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GTA Remasters Will Only Happen if They "Look Great Creatively," Exec Says

GTA remasters will only happen if it makes sense creatively and will "delight customers."

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During Take Two's earnings report today, the Rockstar Games parent company was asked if it had any interest in remastering the Grand Theft Auto titles that originally released on PS2. Take Two responded, saying that it "wouldn't rule it out," though it would likely decline if it was just "to make a few bucks."

CEO Strauss Zelnick said that it's "something [Rockstar Games] will decide in due course" and that it "wouldn't do anything that's not going to look great creatively."

"The starting point is, 'Is this going to delight customers, is this going to look good?'" Zelnick asked. "You know that we're a company that is not driven first and foremost by 'Can we create revenue this way?'

"We would start by saying, 'Will this be exciting to consumers, will they be happy with it, will it reflect well on our brand, will it reflect well on our company?'" he added.

"And if the answer is yes, then it may well be a compelling opportunity. But if the answer is indifferent or no then even if we have an opportunity to make a few bucks we probably would decline. I think that's the lens through which we look, the actual decisions are made by the labels [Rockstar and 2K]."

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In the same earnings call, it was announced that Grand Theft Auto V has shipped 65 million copies. Additionally, Rockstar will announce new games "soon," though you shouldn't expect anything new from the developer this year.

Take Two also talked about what it would do regarding any PS4 and Xbox One hardware upgrades.

"In general, these are all opportunities. Depending how things pencil out, a successful new console gives us another opportunity to release titles whomever it comes from," he said. "We think the people who win most are those that are the most creative, the most innovative, and the most efficient--and that's what we aspire to be."

The company also talked about 2K's Battleborn and how it's too soon to tell if the new first-person shooter will be a hit like Borderlands.

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catsimboy

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Too bad the soundtracks will be butchered to hell. And as good as GTA was back in the day games have come a long way since then, I don't think the "lock on and hold shoot button until enemy dies" on-foot combat can hold up against today's standards. They'll have to go well beyond a graphical update to make the games worth more than the current rereleases.

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WanderingKnight

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@catsimboy: You can turn off lock on aiming in the settings, it's pretty common knowledge. Also what do you mean by "today's standards", shooters today are the same old, tactless games with bullet-sponge enemies and gimmicky melee fatalities. Doom 4 is the same old shit.

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jhawk

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@catsimboy: Totally agree with you. The aiming by today's standards in the last-gen games was horrendous. And not only that, I freakin' downright despise having to start all over again at the beginning of a mission if I fail, at least put in the checkpoint features like they did in the latest versions and the mobile versions of GTA 3-San Andreas, because if not I will definitely pass.

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hystavito

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@jhawk: One of the many things I'm always saying I want to see in future GTAs is missions that have multiple levels of success/completion with varying outcomes.

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jhawk

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@hystavito: Not a bad idea. You should submit that to Rockstar, who knows, maybe they'll take it to heart and act on it in a future GTA.

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cornbredx

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Edited By cornbredx

No, thanks. I have them all on PC and they're fine the way they are. I don't really go back to them anyway. No point. Every new game is just another one of those with modern graphics. Maybe a different, stolen, story line, and a different map, but that's about it.

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mehteh

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Rockstar exec always sound so smug and superior. They released GTA5 twice staggered across two different console generations and rarely ever drop the price on Steam. Hell, their first sale on Steam forced people to buy that stupid "shark card" thus increasing the game back up to $60.

Id gladly pay for a proper remaster if it meant updated graphics, controls, ran better on newer hardware, etc and less of a cheap console port on PC.

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HughTheHand88

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@mehteh: Don't worry, the port from ps3/360 to current gen was just as lazy. Here's first person so you can look at all the textures and assets we didn't touch...

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gwd3987

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It would be cool to go back in remastered graphics but if I have to hear Big Smoke tell me one more time, that "All you had to do was fallow the damn train!" I may go insane. At least reprogram that f#%*^ to know how to aim.

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Marky360

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@gwd3987:

I wanted to kill big smoke so much after that whole fiasco.

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Renunciation

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It would be cool to play the older PS2 & PS3 GTA games if they were cel-shaded to closely resemble the artwork on the packaging.

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BobaFettHatesU

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Nice to see the creative minds acknowledge that on new hardware you expect good graphics.

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xbr85

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Screw GTA, remaster Read Dead Redemption instead. That's the true classic.

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smokerob79

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Edited By smokerob79

@xbr85: screw remakes i want a new one....

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