Rockstar Games is one of the most recognized studios in the gaming industry, and for good reason. Throughout the years, Rockstar has continued to push the limits of video games, both in terms of technical advancements and controversial content, and has always managed to break new ground in storytelling and realism. The studio’s most recent success is Max Payne 3, which released to critical acclaim and has sold very well commercially.
While the studio continues to branch out and try new things, they will forever be associated with one series in particular. When fans hear the word “Rockstar” they inevitably think of Grand Theft Auto, which propelled the studio to the rockstar status (pardon the pun) they hold today. For years, fans have gone crazy whenever a new title in the open-world crime series has been announced, and the speculation begins about how Rockstar will dominate the industry once again. The announcement of Grand Theft Auto V really got me thinking about the series, however, and made me wonder if can stand up to some of the upcoming open-world underdogs that have been making waves in the gaming world. Is Grand Theft Auto still relevant in the gaming industry, or is it time for Rockstar to move on?
When GTA V was announced months ago, I found myself only somewhat excited to see the trailer. I loved Grand Theft Auto IV, mostly due to the unique characters and incredibly detailed world, but had finished the game feeling like something was missing. Still, it was an enjoyable experience. After watching the trailer for GTA V, I found myself less-than-excited for the game. The story of a retired mobster/hitman/gang member with a family at risk has become an over-used cliche, and unfortunately for Grand Theft Auto, so has a lot of the series’ gameplay mechanics.
Look at some of the games we’ve been seeing lately. Watch Dogs made a huge impression at E3, presenting an open-world experience with a great gameplay twist, and better graphics than many other game on the market. The shooter elements look to be very well done, which is something the GTA series still has to work on. This seems to be the case with a lot of open-world titles coming out over the next year. Along with Sleeping Dogs, the Saints Row series, all of these titles take the open world formula made popular by Grand Theft Auto and expand upon them in a variety of ways. Granted, Saints Row isn’t much for telling a good story, and we still have yet to see how Sleeping Dogs and Watch Dogs turn out, but is the story alone enough to keep the GTA series around?
The Grand Theft Auto series has had a huge impact on video games, but it’s presence in the media and its reputation for causing controversy has definitely played a big role in making it such an important franchise. The series is known for its over-the-top violence and sexual content, and is arguably the biggest reason so many people were originally drawn to the series. With this type of content being the norm in the gaming industry these days, and Rockstar pursuing more realistic stories and situations, they’re going to need to focus on revamping the gameplay if the series is to survive.
Ultimately, I know that Grand Theft Auto V will be a good game. Even with the cliche story, Rockstar has a way of making such memorable characters that it can be overlooked. However, I just don’t feel like the series has that epic, “game of the year” feeling that it used to. Hopefully my mind will change with the release of new information, as I’ve always been a fan of the series. Whether or not Rockstar will once again change the face of the gaming industry still remains to be seen.
What is this article… of course its relevant. GTA IV sucked. but every fan remembers san andreas and spending hundreds of hours playing in that epic world. GTA IV just got boring after you beat it ( which took like a day).
GTA isn’t dead, it just hit a rough spot with GTA IV.
I disagree with what you’re saying here in the article. To me the series has always been more about parodying our culture more than just portraying sex and violence and nobody will ever do that better than Rockstar. Don’t even mention Saints Row. Not even close. No. Just no.
Saying that the series is known for sex and violence makes you sound ignorant to the series. It’s about humor more than either of those. Our society is filled with sexism and violence so you can hardly blame them. It’s about how hilariously ridiculous life in America is. At least that’s what GTA is to me.
For this reason, GTA is more relevant today than it has ever been. I’m hoping they go way over the top because they’re going to have to with all of the shit we’ve seen irl over the past 4 years. 15% unemployment, corporations controlling our government, ndaa, occupy movements and riots in the streets, anonymous hackers, members of congress sending dick pics to teenagers, members of congress not doing their job to make the president look bad. I could sit here all day typing this shit but you get the point. They’re gonna have to definitely step it up because this country is bat shit insane and I desperately need me some GTA to laugh it off.
Oh yeah and it’s also about stealing cars.
Don’t worry. Nobody will ever come close to touching what is GTA. Certainly not some game made by Ubisoft. Not even in the same ballpark. Although I must say, they’ve made some real great 2d sidescrollers lately with Rayman Origins and Outland.
I’m not saying that to everyone it is known for sex and violence. I’m saying that Grand Theft Auto wasn’t a popular title until it started receiving a lot of attention for controversy. Back in the day, I had played the originals, so when GTA III came out, I bought it instantly. None of my friends had even heard of the game, though, but once they saw the mayhem and destruction and sexual content they were drawn to it because it was so different. A lot of people that I know were originally brought to the series for the same reason. People flocked to the game when it started making news because of it’s violence and sex. I personally have always appreciated the way GTA has been heavily inspired by film, and the way that it parodies our culture. In fact, Rockstar does it better than anyone. Like you say, I hope they go way over the top, because it feels like they’ve slowed down. Grand Theft Auto IV seemed much more like a “safe” experience, abandoning the over-the-top satire of our government and culture. I’m afraid that GTA V will be the same way, because based on the information we have, it doesn’t look to be any different. They would be much better off creating something new, like they did with Red Dead Redemption, which is easily their best game.
And as for shutting down Watch Dogs, I think it’s going to be incredible. Ubisoft makes some amazing games these days, and they have a lot of experience with open-worlds now (Assassin’s Creed).
And don’t forget even Activision Blizzard even tried to create a GTA clone with True Crime. It was cancelled because “it just wasn’t good enough” to compete. That itself should have given you the sense not to write this article. Rockstar sets the bar. They’re untouchable.
After playing the Yakuza Series ,for me gta has become irrelevant.I will not impressed by any other open world game until they put that much detail as the Yakuza Series.
You can’t even make a remark towards relevance if the game hasn’t been released, especially since Watch Dogs is nowhere near anything close towards how game play is perpetuated in the Grand Theft Auto series.
Quality is always relevant.
Whether you liked GTAIV or thought the series was headed wrong direction, I don’t think anyone can argue, honestly, that it’s not a polished, well-executed product.
When Rockstar flops, you get games like Bully, and a pretty good Table Tennis game.
They just don’t make bad products. That will never go out of style.
Correct, quality is always relevant to the product. However, I am talking about the actual game’s relevancy. It no longer aims to represent our culture, and has instead focused on just telling a good story.
Watch Dogs, however, is very relevant, and it can be said even though the game isn’t out. Just by watching the demo and hearing the story details, it’s easy to see that it really exposes the way technology can be used for the wrong reasons, and presents a world where everyone and everything is always connected. Therefore, the game is entirely relevant.
I see what you’re saying, because these days there are no such things as gang wars, or organised crime, and no murders or car thefts. It’s 2012 now, everyone is going around hacking into the city grid on their mobile phone and causing accidents in the streets by changing the traffic lights. Yeah that’s totally more relevant to today than Grand Theft Auto is…
Also what were you on about saying Watch Dogs shooter elements looked very well done as opposed to IV, that’s rubbish, they looked clumsy and like an afterthought, IV’s shooting is much nicer.
As the saying goes, don’t fix something that ain’t broke, Grand Theft Auto works, it doesn’t need any silly gimmicks, or retarded stupidity like Saints Row. It needs to retain its gritty realism, classic humour, and immersive storyline,.
Don’t get me wrong, Watch Dogs looks awesome, but so does Grand Theft Auto V.
In conclusion, this article is rubbish, Rockstar don’t need to revamp anything to stay ahead of the competition, nobody has come close to making an open world game as brilliantly as Rockstar do.
Actually, the concept of hacking so easily is no longer that of a fantasy. Technology completely dominates the world we live in, which is both a blessing and a curse. Think about it; The government controls everything with technology. Street lights, entire power grids, public transportation… all of this can be shut down completely with the push of a button. It’s a very real threat, and Watch Dogs is tapping into that. Imagine if the wrong person got their hands on that technology? I think Watch Dogs is very relevant. Plus, the shooting mechanics seem much more fluid, honestly, and look to provide a better sense of action and realism, which is what the game is going for.
And you claim that Grand Theft Auto doesn’t need “silly gimmicks” but the series is based on silly gimmicks. And this “gritty realism” you speak of only game about in Grand Theft Auto IV, which also lost the “classic humor”. Grand Theft Auto began as a game used to expose the screwed up nature of people and the world we live in. It has entirely lost that now.
Terrible. First.. I saw many typos, which leads me to question your ability on a computer.
Second.. Umm.. Watch Dogs is a next generation game. Maybe you should pay attention.. I’d greatly hope it had better mechanics than GTA IV. Which is what.. 4 and a 1/2 years old?
LOL Saints Row is shit. Take a look at sales for The 3rd & GTA IV. I bet GTA outsold it by unfathomable amounts.
The entirety of The 3rd was a joke. Hardly any guns, no story, no memorable moments. Not to mention it’s had a lot more time on the current hardware to be developed, which failed miserably.
You question if the story alone is enough to keep R* relevant..? Really? Pretty sure it’s got a hell of a lot more going for it than just the story. Why compare GTA IV to other companies sad excuses for competition, and look at Red Dead Redemption. I’m sure that’s a better indicator than any that Rockstar shows no signs of stopping. Look at what they accomplished from IV to Red Dead, then ask yourself again if they are irrelevant. IMO Red Dead Redemption is one of the most iconic and so perfectly put together games that have ever been released. It will only get better.
You, sir, are quite terrible at writing articles.
Alright apparently Watch Dogs isn’t nex gen. I was lied to. Still a hell of a lot more time to develop and get right than IV. Which was in development before the 360 was even completed.
writer is correct GTA no longer relevant and needs be seriously corrected to compete no more bowling and darts or bad dialogue cliched characters needs new talent Housers are too old to be relevant thus game is no longer relevant
Author is right but is incorrect on what the problem is. The problem with the GTA series is they’ve become spectacularly over-directed, to the point the “open world” is basically meaningless; the games now dictate how to do the missions almost to the detail, and rather than experimentation being allowed it is over punished with an instant failure and start over. In the earlier games if you come up with something the designers didn’t intend, like getting out of your car on the start line of a race and taking out the other racers with an RPG, it works; in IV a single bullet and the race is instantly called off. Saints’ Row has a better feel to it simply because it doesn’t straitjacket the player’s choices like GTA does.
This reflects a more general tendency towards overdesign in the industry, with games featuring needlessly condescending tutorials and characters who nag you if you don’t run to the door of a room within five seconds of doing the thing the room was about. The overall problem is that game designers have started to consider themselves directors, which by extension makes the player nothing more than an actor whose job it is to carry out their vision.
Participation can’t be assumed, and the sooner the industry realises that the sooner we’ll start seeing games where the designer works with the player to create the experience rather than just impatiently ordering them around.