ZOMG GTA Chicago! Skepticism overwhelms us
by Christopher Grant 
{ Mar 31st 2006 at 9:00PM }
Sure, it's not April 1st yet, but that hasn't
stopped some guileful folks from getting a jump start on their annual trickery. Take, for example, the suspiciously
timed appearance of a website ostensibly promoting Rockstar's latest and greatest: no, not Table
Tennis, but Grand Theft Auto: Chicago of course!Why does this GTA: Chicago thing smell fishier than a two week old tuna sandwich left in your high school locker? Let us count the ways:
- The previous GTA games have eschewed real cities, opting instead for fictional cities closely inspired by
actual ones. Liberty City ~ New York City; Vice City ~ Miami; San Andreas ~ Los Angeles. Chicago doesn't sound right.
Suspicion triggered.
- It doesn't look right either. That font is seriously dubious.
Rising.
- Why announce a game on (or a day before) April 1st? Why announce a huge title like GTA just several weeks before E3 and a week after GDC? Why take the focus off the other title you're busy promoting, Table Tennis? Suspicion reaching the boiling point.
- The site was registered through GoDaddy.com,
who in turn report the registrar as an anonymous service called Domains by Proxy, Inc.. Suspicion nearing dangerous
levels.
- All of Rockstar's other GTA domains have been registered through Network Solutions to Rockstar directly. Check
LibertyCityStories.com, ViceCity.com, and GTASanAndreas.com. Suspicion core overload. Evacuate Zebes.
[Thanks, Buttonbasher]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Enigma @ Mar 31st 2006 9:14PM
Holy Captian Obvious Joystiq.
You guys really didnt need to go through that much BS and trouble to prove this farse. /rolleyes
ZOMG:
Domain servers in listed order:
APRIL.GTACHICAGO.COM
FOOLS.GTACHICAGO.COM
1080boy @ Mar 31st 2006 9:17PM
San andreas isnt los angeles. San andreas is california. I dont have a copy of any of the GTA games and i still know that. Just thought i'd let you know. And like my buddy enigma said, look at those url's. DUH.
renaldo @ Mar 31st 2006 9:24PM
Gee, you two sure are assholes.
Jeff @ Mar 31st 2006 9:25PM
I think a couple of you guys are missing the point. See the last line of the post?
"Oh April Fool's Day pranksters, you'll have to do better than that."
Trying to point out Joystiq's stupidity only makes you look stupid yourself, because you clearly don't even know how to read.
Anyway, yeah, this is not even a good April fool's day prank. When did people start forgetting that they actually need to make April fool's jokes, you know, seem like a real thing? Otherwise they're not really jokes on anybody.
Enigma @ Mar 31st 2006 9:31PM
I did read the last line of the post oh coming to Joystiq's savior.
That was my point. They went though all this fact counting (cause they probably need to explain it to the clueless fanboys on here), when they could have just said "we know this is a joke" in the first place.
And seen the "who is" record with those 2 domains would have made it all the easier.
But your right, that one sentence, zomg, lost t3h credibilitiez, theyz fooled on m3h! O.o
Enigma @ Mar 31st 2006 9:36PM
Pssst ... see the /rolleyes
Here is a hint:
"Its called sarcasm"
But dont tell yourself that. Dont want to spoil your fun of, "zomg jokez on m3h"!
webrunner @ Mar 31st 2006 9:47PM
There WAS GTA London: 1969
C. Grant @ Mar 31st 2006 9:59PM
Touch?ebrunner! Although, I would add, that the series has taken on a whole other life since then.
London, 1969 was an awesome game though!
Nic @ Mar 31st 2006 10:03PM
OMG!!! I CAN"T WAIT FOR THIS GAME TO COME OUT!!! BEING SET IN CHICAGO, DO YOU THINK IT WILL INVOLVE GANGSTERS!?!
(Now the more important question is this: Was my post serious or yet another April Fools related one? What a conundrum. Let the infinite loop of insanity and sarcasm continue!)
Enigma @ Mar 31st 2006 10:13PM
Will the X360 have an exclusive GTA: Detroit - "hard hittin' edition"?
Or the Revolution, GTA: Sesame Street :-p Muahhaha!
BPMΩ @ Mar 31st 2006 10:27PM
More like... GTA: Hoenn, M I RITE?
Gotta steal 'em all! POK?AR!
Joe Reno @ Apr 1st 2006 12:15AM
to quote that oh-so-hillarious VW 'pimp zat ride':
"yoo get und F."
what's the point of AFD anymore, most of the info on the net is BS the other 364 days of the year, why would today be different?
kilo70 @ Apr 1st 2006 1:33AM
here some info i got from this site http://www.thegtaplace.com/index.php made not be a pank
afterall read:::
Wow! Amazing news! A few weeks ago I found the domains www.gtachicago.com and www.grandtheftautochicago.com had been registered and were parked at Register.com (see screenshot) which as you know is where Rockstar have also parked gta4.com. After contacting Rockstar they told me to keep quiet so I reluctantly did...
But now today, Rockstar Games have announced just one of the cities for the next installment of the series, GTA4. Chicago, the windy city. Unlike previous GTA games where cities have been based upon real life one, GTA4 will take place in real life cities. The storyline from Rockstar sounds intriguing, the game will apparently span across three different eras.
Chicago, 1933. Since January 16, 1920, alcohol has been illegal to consume, gangs rule the streets, and homicide rates are soaring. Johnny Roselli has just escaped a lifetime prison sentence after being falsely accused of murdering his own family. He's now returned to lead his Mafia gang back with a vengance to bring an end to the prohibition, and by any means necessary, even if it means wiping out rival gangs.
The next two eras have been kept kind of secret by Rockstar, although we hear they are 1970 and 2010, also, Rockstar have currently left the titles of these cities un-announced, probably to let all this hype circulate. We'll be bringing you more news on these exciting revelations as soon as we have it though, so stay tuned!
timothy @ Apr 1st 2006 1:41AM
While this "release" is a joke, Chicago would be a great setting for GTA. I live here and have thought that many times while running around downtown and the surrounding area.
James @ Apr 1st 2006 6:59AM
The GTAPlace were the people that made it.
Repsode @ Apr 1st 2006 10:04AM
Pokecar already exists.
It's called Gran Turismo.
Gotta buy em all!
Repsode @ Apr 1st 2006 10:04AM
Pokecar already exists.
It's called Gran Turismo.
Gotta buy em all!
waluigi14 @ Apr 1st 2006 12:25PM
"Suspicion core overload. Evacuate Zebes."
Crap. Now I have the escape music from metroid stuck in my head!
Doo dooo dooooo. Doo dooo doooo....
But anyway, revealing a game on april fools day is the dumbest thing any company could do. Even if it's real, no one would believe them!
Nate- @ Apr 1st 2006 2:34PM
It may have been the evening of March 31st to you, but it was April 1st in other parts of the world...
You say: "Oh April Fool's Day pranksters, you'll have to do better than that." But that's not the point of April Fools. April Fools gags aren't designed to honestly fool knowledgeable people - they're designed to catch out the 1% of gullible uninformed people. Of *course* you, with your knowledge of web domains and your general intelligence, didn't get fooled - you weren't supposed to!
Raikage @ Apr 1st 2006 3:58PM
Tee Hee...Zebes...Doo dooo dooooo...Doo dooo doooo...mmm time for some Hunters...Oh yeah they need GTA: The Prostitutes Strike Back (The prostitute simulator where you have to avoid the every night dangers such as being ran over, meeting up with an angry wife, and being ran over after services rendered; all the while trying to please Mr. Pimp)...I'd play that...
Colin Zhang @ Jun 24th 2006 8:10PM
Yeah sure it's fake now it's past April Fools you can see it says the site is fake. For more details on the joke the April Fools prankster fosted a big long article on it at http://www.thegtaplace.com/