So let's talk about Grand Theft Auto III's iconic cover that set the bar for this hugely popular game franchise. The thing is, as revealed by one of Rockstar Games co-founders Dan Houser, it took just 2 evenings to come up with this cover art. Well, why the sharp timeline here is important. And it's because you can see how the outside world events affected branding for one of the most important games from last decade.
Rockstar co-founder reveals how September 11 attacks triggered a rapid redesign of the iconic box art
The original idea for GTA III's cover was supposed to be burning buildings. Rockstar felt it was wrong, especially after September 11 events. They just couldn't accept this idea as something that is not offensive for public at large. So a sudden redesign of game package art was necessary ahead of game release.
It was artist Stephen Bliss who had to come up with an alternative. So in literal terms, he managed to come up with replacement cover art for the game, in 2 evenings or so. And this piece of art became most famous emblem for GTA series. Of course, Dan Houser remarked that had September 11 attacks not happened, then original burning buildings would have been on the cover.
Just the cover artwork wasn't the only thing that changed because of September 11 attacks. There were other changes in the game too because of this event. The developers changed certain things in the fictional Liberty City game world to make it less similar to real life tragedy. So they made necessary changes to be in sync with changing world order.
So the guy who talked about history of this GTA cover (Dan Houser) made an interesting remark. He says it appeared only because of those sad events. The Bliss cover is the set standard for the franchise, as we can see. Now we know for sure that cover art for GTA III is direct consequence of global events.
Source: Rockstar Co-founder, IXBT
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