GTA Co-Creator: Honor in Hate

by Justin Arnold on August 14, 2008 at 3:00 pm

Rockstar’s Sam Houser counts it an honor to be hated.

In an interview with Develop’s Michael French, Houser opens up and discusses the criticism of Grand Theft Auto and the company in general.

How much of what gets written about Rockstar in the likes of the tabloid press do you read?

I think we probably read most of it – if you turn on a computer this stuff reaches you, usually forwarded by an old friend laughing at you.

Do you pay any attention to it?

No – I think we are both depressed at how boring we really are and how unexciting even the worse fabrications and exaggerations are when you read about them. None of it seems very rock and roll, so we find it a little sad, when there are probably better stories that could be written about both us and the industry/medium. No sharks, groupies or pounds of coke or anything fun at all. We read like angry dorks, which might be true, but is certainly not very exciting.

But still, Rockstar has become an easy target for the press. Does it concern you that the negative and misleading coverage can overshadow the innovations and positive contribution GTA has made back to the videogaming business and medium?

Not really. Most of the people who hate us are people it is truly an honor to be hated by – reactionary creeps with strange agendas – and the Daily Mail. Most people who know about modern pop culture know about GTA and like or dislike it on its own merits.