Ben-DutkaIf you hadn't already heard, there will be three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V . And publisher Take-Two Interactive says to expect more of that in the future .
During a the Cowen Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference in New York, Take-Two CEO Struss Zelnick said that GTAV "is going to redefine what an open-world game is and will be." He said we should also expect to see multiple protagonists in games in the next generation.
Zelnick added that being able to switch between characters with the press of a button will allow for "unprecedented" storytelling:
"This is going to be the first video game where you can shift seamlessly among three protagonists and if you think about it, one of the complicated factors in a video game has been the first person has to play all the emotional roles in the story; the good guy, the bad guy, the victim, the policeman, the cop, the hero. And, for the first time, you're going to be able to have three protagonists and that will actually drive the story forward."
To date, the blockbuster series in question has shipped 125 million units and is arguably one of the most important franchises in all of entertainment. Zelnick made no apology whatsoever for GTA being his company's "most important franchise," as he's obviously quite proud of those games. Later, a Take-Two representative said the spirit of Zelnick's comments was that future games "must deliver innovation to succeed in the market." GTAV using multiple protagonists is an example of that necessary innovation.
So what do you think about shifting between three main characters on the fly? Looking forward to it?
Related Game(s): Grand Theft Auto V
One of the most popular? Definitely. One of the most important? I don't think so.
I would say something like Doom or Wolfenstein was one of the most important in the industry.
I'm afraid I grew out of GTA after Vice City.
Last edited by Akuma_ on 5/30/2013 11:02:30 PM
Disagree. I think the franchise becoming a water cooler and dinner table topic in America really brought the game into the public. It was totally mainstream to be playing it because they had achieved something never done before but then you had people trying to scare everyone into hating it and the damn series survived that by basically not commenting. Its continued existence was a victory over anti-gaming nonsense. And the result of all that publicity was massive sales. And also you have the establishment of the sandbox game that others have drawn on.
My thoughts are probably totally biased haha. It's the biggest game franchise that I love to hate.
I agree. Doesn't matter how much better the visuals are going to get. The concepts and ideas and infantile nature to GTA age it. I don't see how this will change.
I would also disagree with a couple of your points. I remember when GTA III came out. The open world sandbox, radio stations, and characters literally changed the industry. There is no way around that. That has to make it important in some regard.
I'd also agree and disagree with your statement about it being infantile and therefore dates. I bought both GTA3 and Vice City for my tablet and playing both of them does show how much different they are from GTA IV in terms of their tone. They were much more Saint's Row-ish. GTAIV however was definitely more mature and cinematic. In either case it's an open world game and it's about how you chose to play it.
Have to see it in action I think, but that's just another reason they should have had a woman in the mix.
This is kind of genius too, all that they have to do is sell other characters as DLC and everyone will buy it.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 5/30/2013 11:49:44 PM
They have already done that, "lost and the damned" and "the ballad of gay Tony" It wouldn't be a surprise if they did it again.
Yeah, though those are separate campaigns as opposed to new characters in the same campaign. The latter requires less work.
Yakuza 4 already has 4 protagonists with its own stories that are connected to the main game. Sorry , I don't see nothing innovating from GTA.
Maybe you need to reread this quote
"This is going to be the first video game where you can shift seamlessly among three protagonists and if you think about it, one of the complicated factors in a video game has been the first person has to play all the emotional roles in the story; the good guy, the bad guy, the victim, the policeman, the cop, the hero. And, for the first time, you're going to be able to have three protagonists and that will actually drive the story forward."
Yakuza are fun games but they do not do what he has stated.
Well…. until they top themselves with the next Red Dead anyway…
less talky, more walky!
enough waving your cock around, show the bloody game already!
cant believe were 3.5 months away from release, and we STILL have not seen ONE live gameplay demo!
not ONE!
especially disappointing considering how many events they have been showing off, hell i was talking to the manager of my local EB earlier this week and he was saying they went to a meeting and got to play the dam game!
not watch a demo, not watch a trailer, actually got to play the game!
and what do we fans, who have shelled out thousands of dollars on the series, get?
bubcus!
great way to say thank you to your fans R*…………
And yet like all other previous Rockstar games it'll sell very well. I'm sure they'll pull little gameplay vids like they did with Red Dead and L.A. Noire soon enough. Can't wait to see what new things await us in this next GTA game.
Rockstars do their thing in their own time.
thats exactly the problem though, by now all their other games had already had gameplay vids!
3 and a half months and we have seen bubcus, that gives them 2 and a half months because the game would of gone gold by then.
2 and a half months to detail the weapons, cars, boats, planes, helicopters, how the scuba diving going to work, i hear theres a new cover system and aiming system different to IV, how the missions will be laid out, how the hiests are going to be played out, how often they will be, how often will missions be 2 or 3 characters and how often will they be character specific, hows the cop system going to play, will there be cheats in the game, how are you going to upgrade weapons, how are you going to upgrade cars, will there be base jumping in the game like san andreas, will there be gang missions and turf wars like san andreas, will there be side missions for emergency vehicles like the vigilante, or taxi missions in previous GTA games, is there going to be destructible environments and if so to what extent, are there going to be choices you can make in the game that will effect what happens in missions or will things be highly scripted, are all characters, or any characters, going to get girlfriends who you will need to interact with during the game, can that be expanded to maybe a family or something, can you buy out businesses like you did in vice city, complete their missions and build your own empire so they start making you money, will there be any expansion packs for this one like the ballard and TL&TD like what IV received, is the friends system from IV back, will there be massive jumps and maybe events like there was in vice city with the PCJ 600 and doing jumps collecting those rings.
the games been announced for so long now, weve waited so long between announcements, and every single god dam time they open their mouth its either to reiterate things they have already said, or just to tease us like a cat outside the fish markets!
have you heard of this gaming event called E3?
It is normally the main place for big game announcements and gameplay reveals, its actually less than 2 weeks away.
Just in case you didnt know.
and have you heard of a little thing called the internet, where R* said ages ago they will not be attending E3?
Man just chill. Rockstar doesn't need to show you anything. I am sure in due time they will. You have mentioned that there is about 3 months til the game comes out. Guess what that's a lot of time to show some "gameplay". Calm down a bit I am sure the game will be just as great as everything else they have released this generation. *hugs* It'll be ok. 🙂
When's the last time Rockstar did a public game demo for GTA? When's the last time GTA had a demo for the public to play? Never. They don't need to waste the time and resources in putting put a public demo when people already know what to expect from a GTA game.
And that EB manager is full of crap.
D1P
GOWA RER TLOU GTA5 BTS GT6
Nice
Umm to be honest I had a hard time even enjoying the last iteration.
I realized this is just not a game that brings much to my entertainment world. IT just seems more of the same, but with prettier graphics. It certainly has its fan base, and I am sure it will break sales and such.
Maybe they should have do a GTA in the year 2372… or a more comical spin and have it in ancient Rome. You know, Grand Theft Chariot.
Keep Playing!
Grand Theft Chariot! Now I would play that!
A couple of things….
1.) Im still not sure about switching the characters. I am definitely looking forward to reviews to see how this plays out.
2.) Is there any way this game doesnt sell? I would love Ben to do an article about wether GTA is like COD where it sell because of name, or wether people take the product into consideration first.
Would be an interesting opinion piece, but to be honest it's because of name. Also Rockstar strives to keep coming up with new and interesting gameplay elements. Sure this isn't Saints Row, but come on they always try new things over the last iteration. I think people are hating for hating sake.
Im not hating. I honestly am excited about everything in the game except the character switching part. Like the idea of 3 protagonists but the way its handled is what Im wanting to see.
And for the article, Ben has more tools and knows more people in the gaming world than I do so I would wonder with what he could find out.
Last edited by wackazoa on 5/31/2013 1:33:25 PM
To be honest, I'd probably buy whatever had the GTA name on it, but I'm excited about what we've seen so far. The reason I'd buy it is because I trust the developers behind it. CoD doesn't have my trust that way. Rockstar, Guerilla, and a couple others do.
IMHO One of the reasons I love the series so much is because they capture the essence of their environments so well. The word "immersive" comes to mind. That's why I don't mind the switch in tone. Florida in the 80's, LA in the 90's, NYC in the 2000's, and LA in the 2010's all have a different feel (I've been to all 4.. HA!).
ps…. that makes me feel old
CoD is a poor comparison, it's a annual franchise with a new game every year alternating between two developers. They're also treated differently because of it. There hasn't been a proper GTA game in five years at this point. There's only been one instance where there was a a new full fledged GTA a year following a previous one and that was III to Vice City. Rockstar takes their good ol'time with the games.
I get the brand recognition thing and Rockstar probably could press a turd in the shape of a disc and sell a million copies but they haven't and for the most part been rather restrained and protective in not over exposing the series, unlike Activision.
It'll be interesting to see the swapping thing… I enjoy playing a character while playing a game. I think the real test is to see if the swapping breaks that immersion, or just gives me triple the immersive fun! 😛