When it comes to highly anticipated games, few titles have as much hype behind them asGrand Theft Auto 6. Over decades, theGrand Theft Autofranchise has positioned itself as the gold standard when it comes to open-world mayhem, and the latest mainline release,Grand Theft Auto 5, has managed to endure for three gaming generations. Plenty of gamers are also looking forward to the next entry inAtlus’Personaseries. The studio has given no word about when fans can expectPersona 6, although there are already many theories swirling around.
Although bothGrand Theft Auto 6andPersona 6are eagerly awaited by gamers, they have several challenges to overcome. Their predecessors are so celebrated that it will be a tall task for these games to surpass them. Furthermore, as more time passes, expectations only grow, making it even less possible for the games to live up to what gamers are imagining.
RELATED:Grand Theft Auto 6 Needs RDR2’s Attention to Detail
The Legacy of Grand Theft Auto
The firstGrand Theft Autogame was released in 1997 and, with its top-down perspective, it looked nothing like theGTAgames that players are used to today. However, it had the DNA that would characterize the series, as it allowed gamers to wreak havoc and commit violence in an urban setting. WithGTA 3, released in 2001, Rockstar introduced 3D environments and popularized the open-world genre. The game was a hit, becoming the highest-selling video game of 2001 in the USA, although it did attract a significant amount of controversy for its violence, its depiction of women, and its crass humor. Critics praised the game’s movie-like storytelling, as well as the astonishing freedom it granted players. FollowingGTA 3, Rockstar would prove that the game was not a fluke and that it was capable of not only recreating its success but also innovating on what it had created.
GTA 3was followed byGTA: Vice CityandGTA: San Andreas, both of which are considered landmark titles. The release ofGTA 4marked a new era forGTAas Rockstar switched to using RAGE, which is its in-house game engine. New levels of realism were possible thanks to RAGE, and Rockstar used it to take players back to Liberty City.GTA 4was followed byGTA 5which remains the bestsellingGTAtitle and one of the bestselling games of all time. The game is set inLos Santos, a city in San Andreas, and it features three protagonists that players can easily switch between. Through these three protagonists, players can view Los Santos through different lenses and take on differing interpretations of the events that unfold.
It is difficult to overstateGTA 5’s impact. Within six weeks of its release, it surpassedGTA 4’s lifetime sales in the USA and, quite strangely, the game’s sales have only accelerated over the years instead of slowing down, with 2020 being the game’s bestselling year. According to Take-Two Interactive,GTA 5has sold 165 million copies globally, with onlyMinecraftsitting ahead of it in terms of sales. The desire to seeGTA 5’s successor is high and while Rockstar continues to supportGTA 5, gamers seem ready to move on. When Rockstar released a trailer for the current-gen remaster ofGTA 5, it was met with a deluge ofdislikes on YouTube, indicating that gamers believe that Rockstar is focusing on the wrong things. Fortunately, the company has confirmed that the nextGTAgame is in development.
Persona’s Enormous Shadow
Personagrew from humble beginnings, starting as a spinoff of Atlus’Shin Megami Tenseiseries. The games all follow a similar format featuring a silent protagonist in a high school setting who comes across supernatural mysteries. Gamers have been drawn to the games through the way they ingeniously weave their exploration of the human psyche into their combat by featuringPersonas and Shadowsthat battle against each other, and it is through these battles that characters discover their true selves.
RELATED:Grand Theft Auto 6: 9 Lessons The Game Should Take From Red Dead Redemption 2
Since the first game was launched in 1996, thePersonaseries has steeply grown in popularity. However, the franchise’s popularity has been greatly boosted by its latest mainline release,Persona 5. According to Atlus,Persona 5has sold over 5 million copies, withPersona 5 Royalmaking up 1.8 million of those sales. This is an impressive feat on its own, but it is even more impressive when one considers that the entire series has sold 15 million copies. The series' fame is only set to grow with the upcoming ports ofPersona 3 Portable,Persona 4 Golden, andPersona 5 Royalwhich will introduce the games to a new range of gamers.
Grand Theft Auto 6, Persona 6, and the Weight of Expectations
BothGrand Theft Auto 5andPersona 5are iconic titles that have left a mark on the gaming world. Consequently, gamers have high expectations for their successors, and those expectations grow with every year that passes. Already, there has been speculation thatGrand Theft Auto 6may feature multiple protagonistsagain, that it could have a dynamic map which constantly changes, or that it will vastly overhaul the police system. Similarly, gamers have voiced plenty of wishes forPersona 6, including the inclusion of even bigger and better dungeons for gamers to explore.
Having all these expectations can be motivating for developers. However, it can also be paralyzing, causing games to spiral intodevelopment hellas developers constantly strive for a level of perfection that can never truly be achieved. Such games may never release or, when they do, even if they are great games, they never satisfy gamers because expectations are simply too high to be reasonably met.
BothGTA 6andPersona 6are confirmed to be in development, though it is not yet known when gamers will get to experience them. Although Atlus and Rockstar have shown themselves to be experts, their biggest challenges may lie ahead. Nothing short of masterpieces will have to be released if they wish to top the sky-high expectations created byPersona 5andGTA 5.
The nextGrand Theft Autotitle is currently in development.
MORE:Grand Theft Auto 6, Red Dead 3 Are in the Same Boat as Elder Scrolls 6, Fallout 5
