this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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[–] Lfrith@lemmy.ca 132 points 1 day ago (4 children)

GTA online is the worst thing to happen to the series, since it killed off story DLCs. Which were a fantastic way to get new story based content for their games between the years long wait between sequels. Damn those gamers and their obsession with buying microtransactions.

[–] real_squids@sopuli.xyz 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

On the flip side, it's given it insane longevity and made it feel more modern. Playing singleplayer feels so annoying at times because of their arbitrary rules (which are still in online, but toned down a little) and gameplay/mission design.

At least GTAO showed everyone rockstar's true nature, and you couldn't turn away or say that it's a small alternative game mode.
So shoutout to online and 5 as a whole for showing me enough to avoid all future rockstar titles lol

[–] tootoughtoremember@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago (4 children)

GTA5 was released in 2013. GTA6 is being released 13 years later. If there had been no GTAO, we would have had at least one or two more "modern" GTA releases in that window.

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[–] echodot@feddit.uk 16 points 1 day ago

Then they double killed it when they started introducing nonsense like flying cars with rocket launchers.

[–] TheMonk@lemmings.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I don’t understand why people needed to give them constant money. For real, I played for a minute but never spent a dime. Why buy things when you can achieve them?

[–] binarytobis@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

To be honest I regret spending so much time earning money and buying so many cars. It would have been more fun riding around in a stolen piece of trash robbing liquor stores with a friend than grinding the bank heist over and over.

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, the online component easily becomes a profitable sideline. Sarcastically, it's what keeps some game corporation CEOs afford their lifestyles.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago

I fucking hate how there is starvation and homelessness in the world, at the same time as there is morons blasting cash away into imaginary online points.

[–] Sabata11792@ani.social 35 points 1 day ago (2 children)

So, I loose no functionality when I pirate it?

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 day ago

Wrong. You "lose" the age verification feature.

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

You might not be able to connect to FiveM servers, which IMO is a major loss. FiveM is the real GTA V.

[–] tinned_tomatoes@feddit.uk 32 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Isn't GTAV an 18 rated game? So children shouldn't be able to buy it in the first place.

[–] themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

This falls on the parents instead because of dumb laws every one has to deal with this, I just hope that not all countries are this insane:

users in the UK have had to take photos of themselves and upload it to a service that uses AI to guess their age. Or, send in photos of ID such as passports or driving licenses.

[–] vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 19 hours ago

The point is to make children used to checks.

It's a didactic law.

IRL usually children grow up feeling they are free (except for their parents) to an extent.

This is intended so that identifying yourself in the Internet were normal by the time you grow up for it to matter.

But, of course, there might be some good considerations, if you're into playing devil's advocate. People might remember which stupid shit they were posting when they were younger, and want for future generations to be always conscious of the difference between pseudonymity and anonymity, and superficial anonymity vs real. People might want to make it so that nobody had a false sense of security, leading to really bad mistakes. People might want this to be the step preceding some way to fight bots.

And they might even not have good considerations, but eventually realize that the oppressive system they are building is best rebuilt for something better and used differently. Wouldn't be the first time in history.

It's just that laying down your arms in hopes for that is unwise.

If they roll this out to my country, I'm just not buying any of their games. My privacy is worth a lot more than that.

I might still play them, I just won't buy them, because I'm not doing age verification.

[–] DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

If we're going to government age verification everywhere just get rid of fucking ESRB and content ratings

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (3 children)

If we’re going to government age verification everywhere just get rid of fucking ESRB and content ratings

This is a game made in Scotland, ESRB is a voluntary US based system.

[–] SheeEttin@lemmy.zip 20 points 1 day ago

PEGI, then.

[–] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago

Made even sillier because Rockstar isn't a government.

[–] Thunderbird4@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

Yes, it’s voluntary and self-imposed by the game industry to avoid exactly this kind of nanny-state bullshit. Ergo, if governments proceed with the bullshit anyway, then there’s no longer a need for the ESRB or PEGI.

[–] AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Can you even call it GTA online if there aren't a dozen 12 year olds running around screaming, "N***** and F*****".

[–] Bennyboybumberchums@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Moms are still getting plenty of action though, right? Wont someone think of the moms!!!!

[–] FuckFascism@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I'm thinking of your mom right now don't worry maboy.

[–] Bennyboybumberchums@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago (3 children)

Phew. I dont know what she'd do, with out all the xbox bros fucking her 12 times a night...

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[–] Akasazh@feddit.nl 17 points 1 day ago

And nothing of worth was lost

[–] yggstyle@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Maybe I'm dating myself but this is the same company that released state of emergency for the PS2? That game you could literally mow down people in a mall with a mini gun?

They were worried about "the children?" News to me.

[–] Muffi@programming.dev 7 points 21 hours ago

They have way more investors to jerk off and please now

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 5 points 10 hours ago

My mum enjoyed the bonus level in the mall where you could just kill like 100 people as fast as you could.

Her favourite weapon is the flamethrower.

Her first reaction to the game was "that's disgusting", but I let her have a go and suddenly she was toasting a whole crowd and loving every minute of it.

[–] lemmyknow@lemmy.today 2 points 15 hours ago

I remember when me neighbour got Bully, another Rockstar game

[–] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 1 points 18 hours ago

I mean the whole "ban gta" movement was started by rockstar themselves. They riled up the masses about how dangerous gta is, and it worked. The moms hopped onto the train and the whole movement gained momentum and the made billions.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 13 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

With the reputation most companies have with leaking and breached data, who wouldn't want to have their ssn and license on file with rock star games?!

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 4 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Is it even hard ro find someone's SSN anymore?

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

Not really, the assholes used the last four of it for college emails in the 2000s FFS.

[–] HeyJoe@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Phew, ok good. A few months ago, when this first leaked, it made it seem like this was going to be used for every country and for the entire game. I have never played GTA online and never will.

The internet is continuing to get worse and worse... also, those comments on the actual article were strangely to pro.

[–] Matriks404@lemmy.world 8 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (3 children)

The thing with age verification is that I don't think it's a bad thing if done securely, but still it still makes me sad, because Internet will never be the same with it. In the end it will be only few big websites who can afford to care about Internet regulation.

Well, after all maybe it's time to switch to Gemini protocol, they are not going to regulate that!

[–] ToxicWaste@lemmy.cafe 11 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

age verification is just a BS strawman. do you remember when we where young? we would access stuff and find ways to buy stuff. but whenever there was a reasonable but fair gap, it would be much harder to get whatever we wanted: buying weed was so much easier, than buying alcohol (without the appropriate age).

pirating is easy (even i figured it out before having enough money to buy movies & games). so the kids will just pirate that stuff and get their way anyway. age verification at the store makes so much more sense. sure, there are ways to circumvent those. but it is a reasonable stop block.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 1 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Don't see how pirating well overcome the online age check.

[–] ToxicWaste@lemmy.cafe 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Matriks404@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

But Rockstar Games acquired FiveM back in 2023, so I don't see how is that relevant to piracy. In fact even if it wasn't, there was nothing illegal about it as far as I am aware.

[–] ToxicWaste@lemmy.cafe 3 points 10 hours ago

if you can run a private server, you can get rid of all 'phone home' requirements.

so you just need a cracked copy of the game itself. luckily it is completely legal to remove digital locks on anything you bought in many countries (not the usa though).

Parents will just have their kids play on their accounts. This only hurts the average person who now needs to worry about who has that information and how it's secured.

[–] cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 13 hours ago

I though google's assistant Gemini

[–] MangioneDontMiss@lemmy.ca 8 points 18 hours ago

and i plan to pirate GTA

[–] vxx@lemmy.world 5 points 12 hours ago

The same parents that allow their children to play these games now will allow them to play then.

This will just make me not want to play these games.

[–] JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I hope they don't block VPN access.

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago

They absolutely will

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