This month of March 2022 is marked by a new release. Well, news is saying a lot… Rockstar Games is coming out once more Grand Theft Auto Vin other words GTA V, on the new generation consoles that are the PlayStation V and the Xbox Series. Make new with old? It’s still a little more than that, explains Brice N’Guessan, editorial director of Video Games Magazine.
franceinfo: This GTA Vis it the umpteenth release of a gangster game that has become a phenomenon?
Brice N’Guessan : It must be emphasized, GTA V, originally launched in 2013 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, returns to the new generation of consoles. It’s not a new episode but it’s the good old one GTA V. And it’s completely new! In an industry where most publishers sell their game in the first year, Rockstar’s game has gone through three generations of consoles. It’s been almost 10 years that sales do not seem to run out of steam. Last year, it was the fifth best-selling game in France.
But this new release for the same game does not delight all players?
Finer graphics, 4K and a few new features, but that’s not enough for players who can’t wait for a new GTA. But, if part of the community of players complain, we must not forget for 9 years the many children who have grown up, who can now play this game reserved for an informed public (I remind you).
GTA is a phenomenon that continues, a game that attracts as much by its technical quality as by its subject. Because behind the game of gangsters where you can do what you want, in this city inspired by Los Angeles, there is also this satire of American society depicting all its failings.
The series has grown over the episodes…
From the simple game where we stole cars, we went over the episodes to more complex stories and characters. The mafia and gang warfare in GTA III and GTA San Andreas or in GTA IV, the story of Niko Bellic, this emigrant from Eastern Europe who thinks he will find his fortune in the United States. Finally, let’s not forget GTA V and its trio of colorful characters, ranging from the sociopath to the repentant (or almost) robber, passing by the young wolf who wants to make a place for himself in the middle. A diversity of tone, of universes which make the salt of this episode.
It was this recipe that propelled GTA V at the top in less than ten years?
Yes, GTA V breaks record following record. If we compare to the cinema industry for example, it brought in more than 6.4 billion dollars for its publisher! That’s more than the $5.5 billion in revenue fromAvatar and Avengers: Endgamethe two highest-grossing Hollywood films of all time.
On the sales side, with 155 million games sold, GTA V sold as much as Tolkien’s book: The Lord of the Rings, released nearly 70 years ago, and it should soon sell as much as all of Michael Jackson’s albums put together.