Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, has explained why it took action against those awesome remakes of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Vice City.
Following a DMCA notice from Take-Two Interactive, the mods GTA Underground, Vice City Stories: PC Edition, Liberty City Stories: PC Edition and San Andreas Reimagined were all removed from the Internet. Given the level of effort that was expended on these personal projects and that they were intended to be shared with fellow fans, this must have been crushing news for the creators. And, these mods were really cool. GTA Underground stitched together the maps of San Andreas, Liberty City, Vice City, Manhunt I, Manhunt II and Bullworth from Bully... and one of the modders was only 14 years old when he had the original idea for a "3D universe" for Rockstar Games.
Like a dream, am I right? That's why it was confusing when these projects were served a DMCA takedown notice. The modders weren't lining their pockets with downloads of their creations and these mods were a show of appreciation for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Vice City. Now, a little light has been shed on why Take-Two Interactive didn't see things the same way.
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Speaking in an investor call, CEO Strauss Zelnick (a brilliant name, isn't it) said that these mods were actually acting against the company's interests. "In terms of takedowns, we're pretty flexible, frankly. That said, if the economy is threatened or if there's bad behavior, and we know how to define that, then we would issue or would take to notice," explained Zelnick.
Bad behaviour? So, essentially, someone writes a love letter to one of your games, and when they arrive on your doorstep with a bunch of roses, you pull out the spray bottle of water and yell, "Back! Back I say!" Moreover, these are mods for very old games. The possible impact on Take-Two Interactive's earnings resulting from the existence of these mods is not going to be very noticeable.
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The transcript from the call specifically states that Take-Two Interactive's fiscal results are thanks to the combined performance of Grand Theft Auto Online, Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online and Borderlands 3. Consequently, it seems slightly unnecessary to come down on these San Andreas and Vice City mods like a tonne of bricks.
Featured Image Credit: Rockstar GamesTopics: Rockstar Games, News, Grand Theft Auto