GTA: PR guru orchestrated media outcry to make original game a success, claim devs
Grand Theft Auto debuted in 1997 to media and political outcry. Creators of the series Dave Jones and Mike Dailly have revealed how PR guru Max Clifford was behind the media backlash that thrust GTA into the public eye.
GI.biz reports on an interview in the Sunday Times, in which Dailly claimed, "Max Clifford made it all happen. He designed all the outcry, which pretty much guaranteed MPs would get involved... He'd do anything to keep the profile high."
Jones added, "He told us how he would play it, who he would target, what those people targeted would say. Every word he said came true. We knew why every decision was made, and we were never, ever influenced by 'let's do something to create a bit of controversy"
"We always did everything from the perspective of what's going to be the most fun. It just naturally kept pushing us down the darker direction, "Jones concluded.
The original GTA sparked protest from concerned MPs who feared that the game might influence young minds, and for the depictions of violence and crime within. Regardless it spawned the franchise that you know today, and it is one of the most bankable IP on the market today.
Also, remember this?
