Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The GTA V Rumour Mill Grinds Away

By John Walker on October 26th, 2011 at 10:43 am.

Maybe it means the game will cost five dollars?

Absolutely nothing has been confirmed about GTA V, beyond there being a trailer on the 2nd November. But that’s not stopping the speculation machine from grinding its mighty gears. And the most convincing rumours seem to be coming from Kotaku.

Apparently the long-running rumour has been that the game will be set in Los Angeles, and thus incorporate a Hollywood theme. This would coincide with the money-like appearance of the game’s V logo, suggesting ritzier, less grimy areas for the game. And of course Los Angeles contains places like Skid Row, Compton, and South Central and East LA aren’t exactly tourist destinations. Some are further speculating that it might be the real LA in the game, rather than one of Rockstar’s meticulous facsimiles, but I fail to see what advantage there would be to this to the developers.

The other rumour the big K are putting out there, they say heard from multiple sources, is that the game will feature more than one playable character. Which would certainly be a deviation for the series, since the first two games. Of course, such a rumour could be generated from the developer crafting extra characters for the additional content, as we saw with GTA IV, and the following Episodes addon. (Kotaku try to justify this with some rather spurious nonsense about how numbered GTAs show the most significant changes in style, as if San Andreas weren’t the most different of the lot despite not having a number attached.)

CVG throws in the belief that the game will feature “a Welsh monk/cult leader/yoga teacher, a weed evangelist, a swinger and – top of the pops – an ugly but comfortable mellow Californian divorcee.”

I think it’s much more likely the game will return to an expanded Los Santos, perhaps even with San Andreas around it. Although clearly the only sensible setting for a GTA V should be Anywhere, USA, three weeks into the future.

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114 Comments »

  1. 26/10/2011 at 10:46 Teddy Leach says:

    No. It’s going to be set in the Big Brother house.

  2. 26/10/2011 at 10:47 jellydonut says:

    The casting call from way back when indicates the Hollywood area.

  3. 26/10/2011 at 10:49 frenz0rz says:

    Am I the only one who finds this just a little bit tiresome?

    I mean, I’d really love the series to try somewhere other than the USA for a change, or at least a different time period than ‘today’.

    Vice City was best because it was 80s, y’know.

    • 26/10/2011 at 11:09 mjig says:

      San Andreas was set in the 90s. I’d prefer a different time period as well, but it’s not as if there haven’t been other GTAs in other settings.

    • 26/10/2011 at 11:50 Fox89 says:

      GTA London: 1969 was set in London. In the sixties!

    • 26/10/2011 at 11:54 GenBanks says:

      60s,70s or 80s London would be amazing.

    • 26/10/2011 at 11:57 Symitri says:

      Quoted for truth. Vice City was the best GTA game and none of the others have touched the same part of my heart ever since. Sometimes about listening to A Flock of Seagulls while driving people over in a Faggio made the game for me. There’s been no real comparison since.

    • 26/10/2011 at 12:20 Nallen says:

      Agreed, Vice City is the best GTA.

    • 26/10/2011 at 12:38 zind says:

      I am posting to inform you of your correctness in the assertion that Vice City is, indeed, the best of the GTAs.

      I am kind of excited to see a possible Hollywood theme, because that might bring back the colors and crazy personalities that I liked about VC. Also, it might give me a chance to own a porn studio again.

    • 26/10/2011 at 13:21 frenz0rz says:

      @zind

      Its funny, I’d not even considered that a Hollywood setting might bring a return to the wonderful brilliance of Vice City. I suppose I’d simply assumed that the series would continue along the path of grit and more ‘realistic’ environments as set by GTA4.

      That was my biggest problem with Nikko’s foray into the GTA series – right from the start, they took a lot of the funny out of it. The grim, modern Liberty City and the constant calls from characters to ‘hang out’ just stank to me of tedious realism. I’d take the crazy, hilarious, beautiful world of Vice City over that any day.

      But then, as Symitri pointed out, much of that game was down to the period, or rather the music. I was 13 when VC came out (and immediately got my parents to buy it for me, natch), and it was probably my first real taste of the likes of Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Anthrax, Twisted Sister…

      Flying down the highway on a bridge to the sight of the setting sun over the bay, with Bark At The Moon blaring from my speakers, never felt so good. It was the best game for me by miles.

    • 26/10/2011 at 16:10 Nick says:

      80′s LA would be peachy.

    • 26/10/2011 at 18:28 Smashbox says:

      Why keep remaking the same cities over and over? Try a new one. Chicago.

    • 27/10/2011 at 02:41 blacknight2237 says:

      the v on gta v hopefully stands for five and VEGAS

    • 27/10/2011 at 04:28 Sabre_Justice says:

      Having replayed Vice City, I’ll attest that it is still indeed the best GTA.

      Your main character is a smartass asshole surrounded by a kooky cast who don’t give him shit if they know what’s good for him, the radio stations and soundtrack are full of classics, the script is hilarious, and Vice City is just big and interesting enough to hold my interest for quite a while.

    • 27/10/2011 at 11:47 Groove says:

      You’re all wrong, San Andreas was the best.

      Pssh, Vice.

  4. 26/10/2011 at 10:49 The Tupper says:

    I want Gay Tony!

  5. 26/10/2011 at 10:51 thecat17 says:

    The money-like appearance of the game’s V logo suggests to me that it could be set in Vegas.

  6. 26/10/2011 at 10:53 Jaffo says:

    I hope it’s set in Felixstowe, Zeebrugge or Rotterdam. Anywhere with a decent port.

  7. 26/10/2011 at 10:58 Kleppy says:

    My first thought when seeing the logo was “oh, Vegas then.” But rumors have been around for months about an L.A.-style location, so I guess that’s probable.

    My second thought was “I’m gonna have to buy a PS3 cause my 2008 PC could barely manage GTA4″.

    • 26/10/2011 at 11:07 skinlo says:

      My thought would be, instead of buying a PS3 for one game, why not spend that money on a better computer?

    • 26/10/2011 at 12:05 Erd says:

      Also, since this is merely an announcement, it may not even end up on the current generation of consoles.

    • 26/10/2011 at 13:46 Kadayi says:

      @Erd

      Given no new generation of consoles have even been announced I’d say it’s safe to assume this game will come out on the current ones.

    • 26/10/2011 at 16:00 Kleppy says:

      skinlo, because the PS3 has some exlcusives I’m dying to play (the Uncharted games, Red Dead Redemption, the MGS games, etc.) and because its a much cheaper endeavor than upgrading a computer. Consider that a 2008 computer would need literally everything replaced to be any good.

      Also, I don’t think there are any interesting PC games coming out anytime soon. Diablo 3 I imagine can be safely run on anything, and pretty much everything else comes out on the consoles as well.

    • 26/10/2011 at 18:10 msarge says:

      This is why I and many people who would otherwise just play PC games, tend to get consoles. Also RDR is not just on PS3, its on Xbox as well.

    • 26/10/2011 at 19:51 TheGameSquid says:

      @Kleppy
      Red Dead Redemption isn’t exactly a PS3 exclusive. And the 360 is getting both Metal Gear Rising and a collection of Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 and Portable Ops later this year, so it isn’t accurate to say “Metal Gear Solid Games”. It’s GAME.

      One word of additional warning: I like my console games (by that I mean games that are meant to be played on consoles, like my Zelda’s and Mario’s), but exclusives are absolutely DEAD on the 360 and PS3.

    • 26/10/2011 at 22:30 potat0man says:

      Perhaps it’ll be LA and Vegas together? They’re only about a 4 hr drive from each other. Could be two cities separated by some remote desert areas.

  8. 26/10/2011 at 10:59 Icarus says:

    I’d love to see more San Andreas.

  10. 26/10/2011 at 11:06 Zoomon says:

    I would love to see the new GTA game set in the same area as Red Dead redemption is set, maybe even exactly the same and we would be able to see how the area has changed while also having recognisable geographical landmarks. We could also see how the area had changed so Chuparosa could be a Chihuahua parallel, with drugs cartels and ultraviolence. The north could show the state police losing the fight against illegal traffickers and trying to stop the drug trade.

    Not sure how West Elizabeth would fit in, but considering Thieves Landing was meant to be the New Orleans bayou, there is definitely scope to have a fantastic “100 Years later” transformation. Little touches like having the local police chief still be called Johnson, or have McFarlane as a state wide transporter and producer of livestock.

    • 26/10/2011 at 11:21 Skeletor68 says:

      That’s a really cool idea actually. Would be great to get that ‘some things change, some stay the same’ vibe.

    • 26/10/2011 at 13:17 N'Al says:

      Agreed. Loving this idea (even though I haven’t actually played RDR yet).

    • 26/10/2011 at 13:38 Jorum says:

      I’m going to point out here that the “five” logo is taken from the 1899 5 dollar bill.

    • 27/10/2011 at 13:30 CaffeinePwrdAl says:

      That would be an amazing way to tie the games together. One thing that feels akward is that the GTA world gets re-done with each generation of game, rather than there being a feeling of revisiting where you’d been before.

      Also, anyone want to ride a time travelling Blista Compact back to the wild west :) I always hoped to find one in a cave in RDR just as an easter-egg/salute.

  11. 26/10/2011 at 11:08 Kollega says:

    You know what? I don’t want it to be set in present times, since GTA IV’s “satire” was petty and unfunny, and i don’t want it to be set in LA, because thanks to Hollywood, it must be one of the most overexposed places ever along with San Francisco and New York, especially in it’s modern state.

    What i do want is a game about The Roaring Twenties and Chicago – this theme might also be overexposed, but at least it’s interesting and with delicious retro flavour. If you don’t want a run-on-the-mill mafia story, throw in some dieselpunk for a more concentrated, striking taste of retro. Alternatively, a game set in some European city, or perhaps even in Russia, would be fine too.

    • 26/10/2011 at 11:11 mjig says:

      The Saboteur wasn’t quite the same thing, but it made WW2 fresh and interesting by setting it in an occupied city rather than in the battles.

      Even something like that would be a welcome change to modern day settings in places we’ve seen over and over.

    • 26/10/2011 at 15:54 StingingVelvet says:

      I thought GTA4 was funny as hell, easily as funny or funnier than the older ones. I also thought the “gritty” graphics and such added a lot to the experience.

      Different strokes for different folks I guess.

  12. 26/10/2011 at 11:10 abraxas says:

    It’s pretty obvious that they’re going to tie it in with LA Noire, I mean duh!

    Hurp durp.

  13. 26/10/2011 at 11:12 Joe Duck says:

    Baltimore and DC, make a GTA version of The Wire mixed with some time around DC for high level political intrigue. And your character could be Omar Little.

  14. 26/10/2011 at 11:13 Lacobus says:

    I never played the add ons as I’d had my fill of the world in the main game, so forgive me if they already did this, but I really hope they arcade-y up the driving to how it used to be. I thought the driving in GTA IV was a step towards realistic territory which me no liked as much the driving in the PS2 games.

    Oh and the above comment is sooo right. Vegas was the best.

    • 26/10/2011 at 11:45 The Tupper says:

      Lacobus, if you haven’t tried it yet, I’d recommend Driver: San Francisco. The driving is a perfect balance between the somewhat-leaden performance of the GTA 4 cars and the too-light-for-my-taste skidoos of Burnout.

    • 26/10/2011 at 12:37 Lacobus says:

      I haven’t played that yet. I did used to love Driver before it went all squiffy, the driving was sublime. Unfortunately I’m away from my beloved pc (and consoles) until next June, so I’m gonna have a lot of catching up to do (every Skyrim post send me into fits of rage/tears). How does the ‘ghost’ mechanic play out in the new one? Did you like it?

    • 26/10/2011 at 12:39 Patches the Hyena says:

      I second Driver: San Francisco. It exceeded all my expectations!

    • 26/10/2011 at 12:42 The Tupper says:

      Yeah the ‘shifting’ works flawlessly and makes the game very distinct from the usual GTA clones, as well as giving it a sometimes frenetic pace that is very true to the spirit of the original. It’s possibly my favourite game of the year.

    • 26/10/2011 at 12:42 Lacobus says:

      Also sorry about that post my tenses are all over the place. I’ve been speaking Chinese pretty much constantly for 3 months now and its making my English go not good.

    • 26/10/2011 at 15:50 StingingVelvet says:

      @ Lacobus

      Personally I loved GTA4 giving the cars physics and when I went back to play an older one the complete lack of weight to the cars bothered me.

    • 27/10/2011 at 00:40 Nogo says:

      Love the cars in IV. They feel like I’m in a ’70s chase flick.

  15. 26/10/2011 at 11:20 Syra says:

    Modern day

    Vegas

    Obviously…

  16. 26/10/2011 at 11:23 Colthor says:

    Dinosaurs! Grand Theft Ankylosaur. Set it in a contemporary US parody city, but replace all the vehicles with painstakingly researched terrible lizards. It would be amazing.

    Or set it in Moscow or somewhere in Eastern Europe. Might wind up far too grim and depressing, with too little opportunity for humour. But that could be interesting in a “See? This is what organised crime is really like” way. Bonus points if it makes most players actually throw up from the horror.

  17. 26/10/2011 at 11:26 Althilor says:

    I wouldn’t mind a remake of San Andreas, as long as they manage to capture the essence of the original place within the new game.

  18. 26/10/2011 at 11:38 Aspongeinmauve says:

    Punks in 70′s London would be pretty cool, like Sex Pistols and The Clash and whatnot.

  19. 26/10/2011 at 11:38 michal.lewtak says:

    I’m interested in what they’ll come up with, but I’ll remain skeptic since my copy of GTA 4 went directly into the trash after 5 minutes of playing, seeing as they didn’t even let me look sideways while running (unless I wanted to fight with the camera’s autofollow function created for people with controllers who can barely handle an in-game camera).

  20. 26/10/2011 at 11:48 Casimir Effect says:

    I still think Grand Theft Auto 5: Glasgow has a nice ring to it.

  21. 26/10/2011 at 11:51 Joe W-A says:

    Want London 1969.

  22. 26/10/2011 at 11:57 mod the world says:

    Hopefully not L.A. again. I’d love to see a GTA in Paris, Rome or even Fish’n Chips contaminated London.

  23. 26/10/2011 at 11:58 Magnetude says:

    I’m hoping they make the cars handle exactly like they do in the realism mod pack for GTA4. I’ve spent hours bumbling around at 40mph watching police cars slide out out and stack it into bins behind me, makes it feel proper Hollywood.

    In fact I’d like it if they didn’t try and deliberately hamper modder’s efforts this time around, they should be looking at Oblivion and other open world games and realising that mods are key to long term sales.

    • 26/10/2011 at 16:33 Ultra-Humanite says:

      Have you compared the sales of GTAIV to Oblivion ever? GTAIV has sold over 22 million copies compared to roughly 3 million copies for Oblivion.

  24. 26/10/2011 at 11:58 dartt says:

    The Hollywood of GTA is Vinewood. V for Vinewood? Or it’s just a number.

  25. 26/10/2011 at 12:01 AbyssUK says:

    Could it be possible that it has both LA and Vegas they are a 4 hr drive apart….. with the Mojave in the way…

  26. 26/10/2011 at 12:10 Bostec says:

    I would like to play a female lead, ex-pro escaping the sex slave trade, out for revenge and all that, would be a nice turn on things.

  27. 26/10/2011 at 12:14 Scatterbrainpaul says:

    Driving up mulholland drive could be interesting

  28. 26/10/2011 at 12:16 reticulate says:

    I appear to be one of the few people left on the internet who actually really enjoyed GTAIV, so I’m more than a little concerned this will swing back towards Saints Row stupidity. Which, in all fairness, has a place, but not necessarily the place directly after both Niko Bellic and John Marston.

    • 26/10/2011 at 12:23 Jnx says:

      John Who? Anyway I doubt we’ll see this on pc.

    • 26/10/2011 at 14:30 DrGonzo says:

      I too loved GTA 4. Those moaning and preceding saints row must have had lobotomies. GTA 4 was the most mature of the lot, but still funny. It felt like it had a point. Saints row 2s humour was just PINK DIlDO LOL. It was designed for teens with tiny attention spans.

      Which is fine, but mindless. If i had worked on GTa 4 i would find even being compared to it offensive.

    • 26/10/2011 at 17:46 Pointless Puppies says:

      @DrGonzo:

      Hehe, implying that GTA IV is actually “mature”…

      Of course, it’s “mature” if you enjoy scowl-faced protagonists and woefully boring and tediously drawn out stories sporting just about every tired trope and stereotype of “gritty” action movies in the history of cinema, sprinkled with “realistic” mechanics like “drive your friends to the bowling alley”.

      You can keep your “maturity”. I’ve never played a Saints Row game but what Rockstar did with GTA IV was brain crushingly boring. At least in the previous GTAs the cliched dialogue and story were done as part of a satirical atmosphere. GTA IV, on the other hand, kept the same cliched dialogue and story except with the “14-year-old-trying-to-tell-gritty-and-totally-srs-story” vibe. The previuos GTAs were far more effective in delivering the “realities of the American Dream” message much better than IV’s bad attempt.

    • 26/10/2011 at 18:50 pipman3000 says:

      the only funny thing about gta4 is racistman3d’s videos.

  29. 26/10/2011 at 13:15 Santiaguito says:

    Did someone check Derppy’s link? GTA’s new logo features the same five of that dollar bill. Some further investigation on silver certificates and the history of the five dollar bill indicates that that design made an appearence as a part of the “educational series” in 1899. Do you guys think they would go that far back in time for this game?

    source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_five-dollar_bill

    • 26/10/2011 at 13:43 Jorum says:

      I was just about to say the same thing.
      It seems a stretch – would be a big scene-change for Rockstar.
      Not to mention it would make the whole car-jacking core of GTA very hard to pull off :)

      Most probably just looked good.

  30. 26/10/2011 at 13:17 Jody Macgregor says:

    “(Kotaku try to justify this with some rather spurious nonsense about how numbered GTAs show the most significant changes in style, as if San Andreas weren’t the most different of the lot despite not having a number attached.)”

    Thank you, John, for pointing this out and being sensible and generally reporting this story with restraint and common sense and such.

    On the subject of where and when we’d like GTA to be set, I want a Hammer horror version of Transylvania in which you’re a highwayman stealing coaches and hoping that the next one doesn’t turn out to have a Dracula in it.

  31. 26/10/2011 at 13:30 FupDuk says:

    GTA Vega5.

  32. 26/10/2011 at 13:39 Minsc_N_Boo says:

    I really hope to see a return to San Andreas – I know most people like Vice City the best, but I really think San Andreas is the best of the bunch.

    I tried to play VC after I finished SA, and the gaming world seemed too small after riding a bike through the countryside. The best thing about VC was the music, and that is easliy imported into the custom radio stations.

  33. 26/10/2011 at 13:40 Jorum says:

    That “five” logo is taken from the 1899 five-dollar bill.
    Which I doubt is meaningful unless Rockstar are planning something very unexpected.
    More likely it just makes good logo.

  34. 26/10/2011 at 13:44 Iskariot says:

    GTA4 and its expansions were my first encounter with the series. And I loved it. The games were not perfect and I have numerous ideas about improving them, but nevertheless GTA4 is one of my favorite games. I loved the more serious tone, the humor, the satire and I adored the big star of the game: the most detailed and beautiful city environment ever created for a game.

    I pray to the gods of gaming that GTA 5 does not feature giant dildo’s. One saintsrow 3 is enough for me.

  35. 26/10/2011 at 13:57 somini says:

    The V is for Volition…

  36. 26/10/2011 at 14:23 DrGonzo says:

    san Andreas wasn’t a departure. Same engine, same shit but with 5 more of everything and no soul, character or fun. By far the worst in the series I feel.

  37. 26/10/2011 at 15:10 Hendar23 says:

    Please be London, or Moscow.

    Please?

  38. 26/10/2011 at 15:48 DickSocrates says:

    Not sure how many cars there would be in a game set in 1899, if the V symbol taken from the 1899 $5 silver certificate is any indication of the time period. It couldn’t really be GTA(uto). “STEP DOWN OFF THE AUTOMOBILE, OR WE’LL PURSUE ON FOOT!”

    I reckon it’s just a stylistic choice, but may indicate an early to mid 1900s era. Why they would do this when they already have two other GTA clone franchises that could be easily made to cover those time periods I don’t know. If it isn’t mordern day, then 80s again or 60s would make most sense to me. The 70s would have suited Liberty City better, but they made IV and didn’t go that route. God, imagine a 70s/very early 80s, grimy, hairy, Liberty City! It would have a proper Times Square with weird street hustlers instead of corporate light shows. Oh well, I’d rather they didn’t make another game in NY.

    As others have pointed out, the FIVE logo note has Chief Running Antelope (of course I already knew that! how dare you suggest otherwise) on it. How nice of America to honour the people they had just tried to exterminate in that way, so it might indicate Native issues and a playable character. And unfrotunately, may point towards Vegas, which was the worst part of SA, and usually the worst part of any game. It’s barren and boring unless it’s night and you’re there for real. Some silly thempark buildings surrounded by miles of low rise grids. Getting virtually drunk and having virtual sex with a virtual prostitute isn’t the same as the real thing.

    There, I’ve just put more thought and time into this than I have for anything important for years.

    • 26/10/2011 at 16:58 Khann says:

      Time travel.

    • 26/10/2011 at 17:44 LennyLeonardo says:

      Um, you do realise that Red Dead Redemption was set in 1911, right? Anyway, I think there’s probably something in the franchise rules about having a certain amount of autos to grandly thieve, which is why these games are mostly set in the present, and in the USA, where the automobile is king, and also a symbol of Freedom (with a capital F).

      They should do one in a fictionalised Frisco Bay area, I think. Because I like it there, that’s why.

  39. 26/10/2011 at 15:59 StingingVelvet says:

    It makes sense for people on a UK website to be asking for European locations but I think satire of the American life is pretty key to GTA and I doubt they will move it anywhere else for a while. Similar to Fallout, really.

  40. 26/10/2011 at 16:52 hypercrisis says:

    Green> Old timey font?

    BAWSTAHN

  41. 26/10/2011 at 17:03 Eukatheude says:

    I’d love to see a GTA in Asia.

  42. 26/10/2011 at 18:15 d00d3n says:

    I agree that increased landmass/countryside seems like the logical thing for Rockstar to do at this point. Because the game is almost certainly current gen, there is not much they can do with the graphics. They will use their unlimited resources to build an excessive amount of content (world size, missions, scope mostly) as the big selling point of the game. I personally hope that the content craziness also leads to more rpg mechanics, feature creep and rdr-style ambient gameplay objectives.

  43. 27/10/2011 at 00:25 gorgonaut says:

    Does anyone else remember the style of GTA II? It was set slightly into the future!
    I used to gaze upon that concept art and wish it were in threedee..

    Just look at this one:
    http://www.activewin.com/newscenter/images/ects/HighCab.GIF
    or this!
    http://www.activewin.com/newscenter/images/ects/HighAllard.JPG

    I seem to be the only one wishing this, though. I want my electro gun!

  44. 27/10/2011 at 00:45 Nogo says:

    No one going to agree with me and John that GTA2 truly had the best setting (of anything ever)?

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