all around. Something the GTAs have been missing since day one.

The lack of gun choices = realistic. The lack of a jet pack = realistic. No jets = tasteful; the last thing this world needs is morons making videos of them crashing planes into buildings in a virtual replica of NYC.

I never had that much of a problem with evading the police...Are you sure it's not just you being terrible at the game?

[PirateThom]

I don't play GTA games for realism. I play them for over blown action and because they're ridiculous.

[N2NOther]

That's fine and that's you...I play them because they're incredibly fun and extremely well-designed games. But you saying that is like saying "I don't watch movies for realism"...These games are created, for the most part, with great care like the best films. And like films, they have tones and themes...The best games and films adhere strictly to these things and GTA IV is a great game for it.

[showmethegames]

i swear dude. i'll save the game and when i go outside to get in my car, the car has dents or is completely gone. i mean this happens few times, but is anoying

[wibble]

It's not called Grand Theft Auto for nothing! :)

[showmethegames]

u cant use 2 dvd's on that type of game. you'll be switching back and forth too many times it will be insane. anyway, when SAN ANDREAS came out,it used a little over 7 gigs of space. now that this gen is about HD, it takes twice the space as before, and that's why R* had to take many things out from GTA4. i won't buy this game unless i rent it first. i don't trust R* anymore and i'm very sure that i won't be the only one...........oh, #21) the game was too buggy

[UltimaEnder]

I don't remember a single developer complaining about DVD issues with GTA-IV, I doubt that will become an issue unless devs want to add hours of video (see MGS4)......

[Valkyrie83]

Me either, DVD-9 seems to be large enough!

[Official General]

I still own GTA 4 for my PS3, I've completed it and I did enjoy it, but not as much as I thought I would, which was greatly disappointing for me. I think GTA 4 is a very excellent looking game technically. The graphics, detail, effects and character animations were simply incredible to look at, I have never seen a more visually realistic representation of New York City in video game. The storyline in GTA 4, while not the best, was still very good and engaging. I did like a few of the game's new ideas like the internet cafe thing. There are some very good missions and some of them provided real funny, memorable moments too. However for most part it was let down, mainly by the repetitive missions, limited gameplay variety and not enough in-game content. Here are some examples:

* Most of the main storyline missions involve you just simply being paid to hunt down or chase after certain people and then kill them, which got very repetitive after a while, so much that it began to feel like a chore at times. Yes, killing and stealing is the mainstay of GTA games, but a little more variety in the way the missions are set out would have made things alot more interesting and fun at the same time.

* There are not enough side missions to keep you occupied when not playing the main storyline, and even then most of the side missions in the game quickly got boring. The whole dating/socialising/friends thing was fun at first, but it ran out of steam fast. There should have been more side activities like selling drugs, robbing/holding up stores, small local banks and buildings, gambling, smuggling, stealing things and selling them, fraud, counterfeit etc. This would have added alot more fun.

* There is a big lack of really good features in GTA 4 that had appeared in the previous titles, the stuff that made the GTA series so fun in the first place. In GTA 4 there is no real purpose for the money you earn, as there is no ability to buy up properties and businesses or set up organized crime rackets. You cannot even build up your own gang/criminal organization plus have turf wars with other gangs - that should have been included.

* Other important things where GTA 4 is really flawed, is the fact that you cannot not enter many public buildings and stores, considering how large the city environment is - with the current console technology you should be able to enter EVERY building in the game. In GTA 4 there is also a lack of seeing random gang wars breaking out on the streets in the rougher areas, or random criminal acts by others - this would make Libery City feel more alive and kicking, the previous GTA titles had this feature, even GTA 3!

* Minor things missing from GTA 4, include not seeing enough buses and being able to use them, no sports stadium, not enough restaurants and variety of clubs and social spots (it's based on NYC after all!).

I think the next GTA should be based on a modern-day Vice City, with the state of Florida included and main character modelled on a Latino drug cartel baron escaping his country to set up shop in America - PLUS all the missing features that I have stated above to be included and all the flaws from GTA 4 rectified.

[Valkyrie83]

You and me have the exact same feelings about GTA-IV, I enjoyed it thoroughly but never really thought it was one of the best games I had ever played, nor did I consider it for Game of the Year in 2008. It was something I spent a lot of time with but I skipped all story sequences, why is that?