Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, San Andreas PlayStation Exclusivity Deal Was Signed Partially Due to Sony Being Worried About Xbox

Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas launched as PlayStation 2 exclusives back in the day, and the deal to bring these games exclusively to the console was signed partially because Sony was worried about Xbox.

Speaking during an EGX London special session hosted by GamesIndustry’s Christopher Dring, Chris Deering, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president up until the release of the PlayStation 3, commented on the many deals that made several third-party games PlayStation exclusives, saying that some of them, such as the Grand Theft Auto exclusivity deal, were signed partially as a reaction to Xbox. The company was worried when they saw the console coming, and they knew exclusivity was a big deal in other fields, so, as the first Xbox launch was approaching, they spoke with some of their favorite third-party developers and publishers, asking them if they would have liked to sign a special deal to keep their next-generation games PlayStation exclusives for two years. Take-Two was among the publishers that accepted the offer, which paid off in a very big way against expectations, as Grand Theft Auto wasn’t as big as it is nowadays, with its first top-down entries not having exactly set the world on fire.

Besides commenting on the Grand Theft Auto exclusivity deal, other former Sony executives commented on other interesting facts about PlayStation’s 30-year history, such as trade media skepticism of the PlayStation 2, the well-known PlayStation 3 development issues, London Studio complaining about the lack of a built-in camera for the PlayStation 4, and more. You can find more about these facts and other anecdotes here.