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GTA San Andreas Official Site Launched

Posted by simoniker on from the trailer-trailer-trailer dept.

Oshuma.Shiroki writes "Rockstar Games has launched the official site for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This is particularly notable because it comes complete the very first trailer for the game, as well as some new screenshots. In any case, GTA:SA is due out for PlayStation 2 on October 19th. Head on over and take a look."

55 comments

  1. FP? by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I wonder if they'd ever consider making a GTA: Chicago back in Al Capone's time during prohibition. That would be a blast!

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    1. Re:FP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      i think they already did

    2. Re:FP? by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Its not the same GTA style though. It doesn't have Rockstar's flare that makes the games so awesome.

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      Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
    3. Re:FP? by Propagandhi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Personally I prefer Mafia to any of the GTA games. Yes, it is more linear, and no it is not pointlessly brutal (although it can still be pretty violent), but I really enjoy the level of character depth and the high quality of the writing.

      The game is obviously influenced by the various mobster movies/TV shows that have become popular (Godfather, especially) and I really enjoyed playing the scenarios. GTA just got old, I'd play through the missions quickly enough and then not want to do all the stuff on the side. I guess I just got burnt out on it too quickly. To each their own, I guess, they're definately very different games (but the fact that they both take place in open cities will inevitably draw comparisons.) /AC because this is OT

    4. Re:FP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rockstar's flare of bad controls and slow 3d engines?

  2. not really that new by cyrax777 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    the sites been up for a while only new thing is the trailer and some more screenshows

    1. Re:not really that new by necronom426 · · Score: 1

      There are some short video clips as well and a description of certain areas and people.

  3. alternative download site for the trailers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    here

  4. A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by Anton+Anatopopov · · Score: 1, Troll
    I can't be the only European who thinks the GTA series of games is rather US-centric? I find it hard to relate to much of what goes on in these games. Why can't Rockstar base one of their games in Continental Europe? It's not as if we don't have crime here.

    Also, am I the only one worried about all the racial stereotyping that goes on in these games? Take a look at the screenshots on that website, they seem to be sending a message that 'people of color' are drug dealers and gun-toting psychopaths.

    It's no wonder the black community in the US feels so victimized with an endless stream of negative images like this.

    Couldn't the bad guys be mexican or white just for once?

    1. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by m2h · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Stereo-typing? Hardly. There is certain individuals such as the ones depicted in the game in real life. What ever race, nationality R* chooses to base the games culture on someone is going to be offended. Now if R* was a film production studio and made movies no one would as much as make a peep about this so called racial stereo-typing. Oh wait I take that back because if a bunch of white guys made a movie about black guys in da hood, that would be racist... but if a black made it, hell that would be considered emmy winning material.

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    2. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by Scipius · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I can't be the only European who thinks the GTA series of games is rather US-centric?

      This is one of the great things about the GTA series. Americans think it's clearly a home-made product, the rest of the world is sometimes put off by its Americocentric theme, but what neither realise is that GTA is a thoroughly European product. Yes, various Americans work on the game via Rockstar's head office in New York, but the game itself is made by Rockstar North (ex-DMA Design) in Scotland.

      This is actually readily apparent if you pay attention. GTA as it is perhaps could not even have been made by only Americans; it is the result of how Europeans experienced American crime through US film, TV and music. The entire plot of the games is one crime cliche after another, where you can often pinpoint the film whence it came from, but what makes it work is that is not considered "real". There is no real crime in GTA. It's just a movie. Similarly for the stereotypes, these don't mean as much to Europeans as they would to Americans. As a result, in the US you can expect a lot of ruckus over both the stereotyping and the violence in this game, whereas most complaints in Europe will be only about the violence. The stereotypes are the same we've seen a hundred times before in US films.

    3. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by Impotent_Emperor · · Score: 1

      I think some Scots would be offended to be called Europeans. It's just that there seems to be some [large?] differences between the islands of Great Britain and continental Europe...

    4. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by moonbender · · Score: 1

      I think some continental Europeans would also be offended if Scots were called Europeans. Not that I would. And I really don't think there are any significant differences that don't also exist within continental Europe.

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    5. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by eqkivaro · · Score: 1

      I would really enjoy a GTA game based in Europe. I bet they'll get around to it if these games keep selling the way they have in the past. This has to be one of the most profitable game franchises in history.

      OTOH, i don't have a problem with the stereotyping. it's a game. there are bad white guys in these games, though they don't get as much screen time as the other gangs.

    6. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by StocDred · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The first two GTAs in the generation featured white lead characterss, who similarly delved into drug trafficking and wanton violence. And just from my memory, the first two games featured local gangs of Italian, Asian, Cuban and African-American ethnic backgrounds. Plenty of bad guys of all different colors.

      I don't see how you can cry "racist" here simply because the lead character is now black. In fact, Rockstar seems to have gone to great lengths to make this lead the most complicated and deep of any of the three games... probably just to ward off uneducated knee-jerk reactionists like yourself.

      Yes, it is US-centric. Sorry that seems to make a difference to you. When I played Tomb Raider, it didn't matter to me that Lara Croft is English, had a butler, and a big countryside mansion for the training level. Nor did it bother me when Mario adventured at the Caribbean-inspired Isle Delfino. For you to relate to a game, is it absolutely required that it take place in your parent's basement? We're talking escapist video games here.

      If they produced a Continental European GTA that continued their string of quality and depth, I would eagerly snap it up with no complaints. Although - and you wouldn't know this, since you get your entire GTA info from crappy, one-paragraph /. articles - the GTA games have all used heavily fictionalized cities, so I'm not sure how you would specifically identify a European location, aside from using local accents and a tourist area of 1000-year-old buildings.

    7. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you miss the GTA: London game that came out a LONG time ago?

    8. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by badasscat · · Score: 5, Informative

      This is actually readily apparent if you pay attention. GTA as it is perhaps could not even have been made by only Americans; it is the result of how Europeans experienced American crime through US film, TV and music.

      Well, you're oversimplifying, as many people out there do when it comes to Rockstar and Rockstar North. I was part of the "New York production team" (that's how we're credited) on various Rockstar games and since I'm not currently working on SA (no longer with the company, by choice), I have enough time on my hands that I feel like saying something about this, and finally have the freedom to do it.

      I don't want to name names (check the game credits if you like) but the big names working on the GTA series are about evenly split between born and bred New Yorkers and born and bred British (not necessarily Scottish - a lot of English people work on the GTA series as well, both in New York and in the UK). The scripts are not written through the eyes of someone experiencing the US through crime movies - they're written through the eyes of someone who's lived in New York in some cases for many years, in other cases for their entire lives.

      The programming is done in Scotland. The production (which includes screenwriting, character design, art direction, sound recording, soundtracks, package design, etc.) is split between NYC and Scotland depending on the job but is mostly done in NYC. The series is very much collaborative between nationalities and I do not want to take anything away from what's done in Scotland at all. I'm just saying there's this misconception out there that this series is actually coming from a European perspective and that's not really true - it's a collaboration between the Scots, British-born long-time New Yorkers, and born-and-bred New Yorkers.

      Another little piece of trivia for you: Rockstar and Rockstar North are the same company. It's not just an ownership thing; Rockstar and DMA were inextricably linked for a long time, but the purchase many years ago now (prior to GTA2, if I remember right) made the two companies one. It's not a case of "Rockstar North makes the game, Rockstar is just the publisher"... Rockstar and Rockstar North are the same company, and both offices work on different aspects of the game. Some things traditionally in the developer's court are done in New York, some things traditionally in the publisher's court are done in the UK. There's no clear split between them.

      Similarly for the stereotypes, these don't mean as much to Europeans as they would to Americans.

      I can tell you this is not the reason why the stereotypes are in there. The stereotypes are in there because they mean so much to Americans. To a large extent, Rockstar likes to thumb its nose at political correctness; the GTA games are satires, occasional parodies. A lot of people (including you, apparently) have missed this fact and take the stereotypes at face value. They're there with the intent that they should be questioned. They're there self-consciously.

    9. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by badasscat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Although - and you wouldn't know this, since you get your entire GTA info from crappy, one-paragraph /. articles - the GTA games have all used heavily fictionalized cities, so I'm not sure how you would specifically identify a European location, aside from using local accents and a tourist area of 1000-year-old buildings.

      Well, you're technically right about them being fictionalized cities, but come on. Vice City is Miami, Liberty City is New York, San Andreas is a cross between San Francisco and Los Angeles. That's not really a big secret. The only reason real city names were/are not used is that Rockstar/Rockstar North feel it limits what you can do - people expect you to be faithful as much as possible to the real city. So you spend all this time trying to mimic reality even when reality doesn't really lend itself to quality gameplay - it just wastes a lot of time. Having fictional cities lets you have a little more fun with the design of the cities, and lets you customize them for the best gameplay. But it's obvious what cities the GTA cities are based on, and it's intended to be.

      Not to mention, there was GTA London, you know. This was the only GTA featuring a real city. It didn't do too well in the marketplace so it was never tried again; the thinking afterwards was people don't seem to much care about real cities in their games.

      One side note - it may seem a bit of a contradiction what Rockstar San Diego does with the Midnight Club series, which does feature real cities and they're not entirely faithful to reality. But a) Rockstar really had nothing to do with the original Midnight Club (whereas many people who worked on the original GTA still work at Rockstar and Rockstar North), and b) the cities do not have to feature as much variety in Midnight Club as they do in a GTA game, since all you need to do in MC is race. There need to be a whole bunch of different types of areas and things to do in a GTA game, all spaced fairly close together (so you're not wasting too much time just driving around, and to fit in the system's memory and storage constraints). So it's really a different type of game.

    10. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by StocDred · · Score: 1
      Yeah, I said fictionalized, not fictional. They're based on real US locations, but they eschew the recognizable landmarks and instead capture the "feel" of the city/area. San Andreas is the name of the state, by the way, comprising three cities based on San Fran, LA, and Vegas.

      To see how smart the fictionalization notion is, just take a look at Spider-Man 2, which uses a quasi-faithful map of New York. Trying to stay so true to the real world version creates a city that is lifeless, ugly and repetitive. I bet even people from NYC get lost in that game.

    11. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      San Andreas isn't a cross between San Francisco and LA.. it's the whole damn state =P.

    12. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by kisrael · · Score: 1

      There were one or two very minor points that seemed European to me...in particular, I think "Yardies" and "Triads" are both group names I've only seen in British media. I'm sure someone can come up with examples of both showing up in USA media, but I don't think either is that prevelant...

      --
      SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
    13. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by NIN1385 · · Score: 0

      Let's just forget about the two previous games where the main character is a white guy and also the most evil person in the game. If your complaining about this next batch being black, then you are the one that is the racist my friend. You need to get the fuck out of this black and white area and come over to this grey area with the rest of society. Sorry to snap but I cannot stand people that take shit like this too seriously...

      --

      If carrots got you drunk, rabbits would be fucked up. - Comedian Mitch Hedberg R.I.P. 03/30/68-2/24/05
    14. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Couldn't the bad guys be mexican or white just for once?

      They were in the previous GTA games.

    15. Re:A bit US-Centric, and possibly racist too? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've never heard the term "Yardie" before GTA3, and was always curious about the origin. I've seen the term Triad in Hong Kong action movies though. The mainstream media doesn't use that term, for the simple reason that we never hear about Chinese organized crime at all.

  5. GTA games are great, but... by Repugnant_Shit · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...I can't ever seem to finish one. I loved GTA2 for the PC, then got GTA3 and played it a long time, got bored, never finished. GTA3:Vice City was the same way, though the plot was more interesting. I'll probably pick this up (and a playstation 2) when it comes out, but I probably won't beat it :(

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    1. Re:GTA games are great, but... by bairy · · Score: 1
      I know what you mean

      Good thing about gta games: Shitloads to do, once the missions end you have frenzies, taxi runs etc. to do.

      Bad things: Once all the missions are done you do get bored.

      I completed gta3 (ok I admit I used invincibility cheats), funny ending.
      I've completed the mission part of gta:vc too (and without cheats, they bugger the savegame apparently), and now I can't be bothered to do the rest, although I have to admit flying round in a chopper is still a lot of fun. Lots of hidden things to discover.

      --


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    2. Re:GTA games are great, but... by gr0ngb0t · · Score: 1

      I've completed the mission part of gta:vc too (and without cheats, they bugger the savegame apparently)

      Nah they just mean you cant get 100% completion if you do *every* mission, you can still get 99% completion... I think I got to about 85-ish% completion when i stopped playing it.

    3. Re:GTA games are great, but... by mausmalone · · Score: 1

      You might wanna pick up GTA3 again. It gets really really slow in the middle, but the plot picks back up in the final few missions... good payoff too.

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  6. how does London sound? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/p,6/gameId,566 /

    1. Re:how does London sound? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He said Continental Europe.

  7. Oct 19 by Taulin · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder who is more excited about this release. Game players, or lawyers?

    1. Re:Oct 19 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sure the media will be all over this game when it comes out.

      OH NO! ITS A BLACK GUY DOING GANG RELATED THINGS IN A GAME!!!! THATS RACIST! IT MUST BE A DRUG TRAFFICING WHITE GUY!!!

      I'm sure they will come up with stupid stories like that. And blame even more crimes on games like these. I dont know about other people, but when I play this game, its purely for enjoyment. It doesn't want to make me go out and start beating up someone with a baseball bat for no reason. People have to have messed up in the first place to do things like that.

    2. Re:Oct 19 by MrHanky · · Score: 1

      ..or me? That's my birthday. Yuck, I'm getting even closer to 30 soon.

  8. Re:the only good games are made by blizzard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yea, too bad WoW sucked.

    I know a couple people in the beta, and they have all been turned off by it.

    FFXI all the way for MMOG's at the moment.

  9. Re:Yawn..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have you even read what the game is going to be featuring?

    Didn't think so.

  10. Warning for the 56k'ers by bairy · · Score: 2, Informative
    ..if there are any

    Site is 1.1mb big (bout 3-4 mins loading time) and on my pc, using Opera, nothing appeared until it had fully loaded.

    --


    Get paid to search..It's geniune and
  11. Are they doing a San Andreas spinoff site? by RotJ · · Score: 3, Informative

    GTA 3 had the Liberty Tree. Vice City had Kent Paul's 80s Nostalgia Zone! Both of these sites were launched and continuously updated a few months prior to the release of their respective games. Does San Andreas have one of these yet? If not, it's no big deal. We've still got I love bees to keep us entertained.

    1. Re:Are they doing a San Andreas spinoff site? by Cais · · Score: 1

      As far as I know, none has been spotted yet =|. Kent Paul started up like, 3 1/2 months before the game came out (I think they started it July 1st, 2002).

    2. Re:Are they doing a San Andreas spinoff site? by dolmen.fr · · Score: 1

      Grand Theft Auto (the first in the serie, published in 1998) had Pogo the Monkey, advertised on the radio in the car.

  12. So the real question to me is by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When is the PC version coming out? I'm not interested in aiming with a dual shock 2, I want to use the mouse. Being able to use a combination of my driving wheel (actually the original logitech wheel for the PS2, but it works on PCs and Macs as well because it's a HID-class device) and my mouse (also a logi) :) along with the keyboard is the only way I want to play.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:So the real question to me is by g-san · · Score: 1

      you seem to be very concerned about your brand of mouse and it's details, face it, your attached. might I sway your decision to the console with the mention of big screen TV, a couch, some friends and surround sound. gta:vc has DTS support on ps2. mice were designed for desktop computing and old PARC systems. game controllers were designed, well, to play games!

    2. Re:So the real question to me is by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      My PC has surround sound, and if I want to I can put it in the living room and hook it up to my big screen TV and sit on my couch and play it. However, I want to use the mouse. I have been playing video games for a very long time and I know enough to know that the mouse is a superior controller for aiming as compared to a tiny analog joystick, or any other joystick. It's far easier to aim a real gun than to aim with the stupid little thumb stick. I have lots of console game systems, and I don't want to play shooters on any of them.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  13. gta4 by ricotest · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As much as I salivate at the prospect of even more features, more weapons and larger areas, I feel that GTA is running itself into a rut now. Rockstar, obviously concerned, have started introducing features such as 'eating unhealthily makes you fat' or 'jogging frequently makes you run for longer.' This conjures up worrying memories of The Sims or even Tomb Raider's latest incarnation.

    This is one of the few directions they can take the game, I guess, since the missions are going to get stale eventually. GTA3's addition of a stronger narrative and side missions really helped but even by Vice City the side missions were boring and I felt something was missing.

    Not that the game wasn't fun - it was - but GTA4 obviously can't continue down this path of 'bigger is better' without adding something cool. GTA:London was the first to have an actual city, GTA2 added real gangs with different loyalties towards you, and GTA3 obviously added a whole slew of features alongside the 3D - quite ambitious and impressive, looking back at it.

    I think that GTA4 should either have multiplayer (although GTA3 sorta has it) or a real gang structure, or maybe both. Imagine starting up your own gang and sending out orders, or having the police enter your territory and get shot down by your goons. You could do drugs on the side, Dope Wars-style, and arrange bribes with the cops to let it happen. Then spend the money on plastic explosives and rob a few banks.

    With the asset-buying and bank-robbing side mission in VC, I definitely think this is where GTA4 is going - not just a bigger area, but more freedom as well.

    1. Re:gta4 by kisrael · · Score: 1

      I'm worried that Rockstar might be thinking GTA would be improved by a leveling up treadmill, diminishing the games great pick up and play qualities a bit. (If I want to just tool around, I don't care what save game I use, just so long as all parts of the world are free...)

      --
      SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
  14. Re:the only good games are made by blizzard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps you should play the game for yourself rather than spewing on that which you do not know :) I'm in the beta and it is one of the most fun games I've ever played, so I'd say at least give it a try when it comes out. Don't like it, then don't continue it :)

  15. Driv3r by dolmen.fr · · Score: 1

    The game Driv3r, available on PS/2 and X-box has 3 cities:
    - Miami
    - Nice (France), and villages around
    - Istanbul (Turkey)

    The cities are quite well rendered. I know Nice so I can talk, but I can't compare Vice CIty in GTA and Miami in Driv3r as I've never been to Miami.

    The game is not as fun as GTA, in particular free driving (out of missions), because it is separated from the scripted game (missions) , the number of secrets is just of 10 per city, and side missions are not interesting.
    But the main game (missions in a scenario) is very entertaining and of progressive difficulty.

    --
    GTA Road-killers Rendez-vous

  16. offtopic? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    This comment is offtopic, since it's about moderation. The above comment is on-topic, since it's about the game, and so is the website, and it's a piece of information not presented on the website. In the classic words of Inigo Montoya, I do not think that word means what you think it means.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  17. xbox release date? by boomerny · · Score: 1

    has anyone found this yet? I've searched but haven't had any luck. Hopefully the wait won't be as long as the last one.

    1. Re:xbox release date? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dont believe it will be on the xbox. I think there was a conversation about it on slashdot some time ago.

    2. Re:xbox release date? by g-san · · Score: 1

      which could suck, as imho the game looks better and loads faster on the xbox. can you say rims? but can you say DTS on the ps2? thats a rhetorical question, please don't stand on your ps2 and try to say DTS, or even spell it. i think I would go for visuals over sound though, after all I am not a dog. oh yeah, can you say exclusive contracts?

      support censorship. ban sigs.

  18. can you play as a hooker? by mono_indy · · Score: 1

    what i want to know is ... can you play as a hooker? we had one hell of a conversation about that a while back and still know nothing. but it would be cool to play as a hooker ... great unlockable.

    hmmm ... that would add new meaning to that "m" rating.

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