Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas confirmed

Retr0gamer

From Eurogamer.net

Take Two has finally announced that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be the title of the next game in the phenomenally popular series. The Rockstar-North developed title will once again be exclusive to the PlayStation 2 and will be released on October 19th in North America and October 22nd.

The New York-based company made the announcement to the US this morning, and although it won’t come as a great surprise to anyone who has been following its trademark filings, it’s still significant that Sony has managed to secure an unspecified period of exclusivity once again.

Rockstar president Sam Houser commented: “In the past couple of years, we have put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves to ensure we do everything possible to exceed people's expectations with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

"Even though we still have eight months to go, we are starting to become very proud of what we have achieved and we can't wait to get the game into players' hands."

As ever for a Rockstar North title, almost nothing is known about the game, both in terms of the era it is set in, the main characters or anything else you care to mention. Judging by its last few games, a website will probably appear at some point in the summer, followed by a trickle of information and the usual point blank refusal to let anyone actually play it until the game is basically on the shelf. Not that we’re bitter or anything – at least it gets us all hyped up about it.

According to Take Two’s latest figures, over 30 million units of the GTA franchise have been shipped to date – of which 11.5 miilion are attributable to Vice City and over 10.5 to GTA 3. Ker-ching.

In case you’re interested, Rockstar president Leslie Benzies reckons that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that “will hopefully redefine the Grand Theft Auto series and revolutionize open-ended gameplay and video game production values." So there you go.

Start wishing those months of your life between now and october 22nd away now.

Kiith

they better have some good physics engice in it. imagine rag doll physics in any of the cars. there will be limbs flailing everywhere.

also i hope they do multiplayer, but i doubt it.

Michelangelo

Its not going to impress me. Why? Its a playstation 2 exclusive. At least get it out for the pc that day too then I will be impressed.

tman

Originally posted by Michaelangelo
Its not going to impress me. Why? Its a playstation 2 exclusive. At least get it out for the pc that day too then I will be impressed.

yep
i'll be avoiding the ps2 version like the plague tbh.

it could barely cope with vice city ffs, 2 years down the line and i can't imagine the ps2's hardware being very flattering to a game such as this.
oh well, only a year and a bit to the pc version:(

Deadwing

i remember being sucked into the hype surrounding GTA:Vice when it was coming out on the Ps2. I expected it to be the second coming of videogaming christ, and was left with a distinct feeling of disappointment after playing it for the forst 5 minutes. So while GTA:San andreas is a great idea on paper, it will in all likeliness be nothing but a disappointment until you get the "proper" version on the P.C, as was the case with Vice.

Makaveli

Yep, once again I'll wait for the pc version.
Any guesses on the time period or theme? I reckon maybe early to mid 90's and a gangsta rap - bloods/crips feel to it.

RobertFoster

Originally posted by Makaveli
I reckon maybe early to mid 90's and a gangsta rap - bloods/crips feel to it.

I say you could be right, judging by the logo text.

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

Deadwing

Originally posted by smiaras
Cue scores of knackers beginning to sing the praises of dat bleedin' rapid game.

You mean "Dat bleedin rapa game where ya get ta rob cars n shoite on da pee ess tewww"

Praetorian

Stupid Sony, Stupid PS2. That is all.

bizmark

god damn sony and rockstar...Pc users are going to be stuck with fecking pop up 5 foot from you because of ps2 like in vice city

Michelangelo

I don't want to be sucked in and get it for ps2 because it won't be HALF as good as it will be for pc. I did that with Vice City and was so bored of it by the time it came out for PC so never bought it. god damn sony!

garthv

i dont know what you are all complaining about,gta:1 was one of the best games imo and its just gotten better with every realease to date(well maybe except for that london patch for gta:2,that was a bit gash).I felt that the ps2 did a damn good job of running gta3 + vc but knowing they way games are goin these days*cough* half life 2*cough* we'll be waiting a lot longer for it,maybe they'll push it so far back that it will come out with the new ps3

mmmmps3

quarryman

Originally posted by Garth_Vader
i dont know what you are all complaining about,gta:1 was one of the best games imo and its just gotten better with every realease to date
mmmmps3

agreed. GTA3 was brilliant and Vice City was even better. It was worth the wait on the P.C imo.

RobertFoster

Originally posted by Garth_Vader
that london patch for gta:2

it was for GTA1, and yeah it was rubbish.

Mossy Monk

i'm looking forward to the PS2 release. dont have a PC anywhere near as what would be needed for it

Retr0gamer

Don't know what the PC heads are complaining about. It's the same game on PS2 as on the PC only better graphics and FPS on PC.

However a GTA game made solely to the strengths of the PC would be far better. Imagine a MMORPG style GTA. *Drool*

Deadwing

Originally posted by Retr0gamer

However a GTA game made solely to the strengths of the PC would be far better. Imagine a MMORPG style GTA. *Drool*

I can picture it now..

*Lv10 hoodlum casts 'bat to the face' on Lv6 gangsta for 213 hit points*
*Lv6 gangsta is dead, LV10 hoodlum has leanred 'urinate on dead bodies' ability*
*Lv10 hoodlum unzips fly...*

And so forth

BLITZ_Molloy

People tend to forget that Rockstar North used to be DMA one of the most talented and innovative development teams to come out of the UK.

It's a pity most other European dev studios haven't learned anything from them. Nowadays you've got to have an idea thats very commercial and slip in the innovative features without putting the mainstream off. Rockstar North have the right idea. And their marketing is top notch.

Makaveli

Originally posted by Retr0gamer
Don't know what the PC heads are complaining about. It's the same game on PS2 as on the PC only better graphics and FPS on PC.

Except you can add your own mp3s to the game and imo it's far easier to play on the pc eg driving and shooting.

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

RobertFoster

Originally posted by Makaveli
you can add your own mp3s to the game

I prefer to listen to the radio, very funny stuff

tman

Originally posted by Retr0gamer
Don't know what the PC heads are complaining about. It's the same game on PS2 as on the PC only better graphics and FPS on PC.

erm, that's pretty much what we are complaining about.
gta3 & vice city were more or less identicle to the ps2 versions. yet they could have been so much better if they'd been built from the ground up with the pc's capabilities in mind.

axel90

Forget your ps2's and pc's wait til it comes out on xbox... graphics about 100 times better and gameplay smother.

Third_Echelon

yeah.. i got that gta3 and vice city double pack on xbox.. great idea...

for some reason i didnt like playing it on PS2... seemed a lot nicer to play if you know what i mean on xbox.... just my opinion...

its a pity about the sony exclusivity thing...

RobertFoster

I wish the double pack would come out on the PC...

tman

Originally posted by RobertFoster
I wish the double pack would come out on the PC...

why??? just buy the 2 seperately.
you'd have to look elsewhere for gta3 but play have vice city for £15... (€22)

RobertFoster

I can't find GTA3 for the same price though... it's still priced as a new game in shops here. The cheapest I've seen it was £25 online.

Atomic Pineapple

Originally posted by tman
erm, that's pretty much what we are complaining about.
gta3 & vice city were more or less identicle to the ps2 versions. yet they could have been so much better if they'd been built from the ground up with the pc's capabilities in mind.

But its not being developed for pc's its a console game and always has been, to start from scratch just for a pc version wouldnt make any sense in financial terms, and its not the graphics that make grand theft auto such a great game, if it had the worse graphics in the world its gameplay would still shine through.

axel90

Looks like xbox won't get it for a long while yet:

Rockstar Games have announced Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the next iteration in the globally successful Grand Theft Auto franchise. The game, codenamed GTA 5 by publishers Take Two, will be developed by Rockstar North.

Interestingly enough, Sony have managed to maintain exclusivity, for an unspecified period of time. Following the runaway commercial success of the series this must be seen as a blow to Microsoft who will definitely miss the title.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be available exclusively for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and is expected to be in stores in North America on October 19, 2004 and in Europe on October 22, 2004.

In the past couple of years, we have put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves to ensure we do everything possible to exceed people's expectations with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, stated Sam Houser, President of Rockstar Games. Even though we still have eight months to go, we are starting to become very proud of what we have achieved and we can't wait to get the game into players' hands.

For those of you wondering what the San Andreas installment could offer to the GTA experience, read what Leslie Benzies, President of Rockstar North, had to say: (it) will hopefully redefine the Grand Theft Auto series and revolutionize open-ended gameplay and video game production values.

As far as details are concerned, well don't expect any. The only information on which almost everyone seems to agree is that some multiplayer mode or other, will be implemented in San Andreas, after all Multi Theft Auto more or less sealed that deal.
If Rockstar remain true to form we will not get a chance to see or hear much about the title until it hits the stores in October. What we can look forward to however, is an enigmatic web site 2-3 months before the release and a highly regulated flow of multimedia material thrown here and there. We still have some hope that E3 will yield some, extremely, limited information about the characters involved and possibly the storyline. As long as Rockstar stick to their release date, they have built-up a reputation for doing so, no one will have enough time to complain too much about the limited information.

As a reminder of exactly what the GTA series means to video gaming, here are some figures: Over 30 million units of the Grand Theft Auto franchise have been shipped to date, including over 11.5 million units of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and over 10.5 million units of Grand Theft Auto 3.

projectmayhem

Originally posted by axel90
Forget your ps2's and pc's wait til it comes out on xbox... graphics about 100 times better and gameplay smother.

i have the ps2 and my brother has the xbox and there is absolutely no difference in the games. the xbox is no smoother, loading times are no better. the only graphical difference is the shine on cars and people and the look of the wheels and engines. and of course playing your own music in the "8-track".

as for san andreas... if you didn't like vice city you wont like this. it will more then likely be an upgraded version of the vice city engine in the same way vice city is an upgrade of the gta3 engine.

i'm waiting for the gta2-style (futuristic-ish) game for ps3... if they make it