Prerelease:Grand Theft Auto III
This page details pre-release information and/or media for Grand Theft Auto III.
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Contents
Development Timeline
circa. 1998
- Dec. - Rockstar Games is established.
1999
- circa. Jan. - Grand Theft Auto 3 begins development and pre-planning.
- Oct. - Grand Theft Auto 3 fully begins development, after Grand Theft Auto 2 and Space Station Silicon Valley was released, where Leslie Benzies assembled the developmental team.[1]
- Dec. 10 - Date of the handling.cfg file.
2000
- Jul-Oct - Two wireframe test videos were leaked by an anonymous source to the fansite Gouranga in two different months.
- Nov. 7 - Take-Two Interactive's plans reveal that a next-generation Grand Theft Auto title is slated for a "Summer 2001 release" on the PlayStation 2.[2]
- Dec. 30/Jan. - Grand Theft Auto III is revealed in an issue of PlayStation 2 Official Magazine UK.
2001
- Jan. 31/Feb - The fictitious website for the Liberty Tree Newspaper opens, showing screenshots of the game.
- May 17-19 - Grand Theft Auto III is shown off at E3 2001.
- May/June - Chatterbox FM is conceptualized after E3 2001, when Lazlow accidentally meets Dan Houser during E3.
- Sep. 11 - The September 11th Attacks events happen, causing the game to be delayed to October. Small changes were made since then.
- Oct 22-26 - Grand Theft Auto III is released in North America and Europe.
Development Timeline (Video footage)
Various early video footage from first wireframe leaks until release is available as a bundled development timeline video.
Sub-Pages
 | Early Development 1998-2000. The beginnings of a new open-world revolution. |
 | Design Document December 2000. The developers were very ambitious... |
| Early Prerelease Late 2000-Spring 2001. |
| E3 2001 |
| Later Prerelease June 2001-September 2001. |
 | Post-September 11th Builds Lots of minor changes were made following September 11th. |
2000
June
Edge Magazine Leak
| To do: Find the actual issue of the magazine. |
Some 3D renders of what Grand Theft Auto game would look like were leaked in Edge Magazine.[3] These appear to show Chinatown, bearing the same banner signs as the final.
July
Wireframe Test
An anonymous source sent a video of a wireframe animation test to the fansite Gouranga, dating to July 21, 2000. It shows the protagonist getting in and out of a car.
October
Second Wireframe Test
Another wireframe test was leaked, this time having a date of October 9, 2000. It shows the protagonist stealing a car and getting away from a gang member.
November
Financial Review
An interview dated November 7, 2000[4] confirms that GTA 3 is in development.
https://web.archive.org/web/20001205070500/http://ps2.ign.com/news/27203.html
December
PlayStation 2 Official Magazine UK Jan 2001
The world's first ever look at Grand Theft Auto III, a (presumably) December 2000 build shown in the January 2001 issue of PlayStation 2 Official Magazine-UK; these builds show a very different-looking game, alongside mentions of cut features.
Removed/Changed Content
There are a few things to note from the text in the magazine:
- Pedestrians originally once walked their dogs. Animals would not appear all the way until Grand Theft Auto V.
- Time originally ran on a 30-minute cycle, while the final game runs on a 24-minute cycle, where one minute represented one hour in the final.
- There is mention of a ferry that allowed the player to travel between islands, which was seen in a conceptual map. It was later revived for Liberty City Stories.
- Apparently, there was once a button that allowed the player to insult pedestrians. It was likely reworked into one of Claude's flipping the bird animation when he gets close to a car in the final.
- Characters from the first game, second game, and London 1969 were meant to return, further tying into the 2D universe games, but none of them made an appearance. This could be either an earlier intention considering that the finalized story was fully planned in the December design document.
Screenshots
A handful of screenshots released in the article was shown off for the first time. Though, they would be released digitally later on.
| December 2000 | Final |
|---|---|
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An image of the HUD; according to the magazine, from A to F, it would've displayed your wanted level, cash, time, weapons, health and radar. The image would be publicly released online in the February 2001 prerelease.
| December 2000 | Final |
|---|---|
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In the final version, the tall "New Building Industrial" (newbuildind in files) was placed here, so the exact same position as in the early screenshot would be inside the building in final.
2001
January
Liberty Tree Preview
On January 31, 2001, previews of the ficitious Liberty Tree newspaper were sent to various gaming sites, with two preview images. Both of them were released the following day.
| Late January 2001 | Final |
|---|---|
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- The secondary newspaper graphics among the "Dead Elvis" ones are actually from a British newspaper called The Daily Star, where the cover dates back to October 16, 2000 and can be viewed in full here.
| Late January 2001 | Final |
|---|---|
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February
Trailer
Grand Theft Auto III was unveiled for the first time on the internet on February 19, 2001, rather than via magazine previews.[5]
Trailer
- At 0:17, the voice clip "Get out of the car!" can be heard, which is actually taken from Grand Theft Auto 2. It was once theorized that Claude talked in early builds, but in the 10th Anniversary Q&A, Rockstar responded with that they had no plans to implement a talking protagonist until Vice City. It's also likely that the voice clip was added in for effect.
Screenshots
| February 2001 | Final |
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- There was a second newspaper texture rather than the "Zombie Elvis" one, it's actually taken from the British newspaper called The Daily Star, where the headline dates back to October 2000.
| February 2001 | Final |
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Again, in the final version, the New Building Industrial was placed here, so the same exact location would be inside of it.
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The ship in the final game does not have the proper collisions to walk around on it anymore.
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Renders
An earlier view of Portland Island was posted.
March
Early Map Layout
Capital Autos
Rockstar Games opened up a mock website of Capital Autos in order to promote the game. It contains some interesting and early car renders!
May
E3 2001
Grand Theft Auto III was shown off at E3 2001.
Teaser Trailer
E3 2001 Demo
| Demo | Short Trailer |
|---|---|
- The HUD is starting to take its final form.
Screenshots https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Ge_S5qblo
Unknown
Early Script
During Rockstar Games' Q&A from fans during the game's tenth anniversary, a excerpt of the early Grand Theft Auto III script was posted in comparison to the Grand Theft Auto IV script.
The following lines appear to have been from the opening cutscene and Give Me Liberty. Due to Claude not having lines from the design document from December 2000, this is likely from sometime after that date.
Intro A: Betrayal (A) PLAYER gang burst out into alleyway from a bank job. Two of the gang run off, the PLAYER stays to let off both barrels to dissuade any hero's. PLAYER runs off after his gang members, he rounds the corner to find CATALINA standing over the body of the other. CATALINA Sorry babe. I'm an ambitious girl and you, you're just small time... (resounding ?????) CATALINA then shoots the PLAYER twice. She grabs the case and then stands over the dying PLAYER. Just then MIGUEL pulls up in a sports car. MIGUEL Catalina! Move your ass! CATALINA runs over and hops into the car as it pulls away. Intro B: Jail Break (A) 8 BALL and PLAYER bust out on the bridge. 8 BALL nails the guard with a huge punch. 8 BALL God Damn that hurt! Alright, we've got no time to waste, let's get the hell out here! Give Me Liberty (D) @ Luigi's Club Having just escaped 8 BALL and PLAYER are looking for refuge. 8 BALL is quite anxious to get some shelter. 8 BALL I know a place on the edge of the Red Light District where we can lay low but my hands are badly burned so you'll have to drive. 8 BALL This is the place! Let's get off the street and find a change of clothes! They approach the hide out. 8 BALL I know a guy, he's connected. Name's Luigi. Me an' him go back so I can probably get you some work. C'mon, let's drop by and I'll introduce you.
Game On Exhibition
At the Game On Event in 2009, held in Taiwan, the mission drafts of Grand Theft Auto III were shown, persumably from a near-final build.[6]
- Some of the mission names are different;
| Early | Final |
|---|---|
| Lips Forelli's Last Lunch | Mike Lips' Last Lunch |
| Kill Chunky Lee Long | Farewell 'Chunky' Lee Chong |
| Escort Town | Cipriani's Chaffeur |
| The Bank Job | The Getaway |
| Take Out The Laundry | Taking Out The Laundry |
| Frankie's Limo | Salvetore's Called a Meeting |
| BlowFish | Blow Fish |
| Ice Cream You Scream | I Scream, You Scream |
| (Crossed Out Name)/Disco Inferno | Trial By Fire |
| Pulp Friction | Chaperone |
| Bomb Da Base | Bomb Da Base Act I |
| Big Day For Ray | Payday For Ray |
| Gone in 60 | Grand Theft Auto |
| Uzi Driver | Uzi Rider |
| Gangcar Roundup | Gangcar Round-up |
| The Hand-over & The SAM | Marked Man |
| Espresso-2-Go | Espresso-2-Go! |
| Plane to Sea | S.A.M. |
| Wanted Man | The Exchange |
- The El Burro Phone missions were originally able to be repeatable rather than classified as completed.
- Paparazzi Purge came before Under Surveillance.
- Marty Chonks' missions weren't present.
August?
Bradygames Strategy Guide
PS World Footage
On the PS World Volume 12, Grand Theft Auto III was covered. Despite the disc being released in December, the differences date the build to around August 2001.
- The logo was orange.
- The color of the weapons HUD is a bright yellow instead of a dull gray, which would end up being used in the Windows version of the game.
- The sniper crosshair was different.
- Pedestrians' limbs could be shot off unlike the final.
September
Pre-9/11 Builds
PlayZone Footage
Covered in PlayZone November 2001. The game almost plays exactly like the final, except with some aesthetical differences;
- The HUD matches that of the final game.
- This build marks the last appearance of the blue Police cars.
- This is the last appearance of the Bobcat with the cushioned trunk.
Gamesmaster Nov. 01
https://twitter.com/retrogamegeeks/status/965265111735787523
2003
A port for Gamecube (Along with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) was originally planned to release but was cancelled for unknown reason [7]
Resources
- Prerelease Media:
- [3]
References
<references>
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Benzies
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20001202044900/http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2651317,00.html
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/06/01/steal-these-grand-theft-auto-shots
- ↑ http://gouranga.com/nf-november00.htm
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150825021919/http://www.ign.com/images/games/grand-theft-auto-iii-ps2-15548?page=8
- ↑ https://gtaforums.com/topic/745716-grand-theft-auto-iii-pre-release-discussion/page/15/#comments
- ↑ https://www.gamecubicle.com/news-nintendo_gamecube_grand_theft_auto.htm
