GTA San Andreas (2004): Record Launch, Then a Re-Rating

San Andreas is the biggest of the three PS2-era Grand Theft Auto games by every measure Take-Two published at the time: the largest launch in the company's history, more than 12 million units in about three months, and the top-selling PS2 game in the U.S. for each of its first four months. Nine months after launch it also became the subject of a rating change, a withdrawal from shelves, class actions and a federal inquiry. This page puts both halves in one place, with the dates and dollar figures from the filings, and argues that the second half is why the game still matters: it changed the rules on what publishers must disclose to the ratings board.

At a glance

What is counted, and how

All sales and money figures are Take-Two or Rockstar statements, with dates. Take-Two's 12 million figure covers sales "through the end of the first quarter," which ended Jan 31, 2005. We found no later per-title total in a primary source, so we stop there. Take-Two reports dollar amounts in thousands; its "$32,637" provision is $32.6 million. The FY2005 10-K says the provision was later cut by about $8,154 thousand because the game sold better than expected, so the net charge was $32.637 million minus $8.154 million, or $24.483 million (about $24.5 million).

Day counts: from Oct 26 to Oct 31, 2004, counting both days, is 6 days of fiscal 2004 on sale in North America. From Vice City's Oct 29, 2002 release (Take-Two FY2002 10-K) to Oct 26, 2004 is 731 days to Oct 29, 2004 (2004 was a leap year), minus 3, or 728 days. From the Mar 1, 2004 announcement to release is 239 days.

The 2005 episode is described here as the filings, the ratings board and the FTC described it. We do not describe the content itself.

The setup

Rockstar's summary: five years after leaving Los Santos, Carl Johnson comes home because his mother has been murdered. "On his return to the neighborhood, a couple of corrupt cops frame him for homicide." IGN's review adds that the two officers rob him and toss him "into the middle of enemy gang territory."

The cast was a step up even by Vice City's standard. IGN listed Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Penn as the two officers, James Woods and Charlie Murphy, with rapper Young Maylay as CJ.

From plan to launch

At the announcement, Leslie Benzies, president of Rockstar North, said the team hoped to "revolutionize open-ended gameplay." Sam Houser said that "even though we still have eight months to go," the team was "starting to become very proud" of the game.

What it changed

IGN's reviewer said it took him more than half an hour to drive from the south of Los Santos through San Fierro to Las Venturas, which he offered as a rough measure of the map, "not an official time stamp."

Reception and sales

IGN's PC review explained that the outlet wrote three separate reviews because of "the length of time between the original PS2 release and the subsequent Xbox and PC releases." The commercial record from Take-Two:

The 2005 re-rating

In July 2005 the Entertainment Software Rating Board found that the PS2, Xbox and PC discs all contained sexual content that Rockstar had programmed to be inaccessible in normal play, and that a third-party modification made it viewable. Take-Two called the modification unauthorized. The episode is remembered by that modification's name, Hot Coffee. The board changed the rating from M (Mature 17+) to AO (Adults Only 18+). Major U.S. retailers do not generally stock AO games, and Reuters reported that Take-Two "was forced to pull" the game off shelves that summer.

The size of the hit is visible in the filings. Take-Two reported total net sales of $169.9 million for the quarter ended Jul 31, 2005, after the reserves, near the top of the $160 to $170 million range it gave on Jul 20. The $32.6 million provision against San Andreas returns equals about 19% of that figure ($32.637 million divided by $169.899 million is 0.192). Reuters reported a quarterly net loss of nearly $30 million. Lydia Parnes, the FTC's consumer protection director, said: "Parents have the right to rely on the accuracy of the entertainment rating system."

The lasting effect was procedural. The ESRB said publishers would from then on have to disclose relevant content on final discs, even content not meant to be reached in play, or remove it. The FTC order required Take-Two and Rockstar to keep a system for reviewing all game content submitted for a rating.

Legacy

Los Santos returned as the setting of Grand Theft Auto V. San Andreas itself was remastered in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, released digitally on Nov 11, 2021, when the remastered San Andreas also joined Xbox Game Pass (Xbox Wire). Rockstar later brought the Trilogy to iOS and Android through Netflix on Dec 14, 2023 (Gematsu). Our review scores page compares San Andreas with the rest of the series.

Trivia

• San Andreas was announced as a PlayStation 2 exclusive. By its Dec 16, 2004 results, less than two months after launch, Take-Two was already scheduling Xbox and PC versions for June.
• In the quarter that ended Jul 31, 2005, the new Xbox version was Take-Two's best-selling title at 23.5% of the quarter's sales.
• IGN's Xbox reviewer called the port "one of the biggest, if not the biggest game on the system."

Sources

• Rockstar Games Announces Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Mar 1 2004
• Rockstar Games Ships Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Oct 25 2004
• Take-Two Q4 and fiscal 2004 results, Dec 16 2004
• Take-Two Q1 fiscal 2005 results, Mar 3 2005
• Take-Two 10-K, fiscal 2002
• Take-Two 10-K, fiscal 2004
• Take-Two 10-K, fiscal 2005
• Take-Two 10-Q, quarter ended Jul 31 2005
• Take-Two, Announces Conclusion of ESRB Investigation, Jul 20 2005
• ESRB, Revokes M (Mature) Rating, Jul 20 2005
• Take-Two 8-K, filed Jul 29 2005
• Reuters via NBC News, 'Grand Theft Auto' sales to resume next month, Sep 23 2005
• Take-Two preliminary fiscal 2005 results, Jan 5 2006
• FTC, Makers of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Settle FTC Charges, Jun 8 2006
• Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game page
• Xbox Wire, The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition Coming November 11, Oct 22 2021
• Gematsu, The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition for iOS, Android launches December 14 via Netflix, Nov 29 2023
• IGN, Jeremy Dunham, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Review, Oct 25 2004, checked on the Wayback snapshot
• IGN, Douglass C. Perry, San Andreas Xbox Review, Jun 7 2005, checked on the Wayback snapshot
• IGN, Dan Adams, San Andreas PC Review, Jun 7 2005, checked on the Wayback snapshot
• Metacritic, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto V page