Rumor - Grand Theft Auto: London for PS3 in Q4 2006
by Dan Choi 
{ Dec 27th 2005 at 5:30PM }
According
to an alleged employee of Rockstar North in Glasgow, Scotland, the next installment in the GTA series
"will be titled Grand Theft Auto: London and will take place in the Great City of London in
1997."If true, this sounds suspiciously like Rockstar trying to claim the "Great City" back from Sony's supposed usurpers to the crime-drivin' throne. Also, if you recall, there was a PC expansion to the first GTA in 1999 called Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, so this is either a bad rumor or a likely remake of old material.
We here at Joystiq hear a lot of crazy rumors about games, of course, but we sometimes wonder what to make of anonymous tipsters who claim to work for certain "developers of interest." Read on for the other details we received, and make the decision for yourself.
According to our source (who admittedly doesn't have the most perfect spelling), the "3 Island" system will be replaced by a new "North, East, South, West" system, and the main character will be an ex-gangster starting off in the "rough-and-tumble east end of London." Unlocked regions are to include the North End, South End, and West End, in order. The game is supposed to be about 60% finished, with the graphics and physics engines both completed. The focus is now mainly on the game's story component. The game is currently set to launch with the Playstation 3 in North America and Europe in Q4 2006. With about a year's work already done, the PlayStation 3's "fantastic graphical power" should provide some better horsepower under the hood of the sandbox series.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
LaughingTarget @ Dec 27th 2005 5:55PM
I smell BS here. They're not likely gonig to drop the ficticious city theme they have going.
AreUdrunK @ Dec 27th 2005 6:00PM
uh... about the first comment -
since when are Miami and San Andreas fictional cities?
james f. @ Dec 27th 2005 6:02PM
Ugh london? really? And in the late nineties? I sure hope this rumor proves false.
The strength of gta is found in its love of american bad habits and its moching of all the american anacronisms. Take that away and you lose the best part of whats kept gta popular and relevant, despite its inferior graphics and poor physics engine.
Im no london hater. I loved the first getaway game and I even listen to the streets regularly.
As far as taking place in the nineties, That was where san andreas dropped the ball. The 90's are still TOO close to be entertaining.
The best next gta to me, would be a late 70's-early 80's based washington d.c. exploit. Think about the possibilities in that universe. Messing around with politicos(maybe even running for office?) and getting crazy in the worst crime city in america. It would be GLORIOUS!
Adam @ Dec 27th 2005 6:06PM
Nothing can beat "The Getaway" for the a London feel.
Vince UK @ Dec 27th 2005 6:08PM
I hope they don't go all lock - stock, snatch, cockney cliche on us.
"Gawdon Bennet! Get the shooters, we're goin' round 'is manor ter put one up 'is jam roll. "
What am I thinking, of course they will, but at least the music will be the dogs.
Jake @ Dec 27th 2005 6:17PM
They already did drop the ficticious city theme with the expansion to the original GTA which I have on PSone. I think it was Rockstar's first shot at the game if I'm not mistaken. For some reason I'm thinking Rockstar bought the rights to GTA and them developed the extension that's mentioned in the article above. I could be completely wrong though. I just know that the London expansion was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed it. I'd love for the next GTA to be set there.
illspirit @ Dec 27th 2005 6:31PM
"According to an alleged employee of Rockstar North in Glasgow"
But, erm, R*^ is in Edinburgh...
LaughingTarget @ Dec 27th 2005 6:34PM
2 -
San Andreas is a fake city and it was Vice City, not Miami.
I still don't see them doing a real city, mainly because they probably don't want to get locked into the whole "make sure it is 100% accurate" thing and just make up the city to best suit the gameplay.
Carl @ Dec 27th 2005 6:41PM
"2. uh... about the first comment -
since when are Miami and San Andreas fictional cities?"
Are you kidding? Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas are all fictional cities. San Andreas is a fault line, not a city.
Snake2k9 @ Dec 27th 2005 6:47PM
I never did like any of the GTA games I'm not into the whole "Thug Ghetto Black Shooting People" thing.
And no I'm not buying a PS3.
matt @ Dec 27th 2005 6:53PM
Um, San Andreas is a real city in California, feel free to google it, but I used to live there. San Andreas is also a fake state based on California in the World of Grand Theft Auto. Liberty City and Vice City are fake cities in Grand Theft Auto, but they are also based on real cities.
GTA: London makes no sense at all. Why would they create the whole GTA universe with Liberty City, Vice City, San Fierro, Las Venturas, and Los Santos and then just throw in a real city? It may be based on London, but it won't be called GTA: London
r3m0 @ Dec 27th 2005 6:57PM
i say, early 90's manchester on grand theft auto would be top one nice one get sorted r kid'
r3m0 @ Dec 27th 2005 7:01PM
oh, and molyneux stop stealing my ideas for games its the last time I let you pay for the drinks you crafty *******. black and white, yeah whered you think of that, remember peter?
Tim @ Dec 27th 2005 7:03PM
Um..Hit the google there LaughinTarget. San Andreas is very much a real city, albeit a super tiny one.
http://www.city-data.com/city/San-Andreas-California.html
pennywise969 @ Dec 27th 2005 7:05PM
#10, most of the gta games have a main character who is white.
Andrew @ Dec 27th 2005 7:26PM
"The strength of gta is found in its love of american bad habits and its moching of all the american anacronisms."
No, it's really found in classy mob-bosses who'll shove your face through a wood-shredder in all the while he's covered in beautiful women and laughing at the same.
The whole : "American Acronisms" is more of a sub-theme, the real theme of GTA is in the gangs and the mobs.
Of course, you've probably only play San Andreas with tries to 'hip' with the whole hip-hop urban stuff. Which, I suppose, is an american theme, but it really can't compare in entertainment value to two well-dressed men showing up to collect your 'protection' money.
I really do think London is perfect for the whole mob thing.
Daryl @ Dec 27th 2005 7:42PM
San Andreas is based on Los Angeles, Vice City is based on Miami and Liberty City is based on New York. If they make the next game based on London, they will probably name it something else.
captain_duck @ Dec 27th 2005 8:20PM
Remember GTA1 ? It had 3 cities:
Liberty city, San andreas, Vice city.
Later it got a expansion pack, and that had:
London.
The whole GTA3+ series is as good as a remake of GTA1. And now they are remaking the expansion pack. It only makes sense that it's london.
mike @ Dec 27th 2005 8:37PM
Grand Theft Auto. Liberty City and Vice City are fake cities in Grand Theft Auto, but they are also based on real cities.
--
for those who didn't really get the joke... Liberty City refers to New York... Vice City is another name for Miami (drug dealing? get it?) and of course, San Andreas refers to the greater Los Angeles area
As to the 90's being too close, you're obviously too young to understand what happened in the 90's with gangster rap ... early nineties rap theme was perfect.. it was a hard core balance to the cheese that was Vice City...
Mike @ Dec 27th 2005 9:11PM
It'd be nice to have a soundtrack like Oasis, Verve, Blur, Pulp. Imagine walking (or driving) the london streets with Bitersweet Symphony going.
Jeff @ Dec 27th 2005 9:26PM
Ok, a couple obvious things:
1. If this came from a Rockstar employee, he is now an ex-Rockstar employee. Take it from me.
2. That being said, it did not come from a Rockstar employee. As you can see right here (click around until you get the "about" area), Rockstar North is in Leith, Edinburgh, not Glasgow: http://www.rockstarnorth.com/
In fact, their exact address is 1 Calton Square, Edinburgh, EH1 3AP.
I would think a Rockstar employee would know what city he works in. And no, there is no "Glasgow branch" of Rockstar North. This is an office of like 20 people, they barely even need one branch.
There's no doubt this rumor is fake. Which is not to say the next GTA *isn't* in production for the PS3. No doubt it is. But whether it's called "London" or something else and whether it's set there or on the planet Pluto is not something anybody outside of Rockstar in either New York or Edinburgh knows right now.
oh, and btw, San Andreas as used in the game was a *state*, not a city. So it was as fictional as Vice City or Liberty City - based on a real place, but not a real place, whether or not there's a *town* named San Andreas.
And last thing, related to that - GTA London 1969 was developed before Take 2's purchase of DMA Design. Take it for whatever it's worth, but there has not been a real city in GTA since Take 2 took the company over in 1999.
suh @ Dec 27th 2005 9:26PM
they gotta have some east london boys in there, being an east london boy myself. I wouldn't mind a GTA set in London, give us a break from all the american culture and you guys get to see what us londoners are all about.
Andrew @ Dec 27th 2005 9:30PM
Oasis...
You are aware that there is a custom soundtrack option, unless you're some tool using a PS2.
Ha-
Ha-
Ha-
Ha-
Ha-
ghost @ Dec 27th 2005 9:42PM
If they gona do GTA London thats gona be the GAME OF THE YEAR for 2 years. London underwold think about it , [censored] and all that killing in vice city is boring and gets old, london is the place. RS is gona hit hard with GTA LONDON
jim @ Dec 27th 2005 9:54PM
Is anyone supposed to believe this?
Pure BS.
Can't wait till we hear some real info on the next game, its going to be awsome.
Sergio @ Dec 27th 2005 10:32PM
I'd rather have it based on a fictitious city similar to Chicago. And give us some seasons also. And while we're at it, make it so I don't get bored after one day of playing.
Michael Coleman @ Dec 27th 2005 10:35PM
1997 huh?
Guess thats when the kid who sent this in was born
Dan Choi @ Dec 27th 2005 10:59PM
I'm sure I'd appreciate a more Chicago-centric GTA as well, Sergio, but the original Liberty City was actually a hybrid between New York and Chicago, so I guess we're already covered (sort of):
http://www.gamespot.com/psp/action/gtalibertycitystories/news.html?sid=6125234
steven @ Dec 27th 2005 11:31PM
they should have headphones in the game, so u can be walking around listening to a portable cd player or something, and have customizable tracks, mhmm
erikcantu @ Dec 27th 2005 11:48PM
San Andreas was the name of the state in the game. It stood in for California, where they included fictional versions cities. San Francisco was San Fierro; Los Angeles was Los Santos and even Las Vegas was Las Venturas (though its not really in CA.)
Who says Rockstar isn't going to make up a fictional name for London?
I can see where Rockstar is going. As Vice City played off of Miami Vice of the 80's, San Andreas played off of LA hip hop culture of the early 90's; I imagine they will play off of the British heist/gangster movies of the late 90's by Guy Ritchie
James F. @ Dec 27th 2005 11:48PM
As to the 90's being too close, you're obviously too young to understand what happened in the 90's with gangster rap ... early nineties rap theme was perfect.. it was a hard core balance to the cheese that was Vice City...
I'm too young to understand huh? I won't even humor you with my age but rest assured Ive been paying taxes since long before there was a gta game. And I don't think that san andreas was hardcore at all. Instead it was just a trivialization of lifestyle that IS HARDCORE.
Yeah i still enjoyed and played the game to the end and I was glad that the main character was black and young and wasn't a coked out mafioso.
With vice city they could have just called it 'gta:scarface/miami vice' and they played that up to the ultimate degree. And too me that made the game cohesive.
With san andreas the music(outside of the gansta rap)was poorly chosen and uninteresting. Instead of making 'gta:boyz in the hood/friday'(which would have been a much better game' they made 'gta: california games' The first game would have been much better. Anyways ultimately it felt like the storyline and the character development was rushed. What made me say the Nineties is still too close is that I guess I feel that too many people are still currently living the life Cj was in. And the way the game handled it was neither accurate or poigniant.
Anyways there no need to iply I'm a 'young punk' to get your own point across.
well that sucks @ Dec 28th 2005 12:24AM
London Suck! I hate london.
I was hoping for a fictional Europe (all of it) in GTA. That was maybe 4 or 5 times larger than san andreas.
Willis @ Dec 28th 2005 12:40AM
It'd be nice to have a soundtrack like Oasis, Verve, Blur, Pulp. Imagine walking (or driving) the london streets with Bitersweet Symphony going.
---
Or better yet, the Beatles, Black Sabbath, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Mot?ad....
Say what you will about the limeys, but they do manage to send some good music over the pond ever so often.
allen @ Dec 28th 2005 1:06AM
why not put it in the 2006 that will make people really pissit off
Sergio @ Dec 28th 2005 1:08AM
Ah, thanks, Dan. I didn't realize that since it takes place in Liberty City, as in Statue of Liberty. I'd still like some seasons, i.e. some foilage or even some snow. I didn't bother with San Andreas, so if it was in there (which I doubt, since we only get snow here in California in the mountains), then my bad.
Jon Speed @ Dec 28th 2005 1:35AM
"10. I never did like any of the GTA games I'm not into the whole "Thug Ghetto Black Shooting People" thing.
And no I'm not buying a PS3."
That's a borderline racist statement! What the fuck does that have to do with the next GTA? In all of the games excluding San Andreas, all of the characters where either white, or european.
"Thug Ghetto Black Shooting People" thing."
Grow up man.
teknogreek @ Dec 28th 2005 6:10AM
Im a Londoner, I absoluetly love the GTA series and for the developers to be Scots/(kinda)British a London game is just a 'flat cap' nod to us, thank hell that it would be commercially viable!
PS:- Vice city did of course reference drugs but IMHO was relating to the sex industry at the time.
PPS:- NO liberty City
vice SEX city
NATURAL DISATER san andreas AT ANY TIME
Neil @ Dec 28th 2005 7:12AM
Totally fake. Sorry but, why would the employee run the risk of being sacked just to tell Joystiq (guys, you're not exactly the kinda place where people run to tell the latest gaming tale, are you) about the location of a new game?
And yes, Rockstar North is based in Edinburgh, Scotland - quite a distance from Glasgow. There's absolutely NO WAY an "employee" would get the two mixed up.
Xenoxide @ Dec 28th 2005 8:04AM
This would actually make a lot of sense to me, think of it this way:
First came GTA. This contained the cities Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City.
Then came GTA: London.
Then came GTA2.
Then there was GTA3 (Liberty City), GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas.
It would make sense that they would revisit London now!
And I'll bet that after London they do the city from GTA2, Anywhere City.
Phair @ Dec 28th 2005 9:53AM
Yes, GOD existis and here ya go PS3
Al3x @ Dec 28th 2005 10:34AM
Well, given Rockstar North is based in Dundee (not Glasgow, as the tipster/Joystiq put it, and not Edinburgh, as #7 said), I spot some lousy fact checking...
Tim Robertson @ Dec 28th 2005 11:11AM
I was thinking that the next major GTA would be based on Chicago. GTA: Windy City or something. (Ugn, that would be a bad name) It would rock if it were based on a 1950s Chicago, dealing with the union and such. That would be great. Think of the cars, the classic weapons, etc. Detroit would also be a great place for GTA. GTA: Motor City. Now THAT would rock. Put it in the late 70s, put some Led Zep, foghat, punk rock, etc. as the music? Think of the cars from THAT era.
I also think that the next GTA will have more than one main character. Make it a four brothers type of game play, where you build up one character to a certain point, then jump to another, another, another, and have it all come together at the end. May work
Adrian @ Dec 28th 2005 11:30AM
Looks like this will be the revolutionary Grand Theft Auto we've been waiting for been based in Europe this time for a change. This will be the first next-gen GTA game that will raise the series to a new level of gameplay and graphics!! This is a game worth waiting for!!
Basil @ Dec 28th 2005 11:33AM
HOLY S%^T I LOVE GTA
Matt @ Dec 28th 2005 3:20PM
#20
Don't forget about some Radiohead. London would be an interesting change for the GTA series. That is, going from America to Europe. If this is true, I'm expecting a good soundtrack, and next gen gameplay.
monu @ Dec 28th 2005 3:34PM
"Rockstar North is based in Dundee"
Al3x, you might want to change that 'is' to 'was'.
chris Hollomon @ Dec 28th 2005 4:21PM
I think it would be smooth to have GTA: United as in the whole united kingdom.. throw some ireland and scottish goodness in there too... Or I always figured they'd do a GTA: Capital City, a washington dc / northern,va western,md based game. I would love to drive down the mall, or fight may way out of the city, before some deep throat style character was after me. I figured they get capital out before they went out of the country. I'd like to see a Russian based GTA, a Cuba/mexico and or south america campaign.. lots of dirt roads, island hopping, and gang lords, maybe just a whole tropical island theme, with more boats instead of as many cars. You could do mexico city, the number one crime riddin city in the world, it's so ad you can get a car with a flame thrower to stop car jackers.. imgaine tyring ot steal one of those in Gta
allen @ Dec 28th 2005 4:29PM
I'd like it if it was in romaina.if they ever do the poor shooting thing in europe it should be in romaina
allen @ Dec 28th 2005 4:32PM
btw i think it will be could gta 4 because that what they did when it came out on the ps2 for the frist time
Patrick @ Dec 28th 2005 4:56PM
***((( #18 )))*** I have never played GTA1 before but as i remember it there was GTA 1 , GTA 2 , THEN GTA London.
* QUESTION FOR #18 captain_duck *
If GTA1 had liberty city , vice city , and san andreas and then GTA London was an expansion pack then what was GTA 2 ...
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