(RANT) I wonder who’s idea it was to change the intro artwork for the PS4 version

[LucidLocomotive]

The artwork during the initial boot up/intro was so much better in the PS3 version. It conveyed the drama of the story, though not quite as well as the console version of the GTA IV equivalent. 
 

I mean, the artwork of Dave Norton stressfully talking on the phone, Michael with the bullet proof vest, the love fist girl being arrested, Trevor holding the lighter in front of O’neals house. These were removed from the PS4 version even though they were the best ones.

 

replacing them, they put in Michael loading a pistol? What makes that better than the one before with the vest? He also had a pistol in that one. Wei Cheng dancing with the tie around his head? Amanda doing a yoga pose? The overweight woman Trevor gets bounties from? The very generic Franklin with the baseball bat. These initial new PS4 artworks were clearly just inferior to the PS3 ones they replaced. They removed the elements of drama, themes, and story that went with it, instead replacing them with very generic shots of the characters just standing there.

 

luckily at first they kept some of the dramatic ones, such as Michael counting money with the duffel bag, Franklin with the chain and chop, Lester with the inhaler, for example. 
 

then at some point, not sure when, somebody had the idea to make it even worse! When you update the game to the latest version, they have removed ALL of the artworks that convey story elements. Instead we get Denise? Steve Haines pointing? The generic Franklin and Michael ones. So as of now, when you boot the game up on PS4, you see these very random characters like Denise, in very generic poses, every single time. It does the same art cycle every time.

 

why on earth would they do this? Did they get rid of the taste and aesthetics department at Rockstar North? Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea? Anyone with the smallest inkling of taste can see that all of the original PS3 artworks were clearly superior to these new generic ones. Not only were they more detailed, more dramatic, and conveyed elements of the story and themes with them, but they also included all of the most relevant characters. The bikini girl (every GTA has a “girl” like the Bond girl), the 3 protagonists, Dave, Lester, etc. but now, it not only has these generic stripped down, less detailed bland artworks, but it also has the most random civilian characters like Denise. 
 

I really wish I could understand this. How and why they could and would not only remove superior art for inferior art initially, but THEN remove all of the superior art in favor of the dumb art and then permanently lock it in with that. So now assuming with E&E the PS4 version doesn’t get anymore updates,  20 years from now when people want to play GTA V, with the PS4 version arguably being the most definitive, they are going to leave the legacy of this game with this crappy intro art when they had something so much better before?

 

The original PS3 boot up art cycle was so clearly more consistent with the boot up art for GTA IV, TLaD, and TBoGT. The PS3 one just seemed more conducive to narrative, and way more consistent to the overall vision and aesthetic of the HD Universe

[FewPoleCat42]

I feel the same way. Thanks for the history of the loading screen.

[Americana]

It's because there is no real drama in this joke of a game. Everything has to be funny, man.

[MaddenedGhost]

Of all things to complain about... you found this one

[DODI3OG]

Realistic Steak 2.0

[Flymystical-DJ]

On the flip side, why weren't they changed for the PS5 release?! It would have been a perfect time to remove all references to the story and make the game feel like a standalone GTA Online because that's clearly what they were going for. But nope! Let's remind players they're playing a 10 year old game every boot up so they'll question what they're doing with their lives and do something else. I guess they just HAD to have Franklin with his iconic baseball bat?

[Unspoken OH]

On 4/29/2022 at 11:50 AM, LucidLocomotive said:

The artwork during the initial boot up/intro was so much better in the PS3 version. It conveyed the drama of the story, though not quite as well as the console version of the GTA IV equivalent. 
 

I mean, the artwork of Dave Norton stressfully talking on the phone, Michael with the bullet proof vest, the love fist girl being arrested, Trevor holding the lighter in front of O’neals house. These were removed from the PS4 version even though they were the best ones.

 

replacing them, they put in Michael loading a pistol? What makes that better than the one before with the vest? He also had a pistol in that one. Wei Cheng dancing with the tie around his head? Amanda doing a yoga pose? The overweight woman Trevor gets bounties from? The very generic Franklin with the baseball bat. These initial new PS4 artworks were clearly just inferior to the PS3 ones they replaced. They removed the elements of drama, themes, and story that went with it, instead replacing them with very generic shots of the characters just standing there.

 

luckily at first they kept some of the dramatic ones, such as Michael counting money with the duffel bag, Franklin with the chain and chop, Lester with the inhaler, for example. 
 

then at some point, not sure when, somebody had the idea to make it even worse! When you update the game to the latest version, they have removed ALL of the artworks that convey story elements. Instead we get Denise? Steve Haines pointing? The generic Franklin and Michael ones. So as of now, when you boot the game up on PS4, you see these very random characters like Denise, in very generic poses, every single time. It does the same art cycle every time.

 

why on earth would they do this? Did they get rid of the taste and aesthetics department at Rockstar North? Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea? Anyone with the smallest inkling of taste can see that all of the original PS3 artworks were clearly superior to these new generic ones. Not only were they more detailed, more dramatic, and conveyed elements of the story and themes with them, but they also included all of the most relevant characters. The bikini girl (every GTA has a “girl” like the Bond girl), the 3 protagonists, Dave, Lester, etc. but now, it not only has these generic stripped down, less detailed bland artworks, but it also has the most random civilian characters like Denise. 
 

I really wish I could understand this. How and why they could and would not only remove superior art for inferior art initially, but THEN remove all of the superior art in favor of the dumb art and then permanently lock it in with that. So now assuming with E&E the PS4 version doesn’t get anymore updates,  20 years from now when people want to play GTA V, with the PS4 version arguably being the most definitive, they are going to leave the legacy of this game with this crappy intro art when they had something so much better before?

 

The original PS3 boot up art cycle was so clearly more consistent with the boot up art for GTA IV, TLaD, and TBoGT. The PS3 one just seemed more conducive to narrative, and way more consistent to the overall vision and aesthetic of the HD Universe

 

It's because a significant portion of the GTA Online community is kids. Rockstar wants to appeal to their audience, obviously, which is why you see Wei Cheng with a tie around his head rather than Trevor with a lighter. Kids like silly, goofy and colorful things. Michael with a bullet proof vest or Trevor with a lighter is "too harsh" for kids.