Grand Theft Auto III (PC)

Grand Theft Auto III is the entry which really threw GTA into the mainstream, laying down the foundations for the rest of the series as well as defining the wicked sense of humor that would enrage lawmakers for years to come.

Unused Models
There are some models in the game which are never used.

Band
Several street musicians with trumpets and drums. No idea where they would have been used, maybe as part of a mission or possibly just to add some atmosphere to the game.

Billboard
This advertisement is never used at all in the game along with the structure holding it.

Billboard Post
While the advertisement itself is not unused the post lifting it up is being a design seen nowhere in the game. It kinda looks like it would have been in the very first screenshots of GTA III.

Butler
A butler which may have been for Salvatore's mansion (you hear the piano, but nobody is playing it). It has a very high polygon count, though, which is odd. Maybe it was intended for cutscenes?

Cop2
This torn up guy can be found in the gta3.img in the PS2 version. He was most likely a early but buggy version of the police officer.

Darkel
Darkel was a revolutionary vagrant who led a gang of similarly-violent bums, and had an eye towards destroying the city's economy via acts of terrorism. He was deleted from the game because his missions just weren't as good as any of the other characters. One of his known missions was going to be "I Scream, You Scream" (which was in the final version, but given by El Burro instead).

Darkel's character model is still present in the game data, and interestingly, his actor, Bill Fiore, is still listed in the credits.

Egg Like Thing
This egg looking thing can be found in the files for the PC and PS2 versions. Due to its distinctive shape there is no possible place this could have been used, although literal Easter eggs would later appear in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and its prequel.

Tom Novy
German DJ Tom Novy was originally intended to appear in the game, along with his song Back To The Streets. For some unknown reason, both were removed from the game, although Novy's model remains in the game data. He has an LOD model, as depicted in the middle image, so presumably his appearance would not have been limited to a cutscene.

Uncle BJ's
This is the store vandalized in the mission "Shima". While the one in game only has one floor, the unused version has two floors but only the vandalized version exist.

Can The Real Claude Please Stand Up
Claude

The very first string found within the game's text file. This could be a reference to Claude Speed, who was the protagonist in Grand Theft Auto 2, and if so, they likely intended to give the player character in this game, who is normally nameless, the same identity.

Debug Text
Debug:- Cam Choice1. No Locking, used as game default Debug:- Cam Choice2. Reaction Cam On A String. Uses Locking Button LeftShoulder 1. Debug:- Cam Choice3. Game ReactionCam with Locking Debug:- Cam Choice4. Chris's idea. Also control the camera using the right analogue stick. HC^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AARON IS TOO CHICKEN TO EAT MEAT!

Just some debugging text for the camera, along with what seems to be an in-joke about Rockstar's longtime art director Aaron Garbut. Given the context, "Chris" is most likely Chris Rothwell, one of the game's designers.

Hospital
Get outta here! You're perfectly healthy. Healthcare costs. I'll just fix you up. That will be $250.

Either these appeared when you were killed and are reviving at the hospital, or you had to enter the hospital itself to get healed, instead of health icons being there for you to collect.

Missions
You are already on a mission!

When you accept a mission, all blue markers will disappear preventing you from starting other missions. Therefore, this is never used.

ODD JOB FAILED! ODD JOB PASSED!

It seems like the missions were originally called odd jobs.

Oh shoot!
PANCAKED!

Possibly another wasted text for being crushed by a car?

Vehicles
Aeroplane

Found among the vehicle names. Probably just a temporary name for the Dodo.

Helicopter

Obviously unused, since you cannot fly helicopters in this game. Maybe it was added just in case.

Buggy

A cut offroad vehicle. Its model remains in the game files in the PS2 version only.

Radio Range
The ambulance radio is out of range, get closer to a hospital! The police radio is out of range, get closer to a police station! The fire truck radio is out of range, get closer to a fire station!

Apparently, the radio could go out of range at some point of development. In the final game, it has infinite range.

Multiplayer
FEM_MAP - "Select Map" FEM_MP - "MULTIPLAYER" FEN_CON - "Connection" FEN_GAM - "Find Game" FEN_GNA - "Game Name:" FEN_NAM - "Name:" FEN_NCI - "NOT CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET" FEN_NET - "Network" FEN_PLA - "Number of players:" FEN_PLC - "Player color" FEN_PLS - "Player settings" FEN_STA - "START GAME" FEN_TY0 - "Deathmatch" FEN_TY1 - "Deathmatch stealth" FEN_TY2 - "Team Deathmatch" FEN_TY3 - "Team Deathmatch stealth" FEN_TY4 - "Stash the cash" FEN_TY5 - "Capture the Flag" FEN_TY6 - "Rat Race" FEN_TY7 - "Domination"

A large chunk of text proving that multiplayer was planned for GTA3. According to Rockstar, it was cut early on in favor of developing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City instead. These can be found in the american.gxt.

Sick What?
Sick fuck Sick fucker Sick fuck selected Sick fucker selected

No idea. Possible remnants of a debug menu or multiplayer character selection.

Come Again
~g~Luigi's interviewing some new girls -Come back later! ~g~Joey's out on the town with Misty -Drop by later! ~g~Toni's taken his Momma to the opera -Call in some other time! ~g~Maria and Kemuri are all tied up at the moment -Drop by later! ~g~Kenji is attending a Yakuza meeting -Call by some other time! ~g~Ray has other toilets to hang around -Try again later! ~g~Donald Love has other business to attend to -Make an appointment later! ~g~Kenji is busy! -Call by later! ~g~The Hoods are not available at this time! ~g~Come back between 05:00 and 21:00 for a job ~g~Come back between 06:00 and 14:00 for a job ~g~Come back between 15:00 and 00:00 for a job

Not sure when these would be seen but Kemuri was most likely an early name for Asuka and for some reason Kenji is mentioned twice.

What did you call me?
Come on you dumb bitch!

Would have been said most likely been said by Catalina during The Exchange.

Betrayed
BETRAYED BY HIS LOVER CATALINA AND LEFT FOR DEAD. CONVICTED AND SENTENCED, HE BEGINS HIS JOURNEY TO LIBERTY CITY PENITENTIARY. BUT ONLY ONE THOUGHT BURNS IN HIS CRIMINAL MIND......REVENGE!

An odd one, as it's written in all-caps unlike most of the other text. It may have been intended for the intro, where it would have fit nicely.

Blue police cars
As everyone knows, cop cars were originally intended to be blue, but were changed to black very late in the developement. Nevertheless, police cars in the intro sequence are still set to be blue - however, since these cars ignore color settings this goes unseen, and no texture of a blue police car remains in the game. Note that Enforcers are set to use black color in the intro, not blue like police cars.

Flyable helicopters
Even though there are no flyable helicopters in the game, the partial coding of them remains in the game's executable. This might mean that they were supposed to appear in GTAIII after all, but were cut for unknown reasons. It should be noted that most of the buildings in GTAIII don't have a solid roof (or even a roof at all), so the city was definitely not meant to be seen from above, even though a semi-flyable plane (Dodo) remains in the game.

A mod was made that's based on the leftover code and restores helis to the game. According to the mod's author, the helis were supposed to fly much slower than in the game's sequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Apparently there are some bike code leftovers too, but not nearly enough to restore them to the game.

Unused Song
A song called "Wash Him Off" by the fictional band Marydancin didnt make it in the game in its entirety. The song is only previewed for a few seconds in one of the advertisements on Lips 106. The same advertisement also features a clip from "Rush Rush" which plays on a different station, Flashback FM. The song was eventually released by Rockstar on iTunes as a part of the Lips 106 Soundtrack album. To listen to the song click here The advertisement can be heard at the beginning of this video

Region Differences
To get a USK 16 rating in Germany, several edits had to be made:
 * The removal of all blood
 * The removal of all the rampage missions
 * The player can't hit people lying on the ground with a baseball bat. The player just waves the baseball bat in the air.
 * Headshots and amputations were removed, although the affected character(s) still limp after being shot
 * Killed characters never drop any cash

Somewhat famously, the Australian version was altered post-release to remove the ability to hire Prostitutes for a health boost.