Rockstar North eyes $1-bn in Grand Theft Auto-V sales

A new blockbuster has arrived on the gaming scene which features just about anything gaming enthusiasts would fancy – from bank heists and skydiving to stock trading and yoga.

According to commentators, the Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) will likely redefine the contours of video gaming on when it releases next week.

Interspersed with flashes of earthy Caledonian humour and in-jokes, the game is the brainchild of Rockstar North, a studio based in Edinburgh's Greenside Row.

The game has been developed over five years, with a marketing budget of £170 million which compares well with that of a blockbuster film.

Given the stupendous success of the series, industry experts believe the latest incarnation would blow the record books, selling 25 million copies in the first year alone, and netting £1 billion in sales.

Confidence in the release has pushed up shares in Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent firm, to nearly double their value in the past year.

The new game is set amidst a satirical recreation of southern California, with players able to switch between three protagonists.

The 49-square-mile world offers numerous activities, from scuba diving with sharks to hijacking trains.

For those who have been tracking the growth of the franchise from its humble beginnings to possibly the largest entertainment product in the world, there was little doubt the new release would become a huge hit.

Dave Jones, creator of the first GTA game, remembers one of the most tame similies to describe the anarchic actions of GTA's protagonist.

He said the analogy used was that the player was Pac-Man, the ghosts were the police, and the little dots that Pac-Man used to run around and munch up were the pedestrians.

Initial builds of Grand Theft Auto even allowed the character to play as a police officer, but, according to Jones, that was no fun and it did not let the imagination of the players to run wild.

He added, it was always more fun playing the bad guy and trying to escape.

GTA's creators say when GTA V is unveiled, it would  feature a 1,000-page script set across 49 square miles of metropolis and wilderness in Los Santos, the game's equivalent of Los Angeles.

Players would be able to explore the vast area in hundreds of vehicles (130 separate models featured in the last version) and as three separate characters, each with their own plots and intrigues to discover.

Also one could take a push-bike up a canyon, park by the beach, watch the sun set over the mountains or photograph the wildlife.