[Typhoid]

The reason I think they're sticking with what they know is this, It's going to be long-winded. a long post by me? No way.

Anyhow, after Miami (Vice City), Los angeles (San Andreas) and new York (Liberty City), what other major visibly unique-looking cities are there in the US to model on? With those 3 cities you've got the northeast, southeast, and west coast pretty well represented. Chicago isn't a visibly-unique city. A non-American won't look at Chicago and say "yep, that's Chicago alright", but when they look at a picture of Miami, New York or LA, they typically know exactly what city it is.

A reason I believe they'll rarely do a GTA game set in another country is because other countries have different laws, different road rules, plus there's a disconnect between American player and foreign character. Your average American teenager living in...Akron, Ohio might not appreciate driving through bleak Russian wilderness, or Perth, Australia. However that American consumer can much easier connect with the game set in a fictional version of his own country (or even his own city). Granted that may be a stretch.

Plus, in all honesty, I think a GTA game in any city other than those 3 would probably vastly suck donkey taint. Those are 3 very large, visually diverse cities. You can't make an appealing game set in middle America when the game is supposed to be based on stunning visuals and a thriving city, and the setting is a place that doesn't show that off.

However, I do think it'd be a cool idea to be able to fly to different cities. Like you can just hop in a Taxi in GTA IV, just hop in a jet, and suddenly you've flown from Liberty City to San Andreas. Or maybe have side missions in other countries/smaller cities. That would be cool to me. But a Grand Theft Auto game sort of has to be set in a fictional version of a city with a lot of crime. Or at least a city with a lot of Grand Theft Auto.