GTA players concerned about “censorship” in remastered trilogy
Rockstar Games After months of speculation, Rockstar Games gave fans their first look at GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition. However, despite its next-gen polish, fans are concerned about the preservation of their more controversial content.
Every Grand Theft Auto fan has their favorite when it comes to the original sixth-generation era trilogy. Be it the beaches of Vice City or the cityscapes of San Andreas, the time has come to revisit them with some next-generation polish.
While they might be sporting some pleasing aesthetic upgrades, have each of the game’s content seen changes to fit into today’s social-political climate?
Fans of the long-running franchise have started to voice their concerns about censorship within the remastered trilogy.
Rockstar GamesFans concerned about “political correctness” in GTA remasters
Rockstar Games are known for shining a satirical lens on the world, through the narratives and characters that inhabit the GTA world. GTA 5 examined the bleaker notions of the American dream, while predecessor GTA 3 offered commentary on Italian-American mafia crime organizations.
Naturally, delving into some of these topics leads to — at times — unsavory depictions of controversial elements. However, fans have been quick to point out that this factor is essential to uphold the sharper edges of Rockstar’s narrative commentary “in a trilogy that laughs in the face of political correctness.”
Examining the character of Phil Cassidy (voiced by Gary Busey), eagle-eyed players noticed that the Definitive Edition trailer had retroactively changed the character’s clothing to remove the confederate flag. Despite showing no personal belief in the meaning of the flag, one fan said “the fact that it is used as a means of mocking stereotypes, that’s the whole point!”
Adding to the richness of Rockstar’s writing, another fan said that “simple character-building should be allowed to use various traits or beliefs, especially to allow more complex stories.” However, others have been more critical of Rockstar’s decision to alter Vice City’s content: “I guess we’ll get a censored, watered-down version because some of the younger people are too dumb for satire.”
“Rockstar has become the thing they mocked for so long,” another fan said, criticizing Rockstar’s direction in recent years.
The Definitive Editions of the GTA trilogy will release on November 11, where we’ll be able to see just how much has changed.
