Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
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''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' is a 2004
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...
developed by
Rockstar North Rockstar North Limited (formerly DMA Design Limited) is a British video game development company and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Edinburgh. The company was founded as DMA Design in Dundee in 1987 by David Jones (video game developer), D ...
and published by
Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
. It is the fifth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2002's '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', and the seventh installment overall. It was released in October 2004 for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, in June 2005 for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
, and in November 2010 for
Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
. The game is set within an open world environment that players can explore and interact with at their leisure. The story follows former gangster Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns home following his mother's murder and is drawn back into his former gang and a life of crime while clashing with corrupt authorities and powerful criminals. Carl's journey takes him across the fictional U.S. state of San Andreas, which is heavily based on
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
and encompasses three major cities: Los Santos (inspired by
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
), San Fierro (
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
) and Las Venturas (
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
). The game features references to many real-life elements of the world, such as its cities, regions, and landmarks, with its plot heavily based on several real-life events in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, including the rivalry between real-life
street gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
s, the
crack epidemic The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Ameri ...
of the 1980s and early 1990s, the LAPD Rampart scandal, and the
1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
. Unlike its predecessor, ''San Andreas'' introduced gameplay elements that were incorporated in later games, including
RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...
-style mechanics, customisation options with both clothing and vehicle appearances, a vast array of activities and mini-games, and the inclusion of
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
games. Considered by many reviewers to be one of the
greatest video games ever made This is a list of video games that multiple reputable video game journalists or List of video game magazines, magazines have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least six separate "best/greatest ...
, ''San Andreas'' received critical acclaim upon release, with praise directed at its music, story and gameplay, and criticism for its graphics and some aspects of its controls. It was the best-selling video game of 2004, and with over 27.5 million copies sold worldwide , it is the best-selling PlayStation 2 game and one of the
best-selling video games of all time This is a list of video games that have sold the highest number of software units worldwide. The best-selling video game to date is ''Minecraft'', a sandbox game released by Mojang in May 2009 for a wide range of PC, mobile and console platfo ...
. Like its predecessors, ''San Andreas'' is cited as a landmark in video games for its far-reaching influence within the industry. The game's violence and sexual content was the source of much public concern and controversy. In particular, a player-made software patch, dubbed the "
Hot Coffee mod "Hot Coffee" is the unofficial name for a minigame in the 2004 action-adventure video game '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' by Rockstar Games. While it was not playable in the official game release, the modding community discovered hidden cod ...
", unlocked a previously hidden sexual scene, resulting in the game being re-rated AO by the North American
Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
(although its previous M rating was reinstated after the game was edited to remove the content). A
remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...
version of the game was released for
Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
and
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
in 2013, for
Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
,
Fire OS Fire OS is a mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project, it is developed by Amazon for their devices. Fire OS includes proprietary software, a customized user interface primarily centered on content consumption, and heavy ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
in 2014, and for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
in 2015. In June 2018, the game was made available for the
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
via
backward compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially i ...
. An enhanced version with the subtitle '' The Definitive Edition'' was released in 2021, and a
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
version for
Oculus Quest 2 Meta Quest 2 (initially sold as Oculus Quest 2) is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.). It was unveiled on September 16, 2020 and released on October 13. As with its predecessor, the Oculus Que ...
is in development. The next main entry in the series, ''
Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...
'', was released in April 2008.


Gameplay

''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' is an
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...
with
role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
and stealth elements. Structured similarly to the previous two games in the series, the core gameplay consists of elements of
third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...
and driving games, affording the player a large, open-world environment in which to move around. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, running, sprinting, swimming, climbing, and jumping as well as using weapons and various forms of hand-to-hand combat. The player can operate a variety of vehicles, including automobiles, buses, semis, boats, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, trains, tanks, motorcycles, and bicycles. The player may also import vehicles in addition to stealing them. The open, non-linear environment allows the player to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock certain cities and content, the player can complete them at their leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, the player can freely roam the cities and rural areas of San Andreas, eat in restaurants, or cause havoc by attacking people and causing destruction. Creating havoc can attract unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities. The more chaos caused, the stronger the response: police will handle "minor" infractions (attacking pedestrians, pointing
gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...
s at people, stealing vehicles, manslaughter, etc.), whereas
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
teams, the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, and the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
respond to higher wanted levels. The player can partake in a variety of optional side missions that can boost their character's attributes or provide other sources of income. The traditional side missions of past ''Grand Theft Auto'' games are included, such as dropping off taxi cab passengers, putting out fires, driving injured people to the hospital, and fighting crime as a
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
. New additions include
burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
missions,
pimping Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...
missions, truck and train driving missions requiring the player to make deliveries on time, and driving/flying/boating/biking schools, which help the player learn skills and techniques to use in their corresponding vehicles. Not all locations are open to the player at the start of the game. Some locales, such as mod garages, restaurants, gyms, and shops, become available only after completing specific missions. Likewise, for the first portion of the game, only Los Santos and its immediate suburbs are available for exploration; unlocking the other cities and rural areas again requires the completion of specific missions. If the player travels to locked locations early in the game, they will attract the attention of SWAT teams, police, and police-controlled Hydras if in an aircraft. Unlike ''
Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...
'' and ''
Vice City ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2001's ''Grand Theft Auto III'', and the s ...
'', which needed loading screens when the player moved between different districts of the city, ''San Andreas'' has no load times when the player is in transit. The only loading screens in the game are for cut-scenes and interiors. Other differences between ''San Andreas'' and its predecessors include the switch from single-player to multiplayer Rampage missions (albeit not in the PC and mobile versions), and the replacement of the "hidden packages" with spray paint tags, hidden camera shots, horseshoes, and oysters to discover. The camera, fighting, and targeting controls were reworked to incorporate concepts from another
Rockstar Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to: Films * ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg * ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali * ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...
game, ''
Manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...
'', including various stealth elements, as well as improved target crosshairs and a target health indicator which changes from green to red to black as the target's health decreases. The PC version of the game implements
mouse chording Mouse chording is the capability of performing actions when multiple mouse buttons are held down, much like a chorded keyboard and similar to mouse gestures. One common application of mouse chording, called ''rocker navigation'', is found in Oper ...
: the player has to hold the right mouse button to activate the
crosshair A reticle, or reticule also known as a graticule, is a pattern of fine lines or markings built into the eyepiece of an optical device such as a telescopic sight, spotting scope, theodolite, optical microscope or the screen of an oscilloscope, ...
s and then click or hold the left mouse button to shoot or use an item, such as a camera. For the first time in the series, players can swim and climb walls. The ability to swim and dive underwater has a great effect on the player as well since water is no longer an impassable barrier that kills the player outright (although it is possible to drown). For greater firepower, the player can also dual-wield firearms or perform a drive-by shooting with multiple gang members who can be recruited to follow the player. Due to the size of San Andreas, a waypoint reticule on the HUD map can be set, aiding the player in reaching a destination.


Role-playing game features in character development

Rockstar emphasised the
personalisation Personalization (broadly known as customization) consists of tailoring a service or a product to accommodate specific individuals, sometimes tied to groups or segments of individuals. A wide variety of organizations use personalization to improv ...
of the main protagonist by adding
role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
elements. Clothing, accessories, haircuts, jewellery, and tattoos are available for purchase by the player, and have more of an effect on
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s' reactions than the clothing in ''Vice City''. CJ's level of respect among his fellow recruits and street friends varies according to his appearance and actions, as do his relationships with his girlfriends. The player must ensure that CJ eats to stay healthy and exercises adequately. The balance of food and physical activity affects his appearance and physical attributes. ''San Andreas'' tracks acquired skills in areas such as driving, firearms handling, stamina, and lung capacity, which improve through use in the game. CJ may learn three different styles of
hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...
(
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
, and
kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
) at the gyms in each of the game's three cities if he is fit enough. CJ can either positively or negatively respond to most pedestrians' comments in the game. According to Rockstar, there are about 4,200 lines of spoken dialogue for CJ when the cutscenes are excluded.


Vehicles

In total, there are 212 different vehicles in the game compared to approximately 60 in ''
Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...
''. New additions include
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...
s, a
combine harvester The modern combine harvester, or simply combine, is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops. The name derives from its combining four separate harvesting operations—reaping, threshing, gathering, and winnow ...
, a
street sweeper A street sweeper or street cleaner may refer to a person's occupation or to a machine that cleans streets. Street sweepers have been employed in cities as "sanitation workers" since sanitation and waste removal became a priority. A stre ...
, a
jetpack A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. ...
, and trailers, amongst others. Car
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and features are similar to the ''
Midnight Club ''Midnight Club'' is a series of Racing video game#Arcade-style racers, arcade-style racing video games developed by Rockstar San Diego (formerly known as Angel Studios) and published by Rockstar Games. ''Midnight Club'' is similar to the ''Mid ...
'' series of
street racing Street racing is typically an unsanctioned and illegal form of auto racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is ...
games, allowing for much more mid-air vehicle control as well as
nitrous A Nitrous Oxide Engine, or Nitrous Oxide System commonly referred to and known as NOS, is an internal combustion engine in which oxygen for burning the fuel comes from the decomposition of nitrous oxide, N2O, rather than air. The system incre ...
upgrades and aesthetic modifications. There are several different classes of vehicles that serve different purposes. Off-road vehicles perform better in rough environments while racing cars perform better on tracks or the street. Jets are fast, but usually need a
runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
to land.
Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s can land almost anywhere and are much easier to control in the air, but are slower. While previous ''Grand Theft Auto'' games had only a few aircraft that were difficult to access and fly, ''San Andreas'' has eleven different types of fixed-wing aircraft and nine helicopters and makes them more integral in the game's missions. There is also the ability to
skydive Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...
from aircraft or from the tops of certain skyscrapers using a parachute. Several types of boats were also added to the game, while some were highly modified.


Other additions and changes

Other new features and changes from previous ''Grand Theft Auto'' games include: * Gang wars: Battles with enemy gangs are prompted whenever the player ventures into enemy territory and kills at least three gang members. If the player then survives three waves of enemies, the territory will be won, and fellow gang members will begin wandering the streets of these areas. The more territory owned by the player, the more money that will be generated. Occasionally, the player's territory will come under attack from enemy gangs and defeating them will be necessary to retain these areas. Once all marked territories are claimed for the protagonist's gang from one of the two hostile gangs, the opposing gang can no longer attack. Once the player takes control of all territories from both rival gangs, none can come under attack. * Car modification: Most automobiles in the game can be modified and upgraded at various garages. All car mods are strictly visual apart from the stereo system and
nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a ...
upgrade, which increases bass and gives the car a speed boost when activated, respectively; and hydraulics, which lowers the car's height by default and allows the player to control various aspects of the car's suspension. Other common modifications include paint jobs, rims,
body kits Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...
, side skirts, bumpers, and spoilers. * Burglary:
Home invasion A home invasion, also called a hot prowl burglary, is a sub-type of burglary (or in some jurisdictions, a separately defined crime) in which an offender unlawfully enters into a building residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching ...
is included as a potential money-making activity. By stealing a burglary van, CJ can sneak into a residence at night and cart off valuables or shake down the occupants. * Minigames: Numerous
minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...
s are available for play in ''San Andreas'', including
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...
, rhythm-based challenges (dancing and "bouncing"
lowrider A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smalle ...
s with hydraulics),
poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
, and video game machines that pay homage to classic
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
s. Also, there are the aforementioned casino games and methods of gambling, such as betting on virtual
horse races Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
. * Money: The money system has been expanded upon, compared to previous games. Players can spend their cash on gambling, clothes, tattoos, meals, etc. Excessive gambling loss can force the player to sink into debt, which is shown in negative red numbers. When the player leaves a safehouse, CJ gets an unexpected call, and a mysterious person tells him about his debts. Four gang members suddenly appear and shoot Carl on sight if he does not erase the debt when the mysterious person calls him a second time. * Multiplayer: Rampages have been modified to allow two players to complete them. The players are both shown simultaneously on the screen, meaning they must stay within proximity of each other. The multiplayer rampages provide such functionality.


Synopsis


Setting

''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' takes place in 1992 within the fictional US state of San Andreas – based upon sections of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
as seen in the early 1990s – which consists of three main cities: Los Santos (based on
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
), San Fierro (based on
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
), and Las Venturas (based on
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
). Various regions of forest, desert, and small rural towns are scattered in between the major cities. Liberty City, the city featured in ''Grand Theft Auto III'' which is based on
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, also makes several minor appearances in the game, most notably during a mission which sees the player travelling there to assassinate a
mob boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...
. The city itself is not explorable and only appears in
cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s, with the entire mission taking place inside a
bistro A bistro or bistrot , is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant, serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. French home-style cooking, and slow-cooked foods ...
. The game's setting forms part of the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series' "3D Universe"
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...
, though unlike previous entries set in this continuity, ''San Andreas'' incorporates fictionalised versions of real-life landmarks and environments from the cities and US states it is based upon. It was the largest setting in the series until it was beaten by ''
Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...
''s own depiction of San Andreas.


Characters

Like the previous two ''Grand Theft Auto'' games, ''San Andreas'' features several well-known Hollywood actors, musicians, and other celebrities as voice actors, in both main and minor roles. Many of them are West coast rappers, some of which, at the time of the game's release, were famous only in underground music communities and later turned more successful. The player assumes the role of Carl "CJ" Johnson (voiced by
Young Maylay Christopher Bellard (born June 17, 1979), also known by his stage name Young Maylay, is an American rapper, record producer and actor based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his portrayal of Carl "CJ" Johnson, the main character ...
), a veteran member of the Los Santos-based Grove Street Families street gang, who left for Liberty City five years prior in pursuit of a better life, but returns home following his mother's death. The gang is led by CJ's estranged older brother Sean/"Sweet" (
Faizon Love Faizon Andre Love (born Langston Faizon Santisima; June 14, 1968) is a Cuban-born American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the comedy films '' The Meteor Man'', ''Don't Be a Menace'', ''Friday'', ''B*A*P*S'', ''Elf'', '' Th ...
), and includes his childhood friends Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris (
Clifton Powell Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in '' Ray'' (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination. Care ...
), Lance "Ryder" Wilson (
MC Eiht Aaron Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced MC eight), is an American rapper and actor. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's na ...
), and aspiring rapper Jeffrey "OG Loc" Cross (Jas Anderson). Throughout the game, CJ befriends various characters that become important allies, including Cesar Vialpando (
Clifton Collins Jr. Clifton Craig Collins Jr. is an American actor. After starting in 1990, with small roles in film and on television, Collins gained attention for his performance as Cpl. Ramon Aguilar, a prisoner "serving" under an imprisoned general played by R ...
), the leader of the
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
street gang Varrios Los Aztecas and the boyfriend of Carl's sister Kendl (
Yo-Yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in ...
);
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
weed grower "The Truth" (
Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...
); tech genius and RC shop owner Zero (
David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom ...
); blind
Triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Businesses and organisations * Triad (American fraternities), certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America * Triad (organized crime), a Chinese transnational orga ...
crime boss Wu Zi Mu/"Woozie" (
James Yaegashi James Yaegashi is a Japanese American actor based in New York. Early life James Yaegashi was born in Yokohama and raised in Yamagata to an American mother and a Japanese father. Upon graduating high school, he moved to America and majored in acti ...
); government agent Mike Toreno (
James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off-Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in '' The Trial of the ...
); crooked lawyer
Ken Rosenberg ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2001's ''Grand Theft Auto ...
(
William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on ''Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski on ...
); criminally connected music producer Kent Paul (
Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'', with other notable roles as Mick Carter in EastEnders, Billy the Limpet in '' Mean Machine'' and as Tommy Johns ...
); washed-up singer Maccer (
Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bla ...
); and renowned rapper Madd Dogg ( Ice-T). At the same time, Carl comes into conflict with a number of enemies, including the Ballas and Vagos street gangs; the highly corrupt
C.R.A.S.H. The Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) was a specialized unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) tasked with combating street gang, gang-related crime between 1979 and 2000. The unit was established in the South Los Ang ...
police unit, consisting of Officers Frank Tenpenny (
Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
), Eddie Pulaski (
Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor from a prominent acting dynasty, he was typically cast as ...
), and Jimmy Hernandez (
Armando Riesco Armando Riesco (born December 5, 1977) is a Puerto Rican actor. Early life Riesco was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, to Cuban immigrants who resettled there. He was raised in San Juan where he attended Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola. He then ...
); the Loco Syndicate
drug cartel A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the ...
, headed by Toreno,
pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...
Jizzy B. ( Charlie Murphy) and San Fierro Rifa street gang leader T-Bone Mendez (
Kid Frost Arturo Molina Jr. (born May 31, 1962), better known as Frost (originally Kid Frost), is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Los Angeles. He is the father of record producer Scoop DeVille. Early life Molina was born and rai ...
); and the Leone, Sindacco, and Forelli
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
crime families A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in Italian organized crime and especially in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activit ...
. At various points in the storyline, CJ works with Cesar's criminal cousin Catalina (Cynthia Farrell), and mob boss Salvatore Leone (
Frank Vincent Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor. During a five-decade career, Vincent often portrayed mobsters. He was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in ''Raging B ...
), both previously featured in ''
Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...
''. Claude, the
silent protagonist In video games, a silent protagonist is a player character who lacks any dialogue for the entire duration of a game, with the possible exception of occasional interjections or short phrases. In some games, especially visual novels, this may extend ...
of ''Grand Theft Auto III'', also makes a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
in the game, while '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City''s protagonist
Tommy Vercetti Thomas "Tommy" Vercetti is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of the 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', the fourth main installment in Rockstar Games' ''Grand Theft Auto'' series. The first protagonist in the ser ...
is mentioned.


Plot

In 1992, following his mother's murder in a
drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...
, CJ returns home to Los Santos to attend her funeral. Upon arrival, he is intercepted by C.R.A.S.H., who threaten to frame him for the recent murder of a police officer (actually killed by them for trying to expose their corruption) unless he co-operates with them. After leaving them, CJ reunites with Sweet, Kendl, Big Smoke, and Ryder at the funeral, and learns that the Grove Street Families have lost most of their influence and territories to their main rivals, the Ballas. CJ agrees to stay in Los Santos until the gang's problems are resolved, and works closely with his brother and friends to restore the Families' strength. During this time, he also befriends Cesar Vialpando after realizing he genuinely cares for Kendl, and helps to jumpstart OG Loc's rap career. Shortly after the Families' resurgence, Sweet plans to ambush a large group of Ballas. Before he can join the attack, CJ is contacted by Cesar with information on the drive-by shooting, revealing that C.R.A.S.H. ordered it with the intent of killing Sweet, and have been working with the Ballas, Big Smoke, and Ryder to end the Families and profit off the drug trade. Realizing Sweet is headed into a trap, CJ attempts to save him, but both are arrested by the police. While Sweet is incarcerated, CJ is released on bail by C.R.A.S.H. and driven out of Los Santos, where he is forced to assist with several jobs to prevent C.R.A.S.H.'s corruption from going public. With the Families disbanded and the Ballas flooding Los Santos with drugs, CJ focuses on earning money to financially support himself, Kendl, and Cesar. He commits several robberies alongside Catalina and engages in illegal street racing. After winning a garage in San Fierro from Claude, CJ travels there with his associates and transforms it into a profitable business. While in San Fierro, CJ works for the local Triads after befriending Woozie, and infiltrates the Loco Syndicate, the Ballas' main
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
supplier, to destroy them from the inside. After earning their trust, he kills the organization's leaders, as well as Ryder, and destroys their drug laboratory. Later, CJ is surprised when Mike Toreno, who faked his death, contacts him for assistance, revealing himself to be a government agent. After carrying out several operations for Toreno in return for Sweet's release from prison, CJ travels to Las Venturas to help Woozie open a casino. Facing competition from the Mafia, CJ and the Triads organize a robbery of the rival mob-run casino. To gather intel on the place, CJ befriends Ken Rosenberg, the casino's manager, whom he eventually helps flee the city, and works for Salvatore Leone, who vows revenge after CJ robs his establishment. During this time, CJ continues to work for C.R.A.S.H., until Tenpenny betrays him and orders Pulaski to kill CJ and Hernandez, who secretly turned on his partners. After killing Hernandez, Pulaski is in turn killed by CJ. After saving Madd Dogg (who was driven to depression when CJ inadvertently ruined his career while helping OG Loc) from a suicide attempt, he approaches CJ to ask him to become his manager and help him rebuild his career. CJ returns to Los Santos and does so with his associates' help. Toreno eventually honours his promise and allows CJ to be reunited with Sweet. Although happy to have him back, Sweet berates CJ for forgetting about their gang again, and talks him into helping to rebuild the Families. Meanwhile, Tenpenny is arrested for corruption, but is acquitted in his trial, provoking violent riots across Los Santos. CJ helps Madd Dogg exact revenge on OG Loc, and assists with retaking the Families' and the Varrios Los Aztecas' territories from the Ballas and Vagos. After tracking down Big Smoke at his fortress, CJ confronts and kills him over his betrayal. Tenpenny then arrives to claim his share of Smoke's money and kill CJ, but the latter survives and pursues Tenpenny with Sweet's help. The brothers' pursuit eventually causes Tenpenny to crash his getaway vehicle in outside CJ's family home, where he dies from his injuries. With the riots eventually over and the Families restored, CJ and his allies celebrate their success in his home. In the midst of the celebrations, CJ leaves to check things out around the neighbourhood.


Development

Rockstar North started the development of ''San Andreas'' right after the release of ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', at the end of 2002. Unlike its predecessor, which took only nine months to produce, this game got an extra year, therefore having an estimated development time of one year and nine months. The art director Aaron Garbut declared that the process of creation of ''Vice City'' was "very intense" and "short" and continued by stating: "We didn’t have the luxury of a lot of time to take stock. It was very much a case of knowing what we had to do and doing it to the best of our abilities. This time around the extra year gave us that opportunity." Executive producer
Sam Houser Sam Houser (born 1971) is a British video game producer. He is the co-founder and president of Rockstar Games and one of the creative driving forces behind the games in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' franchise, being producer since the third game. ...
said that the members of the team "put an enormous amount of pressure" on themselves to ensure that they would "do everything possible to exceed people's expectations" with ''San Andreas''. Some developers were worried about the working conditions imposed by Rockstar during the development of ''San Andreas'' since they couldn't take an adequate break after the completion of ''Vice City''. Rockstar's long-time programmer, Gary Foreman, feared that the company had entered an "eternal crunch", as some developers had working hours reaching 17 hours per day. In addition, some developers had disagreements with Sam Houser, which caused them to step away from the game's production. According to a report by ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', ''San Andreas'' was Rockstar North's most expensive game at the time of its release, with an estimated budget of 10 million
dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...
, surpassing ''Vice City''s budget of 5 million. Rockstar Games was developing the game '' The Warriors''; initially planned to release in 2004, ''The Warriors'' was delayed for 2005 in order to contribute further to the development of ''San Andreas'' and use additional resources for the game. During development, Rockstar North's president, Leslie Benzies, hoped that ''San Andreas'' would redefine the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series and "revolutionize open-ended gameplay and video game production values."


Ambience and searches

The game's events happen at the start of the
1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War ...
in the fictional state San Andreas, inspired by the states of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
in the United States. Unlike its two predecessors, which were inspired by just one city, this game has three metropolises: Los Santos, San Fierro e Las Venturas, based on
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, respectively, and the map is three times bigger than the one seen in ''Vice City''. San Andreas had already appeared on the first ''
Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...
'' (1997). However, it was displayed only as a
two-dimensional In mathematics, a plane is a Euclidean (flat), two-dimensional surface that extends indefinitely. A plane is the two-dimensional analogue of a point (zero dimensions), a line (one dimension) and three-dimensional space. Planes can arise as s ...
version of San Francisco. Garbut said that he didn't want the game to be "big for the sake of it" and that he and his team at Rockstar "could have made ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' or ''Vice City'' much bigger and simply repeated the same stuff for miles on end, padding out what we had, but no one wants to drive through miles of identical buildings." The goal of the team and Garbut with the game world was to create "depth" in the game's exploration, making each city seem different with each other, even though they belong in the same scenario. He commented: "I want to feel like I can stop at any point and discover new things, I want to feel I can climb onto any roof, I want to get to know the map and recognise where I am". Co-writer
Dan Houser Daniel Houser (born November 1973) is an English video game producer, writer, and voice actor, as well as the co-founder (along with his brother Sam) and former vice president of creativity for Rockstar Games. As well as producing video games, ...
noted the development team's effort not to make each metropole seem "toy-towny" or something "square" and opined that the game had "really good gameplay built naturally into the environment." Rockstar's team did long searches to replicate the different cities in the game. All development members were equipped with a camera in each city where the game is based on, taking photos of various locations. Garbut described the experience: "We had a huge road trip, driving across the States in a convoy of
Lincoln Town Car The Lincoln Town Car is a model line of full-size luxury sedans that was marketed by the Lincoln division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. Deriving its name from a limousine body style, Lincoln marketed the Town Car from 1981 to ...
s… stopping off in each city and staying there till we had pretty much photographed every inch. It really was epic. The bravest of us were taken in smaller groups into the scarier areas, right into the heart of LA’s gang territory." Dan Houser commented that a group of searchers and artists took photos of every neighbourhood of
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
, and "the nicest casinos" of Las Vegas, besides other more peripheral regions in Los Angeles, as reported by ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'': " hey visitedevery trainers-over-the-telegraph-wire ghetto cesspit with couches in the streets and gangbangers cruising past in
low-rider A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smalle ...
s, and everywhere in between". Various neighbourhoods, bridges and explorable interiors of the game were based on actual locations of each city. For example, urban extensions in Los Santos had inspirations from
Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...
; a red bridge in the map's northwest of San Fierro was inspired by the famous
Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
; the casinos of Las Venturas were influenced by casinos in Las Vegas and have a role in the game's plot. As Dan Houser states, Rockstar planned to build an atmosphere with many perspectives to ensure that the game's missions would "show off all the best assets of the map." Some players found the maps in ''Vice City'' too flat. Dan Houser agreed: "For good driving, one of the things that we missed was hills. It just adds that third dimension; it's not as fun with out." Regarding the game's mountain, the Mount Chiliad, Dan Houser stated: "One of the things that the countryside gives you is a mountain, you've never had a mountain in a ''GTA'' game before. The idea of being able to drive from LA, through the countryside, up a mountain and into San Francisco and on to Vegas is just freakish, and it feels amazing!" Garbut expressed satisfaction with the presence of hills, forests and a desert, which weren't in the previous installments: "I love the countryside
f the game F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
It feels so refreshing to drive out of the city into rolling fields, past farms and rivers, into the forests, deserts and hills. The mountain is fantastic – it’s nearly half a mile 00 meterstall and it takes just under a minute to fly from its base to the top in a helicopter… and a good deal longer to cycle down." Garbut said that he and the developers used many procedural techniques in grass and plants to give life to the mountain and the field: "There's so much to see. I really don’t think any game has achieved this level of scale before while keeping anything like this level of detail. There's a sense of scale in this game that dwarfs the previous two while actually adding to the variety and detail." According to developer John Whyte, the map of ''San Andreas'' has an area of 36 million square meters (13.9 million square miles).


Inspirations for the narrative

While writing the plot, Rockstar was inspired by events that occurred in the early 90s. The rivalry between the street gangs
Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includin ...
and
Crips The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...
were used as the inspiration for the rivalry between the Grove Street Families and the Ballas — the main gangs of the game —, respectively. Sam Houser recounted his fascination with the appearance and the gang members' clothing and his wish to represent it in ''San Andreas'': "Well, what's after Miami in the '80s? Well, of course, the Bloods and the Crips and the LA early-'90s gang-banger culture. I remember being in the UK at the time it was going off and being completely fascinated and terrified by it. Fascinated by how they looked - they dress amazingly - but these guys are all like soldiers, and are treated like armies, and this is very serious, scary stuff." According to Dan Houser, the team was focused on not making ''San Andreas'' a game simply about gangs and wanted to connect all the narrative elements while still making sense.
DJ Pooh A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
, known at the time for being the co-writer of ''
Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth day ...
'' (1995), was hired to co-write the game in order to detach the Britannic perspective on Los Angeles gang culture from the script, since Rockstar North was mostly composed of United Kingdom residents. DJ Pooh commented on the script's perspective: "One thing that makes me slightly nervous is the notion that it's a game about gang-banging, which it is not really". In the game's advertising, the Grove Street Families were referred to as Orange Grove Families. The game also portrays the
crack epidemic The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Ameri ...
, which was the rise of drug use in the major cities in the US between the start of the 80s and the start of the 90s, having an impactful role in the narrative. Real-life events that involved police officers also inspired the events in ''San Andreas''. The
Rampart scandal The Rampart scandal involved widespread police corruption in the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) anti-gang unit of the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division in the late 1990s. More than 70 police officers either a ...
of the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
, which concerned various cases of
police corruption Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers end up breaking their political contract and abuse their power for personal gain. This type of corruption may involve one or a group of officers. Internal police ...
in the
Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums The Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) was a specialized unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) tasked with combating gang-related crime between 1979 and 2000. The unit was established in the South Central district of ...
anti-gang unit at the end of the 90s, was one inspiration. Another one involved a tumultuous manifestation, the
1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
, when a jury absolved Los Angeles police officers, three white and a Hispanic, accused of aggression against black driver
Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...
after a high-speed chase. For the writing of the game's narrative, Rockstar got influences from
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
films with varied aspects of the story and characters. Dan Houser describes that the team watched "hundreds of movies to get the California vibe into the game", while Garbut says he and the team had always been interested in "any relevant films". One of these inspirations came from the film ''
Boyz n the Hood ''Boyz n the Hood'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age hood drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his feature directorial debut. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long, Regina King, and An ...
'' (1991), with references to the gangster style from the 90s. The presentation of gang rivalries in ''
Menace II Society ''Menace II Society'' (pronounced ''Menace to Society'') is a 1993 American teen drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut. The film is set in Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and follows the life of K ...
'' (1993) and ''
Colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
'' (1988) also influenced the portrayal of gangs of Los Santos.
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
, brother of Eddie Pulaski's voice actor
Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor from a prominent acting dynasty, he was typically cast as ...
, is one of the main characters of ''Colors''. The action movies ''
Con Air ''Con Air'' is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich. Written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on a prison break aboard a J ...
'' (1997) and ''
Terminator 2 ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' is a 1991 American science-fiction action film directed by James Cameron, who co-wrote the script with William Wisher. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong, it is ...
'' (1991) are referenced in the "Reuniting the Families" mission, when CJ tries to save his older brother Sweet in a motel while being chased by the police. Other influences and similarities come from movies such as ''
New Jack City ''New Jack City'' is a 1991 American action crime film based upon an original story and written by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper, and directed by Mario Van Peebles in his feature film directorial debut. Released in the United Stat ...
'' (1991) and ''
Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...
'' (1992).


Marketing and release


''The Introduction'' short film

As part of the ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition'' re-release for the PlayStation 2 and the '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Soundtrack'', a DVD was provided containing a short 26-minute long film made through ''San Andreas'' in-game-engine. The film, titled ''The Introduction'', incorporates locations from both the game and ''Grand Theft Auto III'', and focuses on events that take place before the start of the main story, providing insight into various characters from ''San Andreas'' prior to CJ meeting or reuniting with them. Most key plot details from the game are explained in this film, such as the downfall of the Grove Street Families; Big Smoke and Ryder's betrayal of the gang and alliances with C.R.A.S.H., the Ballas, and the Loco Syndicate; CJ's life in Liberty City; C.R.A.S.H.'s murder of Officer Ralph Pendelbury; Kent Paul and Maccer's arrival in San Andreas for a
concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
; the circumstances surrounding the construction of the Mafia's casino in Las Venturas; and the fateful drive-by shooting that kills CJ's mother Beverly and determines him to return to Los Santos. Alongside the short film, the DVD also included a live-action documentary on the
custom car A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been either substantially altered to improve its performance, often by altering or replacing the engine and transmission; made into a personal "styling" statement, using paint work and aftermarket ...
culture (featured prominently in the game) called ''Sunday Drive''.


Soundtrack

As with the previous two entries in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, ''San Andreas'' has music taken from the time in which the game is based. San Andreas is serviced by eleven radio stations; WCTR (
talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
), Master Sounds 98.3 (
rare groove Rare groove is music that is very hard to source or relatively obscure. Rare groove is primarily associated with funk, R&B and jazz funk, but is also connected to subgenres including jazz rock, reggae, Latin jazz, soul, rock music, northern soul ...
, playing many of the old funk and soul tracks sampled by 1980s and '90s hip-hop artists), K-Jah West ( dub and
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
; modelled after K-Jah from ''
Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...
''), CSR (new jack swing, modern soul), Radio X (alternative rock, heavy metal music, metal and grunge), Radio Los Santos (gangsta rap), SF-UR (house music), Bounce FM (funk), K-DST (classic rock), K-Rose (classic country, country) and Playback FM (golden age hip hop, classic hip hop). The music system in ''San Andreas'' is enhanced from previous games. In earlier games in the series, each radio station was mainly a single looped sound file, playing the same songs, announcements and advertisements in the same order each time. In ''San Andreas'', each section is held separately, and "mixed" randomly, allowing songs to be played in different orders, announcements to songs to be different each time, and plot events to be mentioned on the stations. This system would be used in ''
Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...
''. WCTR, rather than featuring licensed music and DJs, features spoken word performances by actors such as Andy Dick performing as talk show hosts and listener callers in a parody of talk radio programming. Lazlow again plays as himself on the show "Entertaining America" on WCTR in the same persona as in ''III'' and ''Vice City''. He takes over after the former presenter, Billy Dexter, is shot on air by in-game film star Jack Howitzer. Lazlow interviews guests such as O.G. Loc, who is one of the four characters Carl encounters during the game that is on the radio, along with Big Smoke, Madd Dogg, and The Truth. The Xbox, iOS, and Windows versions of the game include an additional radio station that supports custom soundtracks by playing user imported MP3s, allowing players to listen to their music while playing the game. This feature is not available on the PlayStation 2 version of the game or when played on the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
.


Reception

Upon its release, ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' was met with critical acclaim. It received an average review score of 95/100, according to review aggregator Metacritic, tying for the fifth-highest ranked game in PlayStation 2 history. ''IGN'' rated the game a 9.9/10 (the highest score it has ever awarded to a PlayStation 2 game), calling it "the defining piece of software" for the PlayStation 2. ''GameSpot'' rated the game 9.6/10, giving it an Editor's Choice award. Jeff Gerstmann said "''San Andreas'' definitely lives up to the ''Grand Theft Auto'' name. In fact, it's arguably the best game in the series." ''San Andreas'' also received an A rating from the ''1UP.com'' network and a 10/10 score from ''Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine''. Common praises were made about the game's open-endedness, the size of the state of San Andreas, and the engaging storyline and voice acting. Most criticisms of the game stemmed from graphical mishaps, poor character models, and low-resolution textures, as well as various control issues, particularly with auto-aiming at enemies. Some critics commented that while much new content had been added to ''San Andreas'', little of it had been refined or implemented well. Nevertheless, since its release, ''San Andreas'' has been regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, placing at number 27 in ''Edge (magazine), Edge'' Top 100 Games to Play Today. ''Edge'' declared that the game remains "the ultimate expression of freedom, before next-gen reined it all back in". In 2015, the game placed 8th on USgamer's The 15 Best Games Since 2000 list.


Sales and commercial success

''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' sold units within six days of release in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it sold an estimated 677,000 copies and grossed about within two days, and sold over copies in nine days. It was the top-selling 2004 in video games, game of 2004, with copies sold in the United States, and over in the United Kingdom. The game generated $235 million in revenue in its first week. By March 2005, the game had sold over 12 million units for the PlayStation 2 alone, making it the List of best-selling PlayStation 2 video games, highest-selling game for PlayStation 2. The game received a "Diamond" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 1 million copies in the United Kingdom. As of 26 March 2008, ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' had sold 21.5 million units, according to Take-Two Interactive. The Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition lists it as the most successful PlayStation 2 game, with 17.33 million copies sold for that console alone from the total of 21.5 million in all formats. In 2011, Kotaku reported that, according to Rockstar Games, ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' had sold 27.5 million copies worldwide.


Controversies

''San Andreas'' was criticised by some for its perceived racial stereotyping. Some saw the alleged stereotyping as ironic, while others defended the game, noting that the storyline could speak to people of different backgrounds. A study of how different groups of youths engaged with the game found that "they do not passively receive the games' images and content".


Hot Coffee mod

In mid-June 2005, a software patch for the game dubbed the "Hot Coffee (mod)" was released by Patrick Wildenborg (under the Internet alias "PatrickW"), a 38-year-old modder from the Netherlands. The name "Hot Coffee" refers to the way the unmodified game alludes to unseen sex scenes. In the original version of the game, the player takes his girlfriend to her front door, and she asks him if he would like to come in for "some coffee". He agrees, and the camera stays outside, swaying back and forth a bit, while moaning sounds are heard. After installing the patch, users can enter the main character's girlfriends' houses and engage in a crudely rendered, fully clothed sexual intercourse mini-game. The fallout from the controversy resulted in a public response from high-ranking politicians in the United States and elsewhere and resulted in the game's recall and re-release. On 20 July 2005, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, ESRB, which establishes content ratings for games sold in North America, changed the rating of the game from Mature (M) to Adults Only (AO), making ''San Andreas'' the only mass-released AO console game in the United States. Rockstar subsequently announced that it would cease production of the version of the game that included the controversial content. Rockstar gave distributors the option of applying an Adults Only ESRB rating sticker to copies of the game or returning them to be replaced by versions without the Hot Coffee content. Many retailers pulled the game off their shelves in compliance with their store regulations that kept them from selling AO-rated games. That same month in Australia, the Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia), Office of Film and Literature Classification revoked its initial rating of MA15+, meaning that the game could no longer be sold in the country. In August 2005, Rockstar North released an official "Cold Coffee" patchNo More Hot Coffee
, ''
Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
'', 2005
for the PC version of the game and re-released ''San Andreas'' with the "Hot Coffee" scenes removed (''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' Version 2.0), allowing the game's earlier M rating to be reinstated. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions have also been re-released with the "Hot Coffee" scenes removed in the Greatest Hits Edition, the Platinum Edition, and the "''Grand Theft Auto'' Trilogy Pack". On 8 November 2007, Take-Two announced a proposed settlement to the class-action litigation that had been brought against them following the Hot Coffee controversy. If the court approved the proposed settlement, neither Take-Two nor Rockstar would admit liability or wrongdoing. Consumers would be able to swap their AO-rated copies of the game for M-rated versions and may also qualify for a $35 cash payment upon signing a sworn statement. A report in ''The New York Times'' on 25 June 2008 revealed that a total of 2,676 claims for the compensation package had been filed.


Legacy

Following the success of ''San Andreas'', Rockstar followed it up with two handheld games by Rockstar Leeds - ''Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'', set in the late 1990s, and ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'' in the mid 1980s. Both were developed for the PlayStation Portable handheld, and designed as prequels to ''Grand Theft Auto III'' and ''Vice City'' respectively, though eliminating some elements introduced in ''San Andreas'', such as the need to eat and exercise, and swimming (although ''Vice City Stories'' re-introduced it, but in a limited capacity). The series would continue with 2008's ''
Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...
'', and 2013's ''
Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...
''. ''San Andreas'' marked the technological pinnacle of the 3D era of ''Grand Theft Auto'', although the development team believed that the design of its setting, incorporating three cities based on their real-life counterparts, had been too ambitious and did not allow the real-life locations to be emulated properly. Although the continuity of the setting would be retained in the handheld-focused spin-offs, Rockstar began establishing a new continuity for the series with the advent of the seventh-generation consoles, focused more on realism and details, including a full emulation of real-life cities used in settings, though with a scaled-back list of Video game voice acting, celebrity voice actors that had been prominent in the previous continuity. The launch of ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' led to Rockstar redesigning the setting of Liberty City, with the third incarnation being more heavily based upon the real-life
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
- amongst the improvements made included more depth in the number of buildings used and the detail with each, and removing any dead spots or irrelevant spaces. When Ars Technica reviewed ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', he noted that the "slight regression of the series from ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''" in terms of its setting was "surprising". The focus on realism and depth was continued with ''Grand Theft Auto V'', though aimed at providing a more expansive setting than ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', with the development team re-designing Los Santos, a city in ''San Andreas'', to fully emulate the real-life city of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, thus creating a setting with a higher quality, and at a grander scale with the incorporation of countryside and desert areas. Houser elaborated that "to do a proper version of L.A., [...] the game has to give you a sense of that sprawl — if not completely replicate it", and thus deemed that dividing both the budget and workforce to create multiple cities would have detracted from the goal of emulating the real-life setting. Garbut felt that, in the PlayStation 2 era, the team did not have the technical capabilities to capture Los Angeles properly, resulting in the ''San Andreas'' rendition of Los Santos feeling like a "backdrop or a game level with pedestrians randomly milling about", effectively deeming ''San Andreas'' as a jumping-off point for ''Grand Theft Auto V'' with the newer generation of consoles. As Garbut explained, with the move to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hardware, "our processes and the fidelity of the world [had] evolved so much from ''San Andreas''" that using it as a model would have been redundant.


Ports

''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' was made available on the digital distribution platform Steam (service), Steam in January 2008, and received a notable amount of updates after its launch. On 7 November 2014, an update caused controversy after 17 tracks from the soundtrack were removed due to expired licences. Other drawbacks of the update included removal of widescreen support (which was later fixed via another minor update), and certain regions being incompatible with older saves. Both old and new owners were affected by the update, unlike with ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', where only new owners were affected due to a similar update. Additionally, the game received native support for XInput-enabled gamepads and the removal of digital rights management software. A port of ''San Andreas'' for select
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
devices was released on 12 December 2013. It was followed closely by ports to Android (operating system), Android devices on 19 December 2013,
Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
devices on 27 January 2014, and
Fire OS Fire OS is a mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project, it is developed by Amazon for their devices. Fire OS includes proprietary software, a customized user interface primarily centered on content consumption, and heavy ...
devices on 15 May 2014. The upgrades and enhancements from the original game include newly remastered graphics, consisting of Shadow mapping, dynamic and detailed shadows, greater draw distance, an enriched colour palette, plus enhanced character and car models. In 2008, the original Xbox version was released on Xbox 360 as an Video game console emulator, emulated port, and part of the List of Xbox Originals, Xbox Originals line-up. However, in late 2014 it was removed from the Xbox Live Marketplace and replaced with a port of the mobile version on 26 October 2014, the game's tenth anniversary. It featured HD 720p resolution, enhanced draw distance, a Checkpoint (video gaming), checkpoint system, a new menu interface, and Achievement (video gaming), achievements. While it introduced many new features, around ten songs were removed from the HD version that were present in the original due to licensing issues, and numerous new bugs were introduced. A physical release followed on 30 June 2015 in North America and 17 July 2015 elsewhere, under the "Platinum Hits" banner ("Classics" in PAL regions). ''San Andreas'' was first released on PlayStation 3 in December 2012 as an emulated List of PlayStation 2 Classics, PS2 Classic. This version was also removed in late 2014, leading to rumours of a PS3 HD release. However, this was not the case at the time, and the PS2 Classic later returned. In early November 2015, the game was re-rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, ESRB for an upcoming PS3-native release. The HD version was released on 1 December 2015, replacing the PS2 Classic on the PlayStation Store, and on physical media, gaining instant "Greatest Hits (PlayStation), Greatest Hits" status in North America. There has also been a PlayStation 4 version released, though unlike the port for the PlayStation 3, it is the PlayStation 2 game running via Video game console emulator, emulation, although it still has trophies and some songs edited out due to licensing restrictions. An enhanced version of ''San Andreas'', subtitled '' The Definitive Edition'' was released alongside ''Grand Theft Auto III'' and ''Vice City'' for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, and Xbox Series X/S in 2021; versions for Android and iOS devices are also in development. ''The Definitive Edition'' replaced existing versions of the game on digital retailers. A
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
version of the game is in development for
Oculus Quest 2 Meta Quest 2 (initially sold as Oculus Quest 2) is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.). It was unveiled on September 16, 2020 and released on October 13. As with its predecessor, the Oculus Que ...
.


Notes


References


External links

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