Rockstar 'deliberately avoiding' first-person shooters

Rockstar's Dan Houser says the company intentionally avoids doing whatever happens to be popular, and first-person shooters are a prime example.

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Rockstar wants to go against the grain, experimenting with unconventional settings and time periods, as we've seen in the past year with games like LA Noire and Red Dead Redemption. The company has even dipped its toes into sports with Table Tennis, but the company has managed to avoid one of the biggest genres: first-person shooters. According to Rockstar's Dan Houser, that's intentional.

"We're deliberately avoiding [FPS] right now," Houser told Famitsu (via 1UP). "It's in our DNA to avoid doing what other companies are doing. I suppose you could say that Max Payne 3 is something close to an FPS, but there are really unique aspects to the setting and gameplay there, too, not just in the story. You have to have originality in your games; you have to have some kind of interesting message. You could say that the goalpoint of Rockstar is to have the players really feel what we're trying to do."

It's not terribly surprising given the company's reputation, but it is interesting to find out that it's such a conscious choice. Whatever the semi-revealed Grand Theft Auto V ends up being, you can bet smart money that it won't be first-person.

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  • reply
    October 27, 2011 1:00 PM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Rockstar 'deliberately avoiding' first-person shooters.

    Rockstar's Dan Houser says the company intentionally avoids doing whatever happens to be popular, and first-person shooters are a prime example.

    • reply
      October 27, 2011 5:02 PM

      As the old saying goes, if you cant do something right, dont.

    • reply
      October 27, 2011 5:18 PM

      Take it one step further and avoid any game with shooting in it at all. I can't think of a Rockstar game where I've ever really enjoyed the combat.

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        October 27, 2011 8:26 PM

        Yeah, they do a lot well, but I've never been a fan of their controls and combat.

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        October 27, 2011 8:30 PM

        I know, I would have preferred LA Noire to have even less combat in it.

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        October 27, 2011 8:32 PM

        [deleted]

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        October 27, 2011 8:52 PM

        I'd love a GTA-like game where the missions involved actually being a gangster rather than a space marine in gangster's clothing. I don't know how fun it would be or how easy it'd be to pull off, but I was really disappointed when GTA4 (and to a lesser extent, RDR) wound up being as ridiculous as Vice City with its missions.

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      October 27, 2011 8:17 PM

      "It's in our DNA to avoid doing what other companies are doing."

      I wish that you would avoid making sloppy PC ports.

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