Has Darling paved way for GTA London?

[AnthMUFC-Champs]

 

Has Darling paved way for GTA London?

 

New ‘culturally British’ tax test could see Rockstar’s dev budget slashed by £11m if next GTA is set in the UK

 

Chancellor Alistair Darling’s pledge to support the video games development industry with tax breaks could do more than simply protect the future of the UK dev sector – it could also have dictated the setting of the next Grand Theft Auto.

 

Though the exact criteria of the tax break requirements is yet to be decided, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has indicated that it will follow a similar model to that currently applied to the UK film industry.

 

Under that model, those seeking relief must score at least 16 points out of a possible 31 in a ‘culturally British’ test. There are four criteria under which studios can qualify that are as follows:

 

a) Cultural Content (16 pts) – Determining whether the film’s narrative is set in the UK, whether its lead characters are British, whether the film is centred on British subject matter, and if the dialogue is recorded “in the English language”.

b) Cultural Contribution (4 pts) – Determining whether the film represents “a diverse British culture, British heritage or British creativity”.



c) Cultural Hubs (3 pts) – Determining whether the film is produced in the UK studios.

d) Cultural Practitioners (8 pts) – Determining whether the cast, crew and/or producers come from the EEA (European Economic Area), with points based on each role.

 

A developer based in the UK will not score sufficiently on that basis alone, meaning that projects will have to meet part A to qualify for tax relief.

 

So, for instance, the fact that Rockstar has studios based in the UK (Leeds, London and Edinburgh) is not enough on its own to guarantee its eligibility for the new tax measures. But setting the next Grand Theft Auto in London, for instance, could lead to significant savings.

 

It was recently estimated that GTA IV cost approximately $100m to produce. Though its sequel will hopefully cost less – owing to that fact that less investment will be needed in engine development – it will still inevitably be a hugely expensive project.

 

And estimates put the typical saving for films qualifying for relief at around 16 per cent of their total production budget – meaning Rockstar could potentially save around £10.7m if the next game is set in London. Or any other UK city, of course.

 

And yes, we know that there has already been a GTA London. But that doesn't rule out another one, does it?

 

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/38181/Has-Darlin...-for-GTA-London

 

I think London would be very good although i do not beleive this is enough proof.

[Lunatic8randon]

It could be incentive to do so but at the same time location could affect sales so the savings might not be worth it.

[mad.man]

Wishful thinking, nothing more.

[Akavari]

f*ck yeah London is a beautiful city that is like the UK equivalent of New York. It's not like it would be a backwards GTA world; they speak English and all -.-

[The Notorious MOB]

Probably the strongest thing put forward to support London being the next Location.. But is it strong enough?? No.

 

Rockstar will make millions off of the next gta no matter where it's set.. so they simply don't need the tax breaks.

[jnzooger]

The real question is, what if the game is only half set in the UK? Like what if part of the map is based on France?

 

I am still a strong supporter of a game based on the UK and France together, including a parody of the Chunnel.

[Phazar]

London. f*ck yeah.

[Typhus]

I hope for London with some squalid Essex towns thrown in. Like London, with Basildon and Southend on the outskirts and perhaps Canvey Island too.

I really think it's England's turn now. Although I am an Englishman, so I'm a little biased perhaps.

[AnthMUFC-Champs]

Yes London with its surrounding areas would be ace because it all adds up to make a good game,

 

The River separates London in real Life and could do in the game

Surrounding areas would be needed as London is not on the coast.

It could use its real names of places.

[EduardKoeleJuck]

It could use its real names of places.

That's why I don't want f*cking London. If it was like that, there should also be real cars, real clothes, everything.

[DjMiikkii]

Yea I would like a game set in London. I remember the good old days of playing "The Getaway" on PS2. Good times

[Tommy Dickfingers]

I hope it's London too.

 

They've now done Liberty City perfectly.

As far as i'm concerned they did Vice City & San Andreas perfectly, so no need to re-do these places.

 

London is the logical step.

 

They could just call it GTA UK!

[Interrobangin]

The game might fail the test, since it will inevitably portray any city in a negative light (which is probably quite a large factor in why fictional settings are preferred—but by no means a driving point). That doesn't say whether it’s here nor there, though; if Rockstar were going to set GTA in London, I imagine they’d do it with or without a tax break.

[cultivator]

Ehhh, hold on. "I really think it's England's turn now." Where the f*ck do you get that logic? The GTA games are made in Scotland, therefore it should be SCOTLAND's turn now. Glasgow's a sh*thole, so it's the perfect setting for a GTA game.

[Claude4Catalina]

good point. I think seeing as Rockstar would probably like to save money, like all companies want at the end of the day, I think they could use this to their advantage.

[jnzooger]

Yes London with its surrounding areas would be ace because it all adds up to make a good game,

 

The River separates London in real Life and could do in the game

Surrounding areas would be needed as London is not on the coast.

It could use its real names of places.

There is no reason to use the real names, nor would they. It can still be recognizably UK based, and still qualify for the tax credit, without being set in the real UK.

[SmC12]

Ehhh, hold on. "I really think it's England's turn now." Where the f*ck do you get that logic? The GTA games are made in Scotland, therefore it should be SCOTLAND's turn now. Glasgow's a sh*thole, so it's the perfect setting for a GTA game.

Hell Yeah! LOL but please don't do a GTA Glasgow, there are other places.

 

I think a GTA in the UK could be a good step for R* to try places outside the USA, but IMHO i think GTA is best in the USA because that's where we've spent most of our GTA day's and we loved it so it's better for them to stay in a setting they're comfortable with, because if they try London (they haven't been there since before III) in GTA V it might not be as good because we're not used to GTA being in a different country, and neither are R*.

 

So i think GTA should stick to where it is done best and the location we love playing in so much.

 

Don't get me wrong, London is nice and all but would it really be the GTA game that we've enjoyed since the III era? Crime in the UK is bad but GTA suits the American crime better i think.

[Guanxi]

I suppose if they were still undecided at this point this might swing it for a London-inspired setting.

 

The main reason I think London is a major contender this time is going back to what Dan Houser said in an interview about where the idea for GTA IV came from. Apparently Dan and Sam were sat having lunch out in NYC one day and over the course of the conversion they decided that they (meaning Sam) had never really 'done' NYC before and felt after 10 years spent living there they had the confidence to finally do it justice.

 

After reading a follow-up interview with Dan post-GTA IV it struck he felt incredibly homesick at that moment in time and revealed that he still spends a good few months out of every year in London and has never really 'left' but Sam much more of a New Yorker now.

 

So I think the fact that they both grew up in London and are intimately familiar with it along with Dan feeling the connection to London that Sam has for NYC bodes it in a particularly good standing. Vice City came from Sam's obsession with Miami Vice and the 80's so I wouldn't underestimate the importance of these personal connections.

 

 

 

 

[General Goose]

Darling has awesome eyebrows.

 

Hmm. This is interesting. I could see R*, if they made a few adjustments to a game set in America, JUST getting these tax breaks, but, this certainly makes a stronger case for a game set in London.

[iLiaWneK]

 

Glasgow's a sh*thole, so it's the perfect setting for a GTA game.

Oh boy, would I love it if it were to be based in Glasgow. I've known the city from when I was young, so I would be amusing to see all the landmarks and stuff. Gangs would only really consist of "neds" and "young teams" though.

 

On second thought, Glasgow's crime rate with firearms isn't high enough, and GTA wouldn't be very fun without guns.

[SmC12]

Glasgow's a sh*thole, so it's the perfect setting for a GTA game.

Oh boy, would I love it if it were to be based in Glasgow. I've known the city from when I was young, so I would be amusing to see all the landmarks and stuff. Gangs would only really consist of "neds" and "young teams" though.

 

On second thought, Glasgow's crime rate with firearms isn't high enough, and GTA wouldn't be very fun without guns.

LOL it would just be a bunch of Alcoholics and drug addicts running around smoking hash

 

And all the dialog would be like this:

"Awwryyyt mahhn ye got ani Buuckky?" <- A guy on the street corner with a Tracksuit and some stupid hat, and stinks of Alcohol etc. with a bunch of wannabe gangsters beside him lol.

 

Gun crime is low, very low but it has some of the Highest knife crime in Western Europe, and also some of the highest Alcohol levels, and the lowest life expectancy.... So yeah.. it's a sh*thole ,GTA perfect.

 

(No offense to anyone who lives in Glasgow, there has been some improvements recently.)

[Ryan Pinnick]

Could be GTA uk like someone else said. Could be set in scotland england and northen ireland. Has anyone seen the bit at the end of ballad of gay tony i think it was im not sure. with the credits on packie is going to the airport. Maybe back to ireland. if he did this he could travel to scotland and england looking to track down someone. Would be ace and a realy variety of characters. Id would personally love it.

[maxopower]

Rockstar Don’t need tax breaks, they print money!

[General Goose]

Rockstar Don’t need tax breaks, they print money!

No, that's Nintendo.

 

[Zelos302]

I don't think they will put it in London. Like with Liberty City, the GTA IV game pissed the mayor of NYC off because it gave the city a bad rumor with violence and drugs n that. And London isn't the typical place some gangs will go around and shoot the sh*t out of each other so yeah probably either VC but most possibly SA... which will be epic.

[General Goose]

I don't think they will put it in London. Like with Liberty City, the GTA IV game pissed the mayor of NYC off because it gave the city a bad rumor with violence and drugs n that. And London isn't the typical place some gangs will go around and shoot the sh*t out of each other so yeah probably either VC but most possibly SA... which will be epic.

London already has a bad, undeniable reputation with violence and drugs and gangs and all that.

[LateForTheSky]

Since its its GTA, I don't think it should be set in london but a london parody with a maverick DCI in charge of the MET. LIke in 'Life on Mars' and 'Ashes to Ashes'. I also think that it would only work if set in the past. Modern london is to grey and not cool enough. Whereas retro london would be prity sweet. Its besides the point anyway because Vice City would still kick its ass.