R* - GTA MMO is a "very, very compelling proposition"

[Queasy]

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Rockstar founder Sam Houser has said he's very keen on the idea of a Grand Theft Auto-themed MMO.

Speaking to EGM magazine, as reported by Massively.com, Houser said a GTA MMO would be "very, very doable" and is a "very, very compelling proposition". Later on in the article, he refers to a subscription-based console MMO as "the Holy Grail".

So Houser's clearly up for it. In the meantime there's Grand Theft Auto IV, coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 29th. Not to mention PC and 360 title All Points Bulletin, from the developer of Crackdown, looking much like a GTA MMO in all but name. Realtime Worlds boss Dave Jones showed the title off at this year's GDC, and it's looking rather impressive.

Let the wishes and rumors fly!

 

[R Nilla]

EGM also hinted at the multiplayer mode a few times, though sadly it was off limits for that article 🙁. I think it was Houser that mentioned that he liked to walk up to other players with a live grenade and take them out with him (when talking about "cooking" grenades). That was the biggest detail mentioned, though.

EDIT: I just remembered, when they were talking about the cell phone interface in GTA IV, EGM also mentioned that there was a multiplayer menu you could access. I immediately thought of Burnout Paradise's seamless integration of the multiplayer menu and mode. Wishful thinking, perhaps.

I believe you can also use it to listen to the radio or play MP3s for when you're not in a vehicle.

 

[warcrow]

I dont like this idea.

I really enjoy the GTA series as it is. I love the story's presentation (alot), the pacing, the AI (and screwing with it). I just dont know that I want other crazy, human drivers in my GTA world. I like to be the only one who is doing all these insane things, alone, in this sandbox--not along side or against hundreds or thousands of others. I want to be the only one that can manipulate this world.

If they do try this out, it could be interesting, but I hope that it's done outside the regular GTA series itself.

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: warcrow
I dont like this idea.

I really enjoy the GTA series as it is. I love the story's presentation (alot), the pacing, the AI (and screwing with it). I just dont know that I want other crazy, human drivers in my GTA world. I like to be the only one who is doing all these insane things, alone, in this sandbox--not along side or against hundreds or thousands of others. I want to be the only one that can manipulate this world.

If they do try this out, it could be interesting, but I hope that it's done outside the regular GTA series itself.

I wish we could just read the damn article online...

When they were discussing the possibility of an MMO, Houser mentioned something to the effect of he wouldn't want it to be thousands of people running around with guns, killing each other, because that would be boring to him.

I'm interested to see how (and if) this pans out. It definitely wouldn't work if it was just GTA but with thousands of people. It would be chaos in the streets! Imagine all the rockets and grenades flying around, cars exploding left and right, helicopters dropping in flames from the sky. It would be madness. They would need to add balance and structure somehow. Maybe like that APB demo/concept? I have a hard time imagining how a GTA MMO would work.

 

[skace]

I think they'd take the gang system from GTA SA and expand it. You join a gang, you war for territory, etc.

 

[SnipeMasterJ13]

I don't think they should mess with the GTA world.

It sounds like it would be something similar to a new game that is coming out sometime this year - All Points Bulletin

APB looks like it would be right up that road, and it looks pretty fun too.

Edit - Damn, R Nilla beat me to it.

 

[PingSpike]

If the goal is to make a GTA game that people pay a monthly fee for, I'm not sure it'll work to well. I think most people like that game because they like going into a sandbox and destroying everyones crap.

If they keep it small, why are or should people pay a monthly fee to play with say...16-32 players? If they keep it big...yeah, cars crashing constantly, people killing other people constantly, fires, etc, total chaos. People might pay for that for a couple months before they get tired of other griefers griefing them all day (because everyone likes to grief real people way more then NPCs)

If you give it a bunch of rules constraining the players it seems like it would lose the core of the gameplay.

Its interesting I guess. But I don't see any easy way to make it all work without basically creating a different kind of game.

 

[RedRooster]

If they made this game, everyone else might as well just pack up shop and quit making games. This would be the pinnacle of humanity.

 

[Sadaiyappan]

Originally posted by: RedRooster
If they made this game, everyone else might as well just pack up shop and quit making games. This would be the pinnacle of humanity.

Hehehehehe.. Yeah, I was thinking sort of the same thing. The game will easily replace WoW. I played the original GTA's and I liked how in the originals there was a gang system in which you could join any gang you wanted at the beginning and as you do missions for them your notoriety to the other gangs rises. If they make an MMO they should have several gangs that you can join at the beginning which determine the way the game plays out. Also if they do this I think they should make it in London in the 1960's just like the original GTA London game was.

 

[mugs]

A gang-based game would definitely fit with the typical clan structure of a MMO game. But it'd be interesting to also have a hierarchical organizational structure like in a real life large scale gang, complete with internal power struggles for control of the game. That'd be an interesting dynamic - an internal power struggle would weaken your gang relative to the other gangs.

they could definitely do some good things with it as a MMO. The RPG-like elements of San Andreas could be expanded.

But given that it's in the "very compelling proposition" phase now, it'd be a minimum of 2 years before it comes out.

 

[randay]

I just want the hot coffee content.

 

[Eeezee]

I really don't want a GTA MMO... I'd rather they spend the time and money making a really good GTA game than a mediocre MMORPG in the GTA universe.

 

[Xylitol]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
I really don't want a GTA MMO... I'd rather they spend the time and money making a really good GTA game than a mediocre MMORPG in the GTA universe.

What about having both a great GTA and a great MMO GTA game 🙂

 

[PliotronX]

The bone I would pick is that GTA has been optimized for SP so the focus will be taken away especially if it makes anywhere near the 1.5 billion annually that WoW does. Still, I have an open mind so it might not turn out bad. My outlook for it would drastically change if Evil Acquirers were to buy out the publisher however.