This is why gamers will continue to be screwed by the industry.
I just don’t get the hype personally for GTA VI. I played a couple of the games, skiped a couple, played another and it’s just more of the same thing every release. Got bored within a couple hours. Now another one is coming out which will also just be more of the same damn thing. To each their own I guess.
There’s a lot of reasons, but the big thing you need to keep in mind is that the average gamer buys less than 2 games a year. That’s who you’re targeting if you wanna sell a million billion copies of a game. Where most years that’s probably going to be a sports game or cod, GTA is a cultural phenomenon that will have millions and millions of dollars of advertising behind it. First buying the game will be social, a way to engage with cultural phenomenon, then it’ll be a good value proposition (typically they’ve had a lot of hours of gameplay per dollar thanks to open ended sandbox gameplay and breadth of features), and then it’ll be social again when GTA6 Online drops, and again when the PC release happens. This is all staggered out to maximize sale and resale and stay in the discourse to the point that it’s what an AI would say a CEO should do for a big release. After that they’ll be targeting whales because old GTA Online still makes over a million dollars a day in 2026 but that’s drifting away from the why
I wish I knew an intelligent hardcore fan of the series so they could articulate what they see in it. I doubt Noah Gervais is going to cover it anytime soon.
I played every game since original top-down 2D, including GTA V, that last one for maybe 10 hours. I did 100% San Andreas and IV, but didn’t really get into DLCs.
I like it for absurdist writing that makes the world look like hyperrealistic USA. I like it for the tunes. The missions were fun when I was more ok with railroad experiences. Secrets, references, sometimes hilarious dialogue.
I didn’t like GTA V much though. Maybe it was just more of the same or maybe it got worse in some way I didn’t quite notice. Or maybe I just like other things in video games after 20 years.
I think V especially has a huge following thanks to multiplayer, including RP servers. I never really cared for either.
Hope that helps.
It does, I think! I’ve only played this series a little, and very distantly. Let me know if I’m close: So we’re talking about more than just satire but in a sense hyperbole, getting immersed in a setting with the vibes cranked up and slightly distorted. It’s a funhouse where all the mirrors are hilariously America-shaped, and the cartoon version of yourself it portrays becomes the satire.
Makes sense then that the more multiplayer experience of GTA V would have less time for the craft of that atmosphere, instead prioritising the delightfully crass verbs of GTA in the context of online gaming. Even a server dedicated to RP will tend to put a mirror up to the player, which probably detracts from the humour and vibe; self awareness takes you out of things, after all.
Yeah sounds pretty close, especially for Vice City, San Andreas and IV.
I think they also shared some cultural similiarities with Idiocracy and it’s vibes. No to the same extend, but in many ways pointing out casual things and saying “this is what it’s actually like, if you think about it”.
I think I don’t like V as much because it’s become too realistic and detached from the comic book slapstick I’ve known GTA for since 1998. And the themes lost the self-deprecating irony, becoming bland.
I guess they just optimized for the lowest denominator, always the way to grab the most of the market.
The themes are somewhat preserved in RDR2 (Didn’t play 1) - it’s very serious in general, but there’s this simmer of “ain’t this ridiculous” under the obvious drama. Worked for me much better than V ever did.
Do you like crime movies from the likes of Scorcese, Mann, and Ritchie? We don’t get many of those in video games anymore, but GTA lets you play out something like it. Car chases, shootouts, heists, and criminal conspiracies are all here. The next closest thing I can find anymore is something like Yakuza, which dips far more into the silly/anime/over-the-top and caters to a different set of tastes even when it’s not a turn-based JRPG these days. So that’s why I’m looking forward to GTA, and unfortunately Gang of Dragon is looking super cancelled now.
Ok, I’ll bite. I’ve been a fan of the single player games since III.
As someone who learned programming and 3D graphics modding games, the series has always been special to me, and pretty directly lead to my career.
What makes these games special is that Rockstar develops their own in house game engine, and has the money and staff to take the time and do it right.
From what I’ve read and watched about this new engine, they are doing things so far beyond what any other company has invested in, that GTA VI is going to redefine what gaming can be.
While everyone else is on the Unity and Unreal band wagon, pumping out clones of systems everyone else is making, Rockstar is creating new low level technology to build a truly reactive, immersive environment.
Will they create a GTA Online that just milks money out of micro transactions? Sure, they will, be stupid not to.
But, I am honestly excited to see what kind of single player simulation of a living city they are able to produce with 13 years of development.
Did I buy the $100 premium version? No, I will never preorder a game again after Cyberpunk, but if the reviews are good I’ll drop $100 dollars on a game that I’ll easily play for 500 hours
I know a lot of people buying the $100 version, lots of high end gamers out there
It’s probably one of the only games that might deserve to be more than $100. Not worth a pre-order but it’s GTA…
spending $100 on a game isn’t that much when it’s likely the only game these people are going to play for the next 13 years
Not giving them a penny before I get a physical disc.
Not giving them a penny. Full stop.
Kinda ironic how people say we live in a cost of living crisis but then people also have always money at hand to throw it out the window for top level consumerism stuff. People have no self-restraint, do they
Edit: self-restraint, not self-constraint
It’s because games are cheap compared to many alternatives that people would use to entertain themselves. They are one of the cheapest forms of entertainment when you consider how much time people spend interacting with them. An Uber and a night at a bar, or a dinner for two at a steakhouse could cost more.
I’m not very consumerist, but grew up poor by US standards (and am honestly on my way back). A lot of people seem to want at least some nice things. Sneakers, nice clothes, nails, hair; whatever they’re into. I think it helps distract them, or gives them something to look forward to. Part of it may also be that society seems to conflate a persons worth with their income and possessions, and that has been internalized.
Guessing one of two factors, or a combination.
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People seek escapism in hard times. 1930’s America was going through the Great Depression, but it was also the start of the Golden Age of Hollywood. People still turned out to go to the movies despite the bread lines and poverty. And people will still buy games if they can squeeze it in the budget, even if there are maybe more “responsible” purchases they could make.
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GTA players probably don’t buy as many games. There are gamers who will engage with the medium across dozens of titles catering to various interests. And then there are “gamers” whose entire scope of gaming exclusively covers some combination of FIFA, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto. When you only buy 1 or 2 games a year, sinking $100 on each doesn’t seem as unreasonable as buying 10 games per year at $40.
Also to add on to this, while we are in a cost of living crisis, that doesn’t mean people can’t save money towards purchases like this either. If you started putting back 5 or 10 a month since it was announced you’d have plenty saved, especially with the delays.
I don’t think it’s a good idea considering we haven’t seen anything yet, but I am not their audience.
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