GTA courting M on DS, didn't fit with Wii

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Sep 24, 2008 8:03 am PT

Rockstar's Dan Houser tells Edge that Chinatown Wars will include drug-dealing minigames, tells Nintendo Power franchise "didn't feel natural" on console.

Grand Theft Auto

See it »
Screenshot Index »

When Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was announced at Nintendo's E3 2008 press event, there were audible gasps in the audience. Though Manhunt 2 had already been released on the Wii, Rockstar's anarchic series seemed unsuited to the DS. Besides the technical challenges the series' sprawling environments would present, it would also be a rare ultraviolent offering on the family-friendly handheld.

Today, those fearing a watered-down T-for-Teen rated GTA debut on the DS can relax. In an interview with Edge magazine, Rockstar's vice president Sam Houser said that Chinatown Wars won't be diluted in the slightest.

"No one disagreed with [Rockstar president and Dan's brother] Sam [Houser]'s very clear edict that GTA has to be an M rating," Houser told the British magazine. "It can't be softened to make it family-friendly--that's not the game we're making...[Nintendo] didn't want us to make a GTA for kids, and we weren't interested in making a game we wouldn't normally make."

Though he didn't confirm rumors of a stylus-based weapons-assembly minigame, Houser did give one example of Chinatown's Mature content. The title will include a Dope Wars-esque drug-dealing minigame, in which players will sell six different types of drugs according to demand in various neighborhoods. [UPDATE] A leaked screen on fan site T3.com shows the drugs to be cocaine, heroin, ecstasy (MDMA), acid (LSD), Weed (marijuana), and downers (barbiturates).

As for the prospect of a GTA Wii game, Sam Houser reportedly told Nintendo Power that the series wasn't a good fit on Nintendo's uber-popular console. "It didn't feel natural to us, I guess," he said, according to an advanced copy obtained by fan site Nintendo Everything. "It really was that the DS felt like it had a lot of interesting challenges that would be totally different from what we'd done in the past. The stylus and the chance to use minigames in that way was really interesting and exciting to us, and we thought we could integrate seamlessly between those two modes. And it would be the chance to make something really good on a handheld with our handheld-focused team."

So will there ever be a Wii GTA? Houser wouldn't rule out the possibility, saying, "We haven't really done any concrete, major thinking about the Wii, one way or another."

Nintendo Everything was also kind enough to post several scans from the forthcoming Nintendo Power, which shows Chinatown Wars will have an isometric perspective, not the 2D top-down view of 2004's "GTA Advance" or the two GTA Game Boy Color games. The screens also show the game will have a cel-shaded graphics and will include several other minigames, including hotwiring cars and sorting through dumpsters.

Chinatown Wars' gameplay has also apparently been modified, allowing for shorter missions that allow players to restart where the action begins, eliminating GTAIV's long pre-mission commutes. Set in part of Liberty City, the game will also reportedly have a 24-hour day/night cycle and a reworked wanted system, which favors taking out police cars versus escaping. The official Chinatown Wars site also sports a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo, indicating some online play elements are in the works.

154 Comments

  • shani_boy101

    Posted Dec 2, 2008 10:12 pm PT

    least they didn't make some gimmicky piece of crap.

  • HotRobert

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 4:05 pm PT

    this game would rock on the wii, the wii needs something cool from rock star, other than "bully",played with the classic controler or the wii mote held sideways or something like that, and for all you idiots that say this game would have bad graphics on the wii screw you!Im sure as hell it would look much better than the ps2 version of the game.Im not trying to insult anyone but I hate when people devalue de wii.

  • ivanfred

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 8:25 pm PT

    smooth81_basic: It isn't Nintendo's fault that 3rd party developers can't use the Wiimote to it's fullest potential.
    =====================================
    Correct. I agree with other posters that most 3rd party developers ar simply too lazy to figure it out

  • smooth81_basic

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 6:11 pm PT

    world69star69:

    You are completely off base. I am 28 - and I remember the MK debate well, too. While Nintendo watered down the first MK, they didn't on MKII and it sold like hot-cakes. After that, Nintendo killed Sega. Period. And, if you think that only kids own a Wii, and that their parents won't buy them a GTA game - how do you think it sold so well on the PS2?? Most of the people I knew playing that game were in highschool. It's not that older, more mature gamers were buying it - it's because ignorant parents were buying it for the 12-year-olds. Thus, sparked the whole "violence in games" debate yet again.

    So, while the Wii may appeal more towards the younger audience, it doesn't mean that games have to be completely family friendly. I love my Wii - the thought that I can play a game in a completely different way than sitting there like a bump with a normal controller, really is awesome. It isn't Nintendo's fault that 3rd party developers can't use the Wiimote to it's fullest potential.

  • ivanfred

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 2:26 pm PT

    ShuuMutou :You must of not read the release dates on the Wii. The new Call of Duty is coming out for it. ======================
    This sounds interesting. I bought the Wii for my niece, but she prefers her PS2. If gameplay is tight for the Wii's version of Call of Duty 5, then I might buy it.

  • ShuuMutou

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 1:33 am PT

    kbaily

    Posted Sep 25, 2008 9:17 am AEST

    I find it weird that games like Assasin's Creed and GTA and Call of Duty 4 are supposedly not able to run on the Wii because it's "not powerful enough" and yet they're perfectly happy putting them on the even less powerful DS. WTF?
    ~

    You must of not read the release dates on the Wii. The new Call of Duty is coming out for it.

  • ivanfred

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 6:50 pm PT

    Junior_AIN: A release of a GTA to Wii would be awesome, especially if it is GTA4, even with crappy graphics and playable with the GameCube controller.
    ============================
    Exactly. Some people say GTA is inappropriate for a family console like the Wii. If that is true then why was the Godfather released for it? And according to this site and its users, the controls were well done. I agree with Tremblay343 who posted: "Not a good fit for the wii", really means "don't know how the hell we can make good controls on the wii."

  • Toro_Nev

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 3:10 pm PT

    I don't think it will ever come to the Wii, but i really hope that GTA DS will be awesome.

  • Tremblay343

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 12:13 pm PT

    "Not a good fit for the wii", really means "don't know how the hell we can make good controls on the wii." It needs more hardcore games like these. I Need a reason to play my wii other than SSBB, SMG and No more heroes.

  • necronaux

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 9:33 am PT

    I'm surprised, and thrilled, they're releasing the DS GTA, un-cut, with a Mature rating. Very cool, indeed.

  • etramleinad12

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 8:01 am PT

    If they make a gta game for the Wii, then there should be few motion sensing occasions.

    Keep it like Zelda, Mario, and No More Heroes.

  • Sins-of-Mosin

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 6:38 am PT

    Finally something for my un-used DS to play.

  • shani_boy101

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 3:43 am PT

    who the heck would want a GTA on the Wii? most people who own a Wii probably have never even heard of GTA or their Mum's specifically bought it to get away from GTA like World69star69 said (lol 69).

  • Payback7

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 3:13 am PT

    At first I poopooed this, but I'm starting to come around. I will wait patiently and see how how things turn out

  • tawagivercetti

    Posted Sep 28, 2008 9:30 pm PT

    Rockstar Leeds is freaking awesome LCS/VCS still rock my psp. Just wish they'd get to work on 'SAN ANDREAS stories' 4 PSP.

  • Abrahamito

    Posted Sep 28, 2008 1:44 pm PT

    man i hope this comes out good

Grand Theft Auto Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Images | Videos | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum

advertisement

Images

  • Grand Theft Auto Image 1
Grand Theft Auto Boxshot Enlarge the boxshot
Grand Theft Auto

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement