What makes the GTA series stand out compared to its competition?

Very few video game series have had the cultural impact that the GTA series has had on the video game industry.

The GTA series is currently the fifth best-selling video game franchise of all time, only behind Pokemon, Call of Duty, Tetris, and Mario (if one includes the Super Mario Series as its own, then GTA is number six). All of those video game series are some of the most successful and well-known franchises out there, so it's quite the company to be in.

So fans often wonder "How did the GTA series become this successful?" Other than having revolutionary games, the GTA series is a franchise that appeals to a wide audience. Yet, it's also important to understand why the GTA series has succeeded whereas numerous GTA clones have not.

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Why the GTA series succeeds whereas other similar games fail

The GTA franchise is a license to print money (Image via Rockstar Games)

Anybody who is a gamer knows what the GTA series is and what it represents. Even if somebody is only aware of a game like GTA 5, that's still enough to bolster the series' overall reputation.

However, the series didn't start with GTA 5. It started off as a video game just known as Grand Theft Auto. From there, Rockstar Games has made several brilliant changes to improve the series' reputation amongst gamers and casuals alike.

Great marketing

An example of how much money goes into GTA marketing (Image via Take-Two Interactive Stephens Inc)

Grand Theft Auto wasn't an amazing game (at least not compared to the rest of the games in the series), but it still sold exceptionally well for an unknown entity. Selling over 1,000,000 copies by November 1998 was quite impressive for a game released on October 21, 1997.

Brilliant marketing made this game succeed where many other great games have failed. Being a good game isn't enough to sell well; without proper marketing, even these types of games have floundered.

GTA 1 gameplay (Image via hankmanGTA)

In GTA 1's case, Max Clifford's marketing strategy was a huge success. Exploiting controversies as free promotion has worked several times before, and it worked wonderfully for GTA 1.

P.T. Barnum once said: "There's no such thing as bad publicity." In this example, many kids wanted to try out this rebellious game that several adults told them not to get. It's a classic case of exploiting reverse psychology for the sake of profit.

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the series continued to generate controversy after controversy. Some controversies were quite costly, while others were ultimately minor.

Revolutionary gameplay that continued to evolve

GTA Online is quite the experience (Image via Rockstar Games)

Of course, great marketing isn't the only thing that makes a game franchise sell well. For most modern fans, GTA 3 was the first notable title in the series, and it's easy to see why.

The transition from 2D to 3D was executed masterfully by Rockstar Games, especially in a time where so many other video game series failed to do it as smoothly. For example, the Castlevania series' peak was in the 2D era, as that series didn't transition into 3D as well as its competitors did.

Unsurprisingly, the GTA series continued to evolve and adapt to its surroundings. New features were added and gameplay was made to be less frustrating as the series progressed.

Unique identity

Every GTA game has its own unique identity (Image via Pinterest)

GTA clones exist as a term simply because of how influential the GTA series is. There is truth to some of these labels, as many video games tried to cash in on Rockstar's most successful series.

Typically, it would involve a 3D sandbox environment where players would go to mission markers to start missions. There would be a minimap on the bottom left, with some other familiar UI elements on the top right. Sometimes, there would even be a Wanted Level system knock-off in these types of games.

Saints Row is often brought up as a GTA Clone (Image via NME)

As it is with all forms of media, the originator of a trend is usually given a pass and its copycats are bashed on. Whether or not a game is truly a GTA clone is one thing, but having that stigma can negatively impact a player's perception.

Saints Row is the most notorious example of something fans label as a GTA clone. There are a lot of similarities between the two series (with the former eventually evolving into a more goofy and cartoony version of GTA). Unsurprisingly, this meant that players tended to prefer the original over its copycat.

GTA's identity compared to non-copycat series

Call of Duty is vastly different compared to GTA (Image via Activision)

The GTA series fulfills a very unique niche within the video game industry. In a way, the GTA series is a conglomerate of other video game identities. It might not be the single best in any individual style, but it's exceptional in combining these identities to entertain its players.

Compared to the other top dogs listed at the beginning of this article, GTA is nothing like them. Pokemon, Mario and Tetris share virtually no similarities to GTA as far as its identity is concerned.

In Call of Duty's case, it only shares a small portion of its identity with GTA. Both games have shooting elements and are adult-themed, but the way they execute them are completely different from one another.

Several great games

There are so many great games within the GTA series. GTA 5 is vastly different from GTA Vice City, but both are terrific games that a player can enjoy on their own.

Only a few GTA titles could be considered mediocre, with no title ever being classified as terrible by video game critics.