So when you’re thinking of blockbuster movies you think of films like The Force Awakens (over $US2 billion at the box office) Titanic ($US2.2 billion), or the biggest of all, Avatar ($US2.7 billion, even though you can’t remember anything about it beyond the blue cat people). Huge global smash hits which… um, aren’t even half as popular as a video game.
Yes, Grand Theft Auto V – which is either the fifth of the main games, the eleventh of what you’d consider a proper GTA game, or the fifteenth game in the series if you include all the various side episodes – is now reportedly the most successful media thing on the planet, according to games industry analyst Doug Creutz – more than any film, record, book, woodcarving, anything! – having reportedly pulled in 90 million sales and a staggering six billion dollars since launch in 2013.
What’s even more noteworthy is that it’s not even the biggest selling game: that’s Minecraft, which has clocked up 144 million sales, but doesn’t have GTAV‘s price point or ongoing microtransactions in the online multiplayer.
And this is amazing, especially since going back to it in the age of #metoo really doesn’t do the game any favours.
Sure, the bit where you torture a guy for absolutely no benefit seems impressively on-message given the respect current global governments have for international treaties on war crimes, so in that sense they were ahead of the curve.
They also predicted the growing trend of shooting at people using over-powered weapons from high vantage points.
But then there’s the sexual politics and… hooo boy, they’re not great. The staple “recover your health by picking up a sex worker” mechanic remains, as does the fact that you can, if you wish, get your money back by beating her to death afterwards.
Then there’s the other standard fact that all of the women are either sluts, bitches or nagging shrews – oh, except for one character who’s an outspoken feminist because she’s old and ugly. Hilarious!
And sure, it’s meant to be a “hightened” reality and occasionally (as with the horribly offensive radio ads) have an arguably satirical point to make – but when these points were made in an otherwise very positive review at the time by Carolyn Petit for Gamespot, she was naturally targeted by Gamergate-style vigilantes who threatened to rape and kill her for implying that fans might develop a negative view of women – and that was aside from all the transpobic hate levelled at her. Fortunately, she’s still doing great work at Feminist Frequency these days.
So when’s GTA6 meant to arrive? Current rumours are than it’s due in 2022 (so, by current Rockstar delay-stands, third quarter 2024), and that it might break with tradition by having a playable female character. And not to pre-empt the likely response, but that would doubtlessly be a SWJ cuck-sop to political correctness gone mad.