How Sony’s Fears of Xbox Shaped the Exclusive Legacy of GTA on PlayStation 2

Sony had the distinct advantage of securing three Grand Theft Auto exclusives for the PlayStation 2 – GTA 3, San Andreas, and Vice City – but a former executive at the console manufacturer has revealed that the exclusivity agreement was primarily established out of concern regarding Xbox’s entrance into the gaming market.

In a conversation with gamesindustry.biz, former Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Chris Deering divulged several lesser-known anecdotes from PlayStation’s history, including the company’s perspective on Microsoft‘s Xbox in the early 2000s. “We were anxious when we noticed Xbox arriving,” Deering remarked. “We understood that exclusivity was vital across many sectors, like Sky TV with sports. As the holiday season approached and Xbox was set to launch, some of us approached our favorite third-party publishers and developers, proposing, ‘Would you be interested in a special agreement to keep your next-generation game exclusive to PlayStation for a two-year term?'”

Deering recalled feeling fortunate that “one of the agreements we established was with Take-Two for the next three Grand Theft Auto titles” since “at that moment, it wasn’t evident that Grand Theft Auto 3 would become as monumental as it did, as it was originally a top-down game.” GTA 3 went on to define an entire genre and transformed the franchise into one of gaming’s biggest names, although no one could have anticipated this 25 years ago.

“It was incredibly fortunate for us,” he continued. “And it was genuinely advantageous for them, as they received a reduction on the royalties they owed. Those agreements