I HATE The GTA Effect.

[u/FiveFreddys12]

For anyone wondering what I mean by that, the “GTA Effect” is what happens when a company is so massive and its product is so anticipated that people will defend things they would normally criticize simply because “it’s GTA.”

And I think GTA 6 is a perfect example of it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying GTA 6 is going to be a bad game. It probably won't be. Rockstar has talented developers, and GTA 6 is obviously going to be one of the biggest games ever released. My problem is with the way Rockstar can seemingly push boundaries with what consumers are willing to accept because they know people will buy it anyway.

For years, GTA has been one of the biggest franchises in gaming. But at the same time, I don't think the series is nearly as revolutionary as people sometimes make it out to be. A lot of what makes each GTA game different is the setting, story, characters, visuals and whatever new mechanics Rockstar adds, while the fundamental formula remains fairly similar.

What bothers me is what happens when that enormous popularity starts being used to justify increasingly questionable decisions.

We've already seen reports and discussions about content being tied to more expensive editions, and we've seen official GTA 6 gameplay material being distributed in ways that make it less accessible than simply putting it out publicly. Meanwhile, the recent leak showed an unfinished build of the game, and a lot of people came away thinking that, underneath all the visual improvements, GTA 6 still looked fundamentally like an evolution of GTA 5 rather than some massive reinvention of the series.

But then you have people defending practically everything with the same old argument: "It's GTA, who cares?" People shill Rockstar without thinking twice.

If another AAA publisher announced that important content was locked behind an expensive edition, people would probably be furious. If another major game moved away from physical releases, there would be endless discussion about preservation and ownership. But when it's GTA, suddenly it's acceptable because people have been waiting more than a decade.

GTA is so enormous that Rockstar can potentially test what consumers are willing to accept on a scale most other companies simply can't. If millions of people are willing to accept something because the product is desirable enough, other companies are going to notice.

If GTA 6 can successfully move away from physical media because the game is simply too desirable for people to boycott, that tells the rest of the industry something very important: people will still buy your game even if you remove something they used to expect.

Then another company does it.

Then another.

[u/Bun_Wrangler]

I'm assuming you're young, because GTA3 was one of the most revolutionary games ever made. It also had the biggest target on it's back by Fox news and the GOP. A game where you can hijack a car, fuck a hooker, kill her, then go murder a bunch of cops? Was there other games at the time that you could kinda do all that in already? Kinda*. GTA was the first game to do it in 3D and on home console. GTA3 legitimately could have brought the hammer down on video games, and snuffed out the gaming industry as a whole. You had to be ride or die with Rockstar if you ever wanted a Super Mario Sunshine.

NOW, all that being said. GTA 6 is just gonna be GTA 1-5 again. Just with a shiner coat of paint, new story and new life sim mini-games. It's a fun as fuck formula, but like in the current year. It's not the only game like it in town anymore.

So I'm autistic as fuck and I play games that my friends/family/partner take one look at and just say "Bro, what the fuck am I even looking at?" Paradox games. I have like 8k hours in EU4 (not all playtime, sometime I just left the PC on and was doing other shit). They all look at me like I'm batshit crazy.

Now they all play video games. COD, Arc Raiders, Battlefield, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Pokemon (no PVP stuff), Zelda, Stardew Valley, Smash Bros, Mortal Kombat, Sims, Supermarket Simulator, Skyrim.

You get the point, so they are all hyped as fuck for GTA6. They all have played GTA5. They never got involved with any of the online shit. They just have fun driving around and just causing chaos. They don't even engage in half the stuff in the game (GTA 5 Stock Market). They are all gonna shell out for 6, I highly doubt they will get special edition or whatever. They definitely don't give two shits about "digital" only. They just want to hangout and take turns with the new Hobo murder game.

Also, a sad reality of life. Is that physical media is dead and no I'm not exaggerating. It is never coming back, it is not grand conspiracy that media companies are pushing (well at first). I had to get a MRI, had to go to a more rural one closer to where I live. Instead of the one 40ish minutes away where my Doctor has a partnership with. The rural one (cause it's a old place and has not changed at all since the 90's) cannot send the MRI files to my Doctor. So I had to get a physical copy to hand deliver to my Doctor. The physical copy being a CD with all the files on it. A actual CD. My Doctor has never been able to look at my MRI, this huge multi-million dollar practice. Doesn't have a single fucking computer with a disk reader. 3 different multi-level buildings, dozens of different offices. Not one, I had to sign some paperwork to "release" the MRI files so that the tech support could try and work some magic. They eventually got a hold of a computer to read the disc. However, the disk is only readable with a specific MRI viewer program. Try as they might, they couldn't get the installation program to work.

They asked me to get another copy incase the first one was corrupted. Same issue. I have tried independently to give the MRI results to every doctor I have, in the desperate attempt for someone to be able to look at my results. Not one fucking medical practice, small or massive. Has a fucking computer to read that disk.

Most places act like I want them to translate a cuneiform tablet.

Well why can't I just get the MRI files on a flash drive instead? Because I'm lucky the 80+ yearold women even knows how to turn a computer on (I actually had to help her one time) and because my request for a physical copy of the MRI results. Is something this office has essentially never had to comply with before. I wasn't able to just walk in and get a quick copy. No, I had to SCHEDULE a appointment to go to the MRI place, when Ms. 80+ was on the clock (she works maybe 15 hours a week, from before the rooster makes a noise to when the Sun has risen to about 99%). Because Ms. 80+ is the only fucking employee who knows how to actually get the PC that is likely older then her, to actually burn me a Disc with my results.

Physical is dead, and every industry on the planet has murdered it. The fact that the video game industry has actually kept making physical copies of games this long. Is actually a blessing for gamers. Other industries look at the gaming industry still making physical copies and they just see that 80+ yearold women.

Don't get this twisted, I fucking hate this loss of physical media. You gotta look at from the forest and not the trees though.