This article has a talk page!This page details pre-release information and/or media for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Development Timeline#
2002
- Oct. - Development on a new Grand Theft Auto title begins after Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
2003
- Oct. 30 - At technology conference, Cindi Buckwalter announes a new Grand Theft Auto title scheduled for Q4 2004.1
- Nov. 19-21 - Manhunt is released for the PlayStation 2, thus the team working on it merges with development of the next Grand Theft Auto title.
- Dec. 17 - Rockstar files several patents and trademarks, one of them including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.2 Similarly, GTA 5 and GTA 6 were filed for future-proofing purposes.
2004
- Mar. 1 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is officially announced by Rockstar, slated for a release date on October 19 and October 24, respectively.3
- May 11-14 - E3 2004 is held, where the game was shown off. The first screenshots were also released.
- Jul. 21 - Death Row Records posts a news report on the website, confirming that three songs would be in the game.4
- Aug. 20 - Trailer #1 for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is released.
- Sep. 9 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is delayed to Oct. 26-29, respectively.5
- Sep. 25 - Trailer #2 for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is released.
- Oct. 19 - Trailer #3, the final trailer for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is released.
- Oct. 26 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is released for the PlayStation 2 in North America.
- Oct. 29 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is released for the PlayStation 2 in Europe.
2005
- Jun. 7 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is released for Xbox and Windows systems in North America.
- Jun. 10 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is released for Xbox and Windows systems in Europe.
- Jun. 9 - Jul - The infamous Hot Coffee mod is released by modders, which sparked controversy among parental groups and rating boards. Revised versions of the game would omit the unused feature.
- Jul. - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is re-released for the PlayStation 2, with the Hot Coffee feature being disabled.
2007
- Jan. 25 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.
Early Development (2002-2003)#
After Grand Theft Auto: Vice City had gone gold, the team was tired from the overwhelming and development of the game, due to the initial one-year deadline. Some of the team members did not want to work on any more Grand Theft Auto titles, where they ended up on the Manhunt developmental team and a scrapped zombie-survival tentatively titled Z.
The team wanted a longer developmental time, where Vernej justified Vice City as hadn't being "innovated that much" and that "another "re-skin" wasn't going to fly". Fortunately they were given a two year deadline, which gave the team confidence.
Setting#
The team had opted for three cities from the start, in a similar vein to the first Grand Theft Auto game. They initially wanted it to be on three separate maps to save memory, where the player would take planes/trains/buses between them. How that worked is unknown, but it would be possibly similar to the flying function in the final game, or the bus transportation system in a later game, Bully.
During a meeting with the higher-ups of Rockstar, Vernej wanted the cities to be on the same map so the player could be able to drive between the cities, but was worried about the decision due to the fifth person not being present in the meeting. This was resolved and it was decided for the cities to be on the same map.
Another research trip was organized by Rockstar New York, where the developmental team flew to Los Angeles, and drove in towncars between San Francisco and Las Vegas.
2004#
May#
Pre-E3 2004#
Some of the first screenshots were posted.
This image is dated May 8, 2004, making it the earliest out of the batch.
May 2004 |
Final (PS2) |
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- Big Smoke is using his early design, consisting of a white jersey over a white t-shirt. instead of a green shirt. Said design can be found in the final as a statue inside Big Smoke's Crack Den in End of the Line.
- The cutscene originally took place somewhere different.
The following three images were the first to be publicly posted, all on May 11, 2004. Though the Press Kit dates them to a week later (Likely the logoless versions), they will still be uploaded due to looking identical.
May 2004 |
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Post-E3 2004#
The following images are dated May 18, 2004.
May 2004 |
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May 2004 |
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- This image has a Tuff Nut Donuts location in Temple, Los Santos that would be removed in the final release.
This image is dated May 26, 2004.
May 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
GameInformer Issue #143#
The magazine was released as early as May 28, 20046, with ten exclusive images originating from that issue. Some of the above images appear in this magazine, signifying that it's likely from those builds. Also, some would be released in higher quality later on.
May 2004 |
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May 2004 |
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May 2004 |
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May 2004 |
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May 2004 |
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- The license plate system was not yet implemented, so vehicles reused the Floridian-style plates from Vice City.
May 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
June#
Early June Screenshots#
June 2004 |
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Image is dated June 6, 2004.
- Differences go here.
June 2004 |
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Image is dated June 10, 2004.
- Differences go here.
June 2004 |
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Image is dated June 15, 2004.
- This is the last screenshot to use the glossy vehicle paint from Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City.
- Differences go here.
Late June Screenshots#
The following images are dated June 24, 2004.
June 2004 |
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June 2004 |
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June 2004 |
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June 2004 |
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- Different camera angle.
- Different timecycle, matching that of the Windows version.
- The traffic light models were different.
- There were no telephone box props on the left.
- The draw distance was much shorter, as less palm trees and buildings could be seen.
July#
Early July Screenshot#
July 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated July 7, 2004.
- Differences go here.
July 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated July 13, 2004.
- Differences go here.
Late July Screenshots#
July 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated July 20, 2004.
- Differences go here.
July 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated July 20, 2004.
- Differences go here.
The following batch of screenshots are all dated July 24, 2004.7 This shows off the game's food feature.
July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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Another batch of screenshots were released the following day. Some of them are duplicates from earlier in the article so they will not be covered.
July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
July 2004 |
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- This is the first appearance of the game's HUD, reusing the font from Vice City.
July 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
July 2004 |
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July 2004 |
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August#
Early August Screenshots#
The following screenshots are dated August 3, 2004.
August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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The following screenshots are dated August 4, 2004.
August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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The following screenshots are dated August 7, 2004.
August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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The following screenshots are dated August 9, 2004.
August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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August 2004 |
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Mid-August Screenshots#
August 2004 |
Final (PS2) |
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The following screenshot is dated August 10, 2004.
- Differences go here.
August 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated August 12, 2004.
- Differences go here.
August 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated August 12, 2004.
- Differences go here.
August 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated August 13, 2004.
- Differences go here.
August 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated August 16, 2004.
- Differences go here.
August 2004 |
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The following screenshot is dated August 19, 2004.
- Differences go here.
Trailer #1#
Watch on YouTubeThe first trailer for the game was released on August 20, 2004.
- Big Smoke and Sweet are seen using their old models at 0:21 and 0:50. Odd since at 0:18, Sweet and Smoke are using models that resemble the final's more.
- The pool table has a different look, It still is in the final game on the interior seen in the mission First Date.
- Ryder's vehicle is a Sadler instead of a Picador.
- The Police Helicopter's logo is a "LSPD" as opposed to the generally used "SAPD", only the Enforcer still features this old logo instance in the final game.
- The cutscene at 0:50 now takes place in it's finalized location.
- At 0:52, two Grove Street members (FAM1 & FAM3) have different looks, FAM1 is seen using a hoodie while FAM3 is completely different. Similarly 2 seconds after that, two Aztecas members are seen with different looks.
- The Mullohand Property features some sort of interior alongside props.
Late August Screenshots#
The following screenshots are dated August 31, 2004.
August 2004 |
Final (PS2) |
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- Differences go here.
August 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
August 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
September#
Mid-September Screenshots#
September 2004 |
Final (PS2) |
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The following screenshot is dated September 11, 2004.
- Differences go here.
September 2004 |
Final (PS2) |
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The following screenshot is dated September 11, 2004.
- Differences go here.
September 2004 |
Final (PS2) |
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The following screenshot is dated September 16, 2004.
- Differences go here.
Trailer #2#
Watch on YouTubeThe second trailer for the game was released on September 25, 2004.
- Differences go here.
Late September HUD Screenshots#
The following screenshots are dated September 26, 2004.
September 2004 |
Final (PS2) |
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- Differences go here.
September 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
September 2004 |
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September 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
Late September Cutscene Screenshots#
The following images are all dated September 27, 2004.
September 2004 |
Final (PS2) |
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- Differences go here.
September 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
September 2004 |
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- Differences go here.
2005#
June-August#
The Hot Coffee controversy#
Some time after release, modders discovered the code for a cut minigame later dubbed as "Hot Coffee" in the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows versions. A mod for it was released on June 9, 2005 by Patrick W., initially for the Windows version, but would soon be released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions via third-party mods and save editing.
Heavy amounts of controversy ensued since then, which led to original copes of the game being re-rated to Adults Only by the ESRB. Said copies were withdrawn from any major retailers until a revised 2.0. version was put out for platforms around August. A "2.0." patch was also released for Windows versions on August 10, 2005 which completely disabled the code altogether. All future re-releases and platforms from that date on do not include the Hot Coffee minigame in any capacity.
Resources#
- Inside Rockstar North (Obbe Vernej, Archived)
- Screenshots
- Magazines
- Bradygames's Strategy Guide.
References#
- https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/10/30/gta-4-date-confirmed↩︎
- https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/01/10/grand-theft-san-andreas↩︎
- https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/03/01/grand-theft-auto-san-andreas-announced↩︎
- https://www.elotrolado.net/hilo_informacion-sobre-gta-san-andreas_305958_s100↩︎
- https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/09/09/san-andreas-delayed↩︎
- https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/171748-gta-san-andreas-magazine-scans/↩︎
- https://web.archive.org/web/20040726044235/http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/gta4/screenindex.html↩︎