Government regulators and the video game industry have always had an uneasy, if not tense, relationship. Although this has improved in recent years, many authoritative figures still have a vilified perspective on video games, mostly because they can't appreciate them as an art form or as a form of entertainment. But there's a difference between not fully understanding the joy of gaming as a hobby and what Rockstar Games experienced when Grand Theft Auto first burst onto the mainstream spotlight.
During a recent appearance on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio, Dan Houser was asked whether the old saying that success solves all problems rang true for Rockstar. His answer was immediate and unequivocal: absolutely not.
According to Houser, the attention and popularity that GTA received after the release of Grand Theft Auto III made the company a target for politicians looking for easy wins with their constituents. Rather than celebrating an American company creating innovative entertainment that resonated with millions of people worldwide, government officials saw an opportunity to score political points.
The scrutiny began because Rockstar was creating games explicitly designed for adult audiences at a time when video games were still predominantly viewed as children's entertainment. The studio wasn't shy about this positioning either. They were openly marketing mature content with violence, crime, and adult themes to adolescents and grown adults who wanted more sophisticated interactive experiences.
To the development team, this seemed perfectly reasonable. After all, movies had successfully targeted adult audiences for decades with R-rated content. Music had entire genres built around mature themes and explicit lyrics. But somehow, when video games attempted to do the same thing, it was treated as offensive and dangerous by certain segments of society.
When pressed about what specific problems success created, Houser didn't mince words. According to Houser, government officials decided that Rockstar was essentially the only entity on the entire internet distributing pornographic content. The consequences of this were severe and nearly catastrophic for the company. The studio was hit with massive financial penalties that proved extremely disruptive to operations. The stress and uncertainty caused some team members to resign, creating additional challenges during an already difficult period.
Houser suggested that while officials publicly framed their actions as matters of public decency and child protection, the campaign was primarily driven by a need for a media villain at a time when they couldn't attack certain forms of entertainment without creating additional complications. At the time, the video game industry was relatively new to mainstream success, lacked the political connections and lobbying power of established entertainment sectors, and didn't have the same cultural protections.
As Houser put it, video games were an easy scapegoat created by people who didn't understand the political system well enough to defend themselves.
