Grand Theft Auto franchise may have 'peaked,' according to analyst

This is retarded on 2 levels.

1) Any series will pass its peak once the developer runs out of ideas which was incredibly apparent in GTA IV where all they did was throw graphical umph at the same formula.

2) The DLC games didn't sell well not because people are sick of GTA (which they may also be but that isn't the principle reason) but more because it wasn't released on the console most people own GTA IV on and more importantly people don't give two craps about playing a new story using the same game engine created a year and a half ago. The DS version because of piracy and the age of its typical userbase.

I would buy 'Episodes from Liberty City' for PS3, I have an Xbox but I rould rather play on the PS.

I'm sorry but GTA 4 was a disgrace. The inclusion of taxis, TV shows, phones, bowling and the lack of having anything fun is not the way to improve on San Andreas. San Andreas had you working for hippies, immigrants, a blind chinese man, your own gang, corrupt cops and many more people. In GTA 4, the most interesting character can't speak properly and I had to but subtitles on just for him.

make a GTA IV DLC with the airport and planes. then i'll buy it.

i dont care much about story of the GTA game, that's not why i play it....

im not sure if the DLC already does that, if so, they didn't market it very well.

I never played any of the GTA games until IV came out around 18-months ago. I still play GTA IV DLCs several nights a week online with friends. Of course, after seeing all of the hate mail for GTA IV and hearing everyone talk about how great S.A. was, I bought S.A. thru XBL. I was dumbfounded that a gamer of today would think that S.A. is better than IV? S.A. is a kiddi game by comparison. (Saint's Row 2 is better for S.A. crybabies) Liberty City is an incredible simulation of a present day USA city, kinda like a precursor to the first MATRIX that we may all be plugged into someday. ;) I could not see S.A. being anywhere close to IV and never got more than 30 minutes into S.A.

So, I hope a new, full GTA comes out in a couple of years, and I hope that R* will stay on the path of creating M rated games with environments that blur the line between fantasy and reality.

Here's the thing.

Despite GTA IV getting ludicrously high reviews, it just wasn't as fun as Vice City, San Andreas and maybe even GTA3.

So yeah, it underperformed.

Stupid score inflation distorts the actual story here. The real story here is "collective gaming media busts a nut trying to get out 100 scores for GTA IV first".

the dlc should have been gta4 in my opinion,they are way more fun than the boring niko story...the lost and the damned ending is wicked and gay tony is fun as well and the weapons shit on the standard ones

"Did they REALLY expect a game called "The Ballad of Gay Tony" to do gangbusters among the demographic that gravitated toward San Andreas?"

An expansion centered around about cocaine and nightclubs? I would expect so!

Not even a little. Come out with the next real installment and not little DLC packs, and we'll see it dominate again.

There were things I didn't enjoy about GTA IV, but I don't believe the series has peaked. Even if it has peaked, the peak was Vice City. San Andreas had many great features, but the size/quality trade off of the "state" they created wasn't as enjoyable during my experience.

I loved Liberty City. It was large without being overblown and was incredibly detailed. So much of San Andreas was hills and forest, if you ended up without a car it was hell to walk back out. The size also meant that the urban settings lacked detail that would have made them more interesting. Vice City was a great balance. Larger than GTAIII, but not once again not too large that it lost all of the interesting detail.

I don't care what the setting is, I just want it to be interesting, not half filler. As I said before, I would like some more of the features from San Andreas brought back, more customization in general. I think there is still the potential to make the best game in the series yet.

i think it has to do with alot of better stuff coming out at the time the DLC came out. Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2 came out around the same time as the second DLC. So nobody was thinking of GTA when it came out. I got it last minute plus the game stop i went to didnt even have the disc version i had to go to walmart to get it.

Depends how fresh the next full-blooded GTA release is. It needs a more compelling story (GTAIV had a good story, but I didn't feel an urge to find out what happened next; I simply accepted what was next as a matter of playing more game). It needs less janky controls/walking animation. It needs a greater sense of fun (GTAIV was fun, but Nico was effin' DIRE, man). It will need a fresh setting; so a really different kind of city and/or era. And it will need a greater variety of experiences. The action needs to tell more of the story. Fallout 3 was really raised the bar by which I judge open-world games now.

Frankly, I've always wanted a Hong Kong triads GTA that paid homage to movies like A Better Tomorrow.

Bring the episodes out on PS3 and I'll buy them, but I sure as donuts ain't buying another defective 360 just to play them.

Well I know I got bored of GTAIV right when I finished it. While it had plenty of replayability, it didn't have FUN replayability. The multiplayer was garbage and a lot of the ill side missions from San Andreas were missing. They intentionally gave us a bare-bones GTAIV so they could then add features they left out from the last-gen GTAs to GTA5. That's not how you handle a series. Game developers must always aim at bringing back the great features everyone loves from past games and adding even more. They made GTAIV about the story but the story alone can't hold up the franchise for an installment. San Andreas was great because they gave you a bunch of toys to play with and tons of missions to do.

Thanks RKN for emphasizing my point

San Andreas was my favorite entry in the series, and I found GTA IV to be a disappointment. I think they need to drop the B.S. realism, and give me back base jumping and jet packs. Also, the car physics in GTA IV are annoying.

Mostly though, what hurts the game is a distinct lack of jetpacks, bmx bikes, and dual wielding machine guns.

I actually liked Saints Row 2 better than GTA IV.

I'd like to play the DLC content.. the biker one? With the metal radio station that plays saxon... but... I have a playstation 3.

yeah..

I think part of it is that reviewers are somewhat out of sync of what buyers want. Reviewers are isolated and in their own little clique, a lot like movie critics and well, most media.

That was the problem with GTA: Chinatown. I think everyone wanted San Andreas Stories (at least PSP owners did), getting a port of a DS game was just an insult.

And really, no one except critics really liked the GTA games before the leap into 3d (GTA3). It was a niche game. So going back to that perspective was a huge mistake. Like if a FPS went back to the Doom/Wolf 3D style of no looking up or down or aiming.

As to the GTAIV add-ons flopping, I think people want an original GTA, GTAV, not more milking of GTAIV.

Most people don't play GTA for the missions. Heck, I don't think most people even get very far. They play it so they can wander about the city doing stuff. The addons didn't offer anything new in that regard, not major at least.

I really hope the moneyhats developers receive for "timed" exclusives and exclusive DLC are worth it because there is no way to piss off your fanbase more than w/ those 2 practices. I won't ever purchase a game that's qualifies for either category unless in the case of timed exclusives the developer adds in significant content making the delay worth it or unless they put a ton of spit shine on a game improving it from the original.

As for GTA, i only own a PS3 and a PSP so releasing GTAIV w/ exclusive DLC for X360 = no sale (rented 1x and borrowed from a friend 2 years later) and giving me a port of a DS game = no sale. If i think something is bull sh!t, i speak with my wallet and i did on these games. Maybe Rockstar noticed more sluggish sales maybe they didn't, the analysts did though so it's small win at any rate.

I wouldn't say the series has peaked quite yet. The reason for the lower sales of the DLC and Chinatown Wars is pretty simple to me: people prefer a console GTA experience (and Chinatown Wars is pretty different from the GTAs most people have played) and DLC is simply bound to sell less than a standalone title at this point. Gay Tony and Lost and the Damned aren't entirely new games, so it makes sense that they wouldn't be as successful.

See, that is what I was about to write about in terms of why GTA IV gets dissed so much when compared to S.A - THE CHILDREN!! Kiddies want over the top non-sense taken to another level. Now, I LOVED S.A....but I loved GTAIV, too, perhaps even more so. The game was a masterpiece and I wasn't going in looking for more over the top antics after S.A.
And I also have a reason why it's DLC has not done so well - The 360's core demographic seem to be children or childlike minds where as the PS3 is more "adult". Now, I say that not to disrespect those who are adults in age and/or mind and rock on the 360 but this was something I thought about a long time ago then, ironically, Game Informer did a survey on who was purchasing which system which seemed to confirm this idea I had.
Now, if more kiddies go with the 360 and the GTAIV DLC was 360 exclusive then throw in what we believe about kiddies loving S.A. more than GTAIV - TADDAAAAHHH!!
I broke this down a while back and even said that Rockstar knows they made a mistake giving the 360 this DLC exclusive and the numbers continue to prove it. They should have not made that move because they are paying for that in lack of units moved.

Slightly revised:
1. Get the fuck out of the United States (seriously, we need some European locations)
2. Bring that GTA4 DLC to the PS3 and PC
3. ???
4. PROFIT!

If the DLC is ever offered for PS3, I might pick it up, but it's been
so long since I set that game down that I'm not sure if I actually
would at this point.

PS3 only has 256 RAM, you have a hard time running Civ 4 with it's ancient graphics on that, that's what GTA is limited by, Sony has designed PS3 obviously for graphics intensive, scripted, RPG's, so that's what GTA IV had to become but was reluctant. If GTA had enough RAM you'd have something like, 3D third-person Simcity, which is where the series should go.

R* release the gta content on the ps3 and you'll see an increase in gta hype the shooter happy 360 just isn't the place for single player gta games imo. As for the psp chinatown wars is a great game but after games like gta: lcs & gta: vcs felt like a big step backwards, oh and not just because of the viewpoint there were not voice over, music was just beat come on how is this going to grab psp owner when they could get the othe games cheaper. Time to leave liberty city and head to vice city keep the games fun and over the top. Gay Tony a step in the right direction port it to the ps3 asap. As for the handhelds develop the games with the hardware in mind gta: ctw great for the ds/ds lite/dsi, gta: lcs & vcs great for the psp/ psp go so hopely there'll be more to come.

They sold out. When they stopped getting big time names for the voice acting, and the sound track turned to shit... the game wasn't as good.

Sure we still like the developers pushing the boundaries with ethics and morals, and running over innocent pedestrians is fun... but come. We all know San Andreas was one of the best, and the actors and soundtrack was killer!

i want Yakuza 4!!!

Max Romeo - Chase The Devil. More Lee Perry productionz please.

Like a few people have said, I think GTA Peaked at San Andreas. GTAIV was a bit of a let down for me, and it even followed "the curse of games with 4 on them" where they've been made so accessible to newcomers that the real fans have nothing for THEM in the game.

That's just my opinion though, but Devil May Cry 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, GTAIV and Soul Calibur IV all left me disappoionted.

After GTAIV I've become a fan of Saints Row 2. Instead of ditching the comedy style and unrealistic physics when it comes to running people over etc...SR2 embraced all that stuff AND made it better. I think Saints Row 2 is the better game out of that and GTAIV. Even with it's dated controls and game engine.

@CH3BURASHKA you are correct, let's go to Germany, where they have roads built to drive fast, and beautiful cars abound. Make the series about being a car thief again, instead of a wannabe gangster or thug. Also if they are going to have a third person view with clothing stores, don't make the options "tan shoes" "light brown shoes" "Dark Brown Shoes" and instead allow actual customization. Also maybe a main character who isn't constantly angry depressed and frustrated?
They made 3 storylines for GTA4 and all 3 characters were as bothered as that Twilight vampire guy.

My impression of GTV 4 main characters from all 3 storylines : "life is awful" "Now I have to commit a crime against my will" "life is really garbage" start mission where you drive across entire map while complaining, begrudgingly shoot everyone complain, complain. They repackaged this same play mode 3 times to us but "ooh, this time he is on a motorcycle, now he has a gay friend!" and thought the public wouldn't get tired of playing a character who doesn't enjoy anything he does?

I'll buy the next GTA in a heartbeat, even if it's GTA: Buttfuck Nebraska. Still, I'm in no rush to buy the expansion for it.

For me, GTA has always had too much stuff to do in it.. Not that I wish it had less, but just that I'll never finish the game. So adding more stuff to it (even stuff which does sound interesting, for sure) when there's all these other games out there to play, and I haven't even finished the main storyline in IV, well it's just not likely to happen.

Chinatown wars for iPhone

problem sorted.

It's because GTA IV was an unfun game with terrible controls

With the amount of time that I put into GTA IV, I had kinda had enough of the Liberty City world. But come GTA V, you can be damn sure that I'll be buying that and investing a ton more time in it as well.

Look all they have to do is look back at there greatest game and that is San Andreas. Make GTAV just that but better, add monthly or weekly DLC for fun or do holiday DLC similair to Uncharted 2(but for all consoles). But don't do spin offs on handhelds like Chinatown wars that did pathetic, look at the GTA Stories series those sold millions and thats while privacy was around. Just make a San Andreas Stories for Handheld consoles with bloody infrastructure and a GTAV with all the features of SA but ten times more even add zombies just for the fun of it. Give players the choice what they want to be gangsters, mafia men, etc. Why don't they just make a site or blog and ask players they want we barely see that anymore.

A San Andres-esque game is probably what will come next, I see GTA:IV as the game which they used to develop the infrastructure and technology to allow them to transfer GTA to the current gen, as GTA:3 did for the PS2. Now they can go on and compete with Saints Row for the fun factor... I hope

Here's my hope: Rockstar takes their GTA IV engine and sandbox approach, and makes a zombie apocalypse game. Imagine liberty city crawling with ghouls, but still having the weapons, locations, vehicles, random groups of living antagonists (the cops, for example, could still exist as a desperate shoot-anything-that-moves group of vigilantes) and a storyline that takes explains what's going on, but doesn't stop you from exploring and doing whatever you want.

Wanna stand on top of a building and snipe zombies? Go for it. Wanna drive through Star Junction in a bus, squashing the living dead as you do so? It's there. Wanna fly above the streets of Broker in a gunship, clearing a path through the zombies for your teammates so they can get away? Hell yeah.

GTA + Zombies would be the ultimate game.

i really like the GTA series, but they get a big pass from the gaming press on things like control and repetitiveness. two moments fairly early in the game made me want to throw my controller into the couch:

1. You run up to a ladder during one of those "chase a guy" missions. unless you hit the exact perfect right spot to run up the ladder, you just stood there. WTF???? what other reason would you be at that ladder during that mission? that's just bad design. the user gets to a ladder, presses a button, and runs up the ladder.

2. most hated GTA moments: long car drives before shootouts. if you die during the shootout, you gotta drive the freakin' car for another ten minutes to do the same mission. why can't we just start at the destination? i've already heard the in-car conversation. it's just stupid. if you're stuck on that particular mission, now you have to decide if you have 30 minutes to play GTA instead of just firing it up.

Ill play San Andreas over GTAIV anyday

i never liked any of the games that take place in liberty city, i dont know why, i cant connect with that city like i do with san andreas or vice city

red dead redemption is replacing 2010s gta