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Although they sold a decent amount of copies, the GTA prequels are rarely brought up today.
Once GTA San Andreas was completed, Rockstar went to work on a few more titles. They wanted to close out the 3D era before the transition to HD. Rockstar made two GTA prequels: Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. Toni Cipriani and Victor Vance showed different sides to these major cities.
Although these games had good reception, they didn't capture the Rockstar magic like previous games. There was something missing in these GTA prequels. As a result, most fans rarely talk about either game. Some arguments can be made as to why this is the case.
GTA prequels: Why are they forgotten?
Simply put, the GTA prequels were intended for handheld devices. They were originally on the PlayStation Portable. Eventually, they were ported onto the main consoles. However, the GTA prequels were held down by multiple factors.
It has yet to be ported on PC
It's been several years since the PlayStation Portable was released. The same goes for the popular PlayStation 2. These devices are no longer as relevant as they once were. The GTA prequels suffer from a lack of PC releases.
While they did have mobile ports, these turned out to be disastrous. There were compatibility issues with certain devices. The GTA prequels also had framerate issues and graphical bugs. Rockstar has a history with porting disasters, such as GTA San Andreas.
Several players like to use PCs. However, the GTA prequels have yet to be released on Steam. This limits their potential audience. Nobody is going to buy a PlayStation 2 just for these games. While there is a fanbase that clamors for the PC version, it isn't loud enough for Rockstar to hear.
It wasn't as good as GTA San Andreas
What also didn't help is that the GTA prequels weren't as good as GTA San Andreas. While it's not a fair comparison, they were released shortly after that game. Perception is everything in the gaming industry.
GTA San Andreas was a groundbreaking experience for the players. Meanwhile, the GTA prequels were more of the same. In some cases, they even went backwards. For example, Liberty City Stories took out the swimming mechanic. This was seen as a setback.
Keep in mind that the GTA prequels were originally meant for handheld devices. Hardware limitations would hold it back. There was no way it could reach its full potential like GTA San Andreas.
Fans were waiting on GTA 4
Last but not least, people were waiting for GTA 4. Everybody knew that the GTA prequels were holdovers until then. There was hot anticipation for the next big consoles, which were the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Liberty City Stories had already been released by the time of GTA 4's announcement. However, players were still waiting on the next big game. They wanted to see what Rockstar had in store for the series.
Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.
