No matter where Grand Theft Auto 6 is set, there are some important lessons developer Rockstar Games can learn from the continued popularity of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Despite the game's age, Grand Theft Auto fans have overwhelmingly stated that they want GTA 6 to take place in Vice City, Rockstar's fictional version of Miami, and it's not just because that's the only classic Grand Theft Auto location the developers haven't revisited in HD yet.
There have been tons of leaks and rumors about the next Grand Theft Auto game's release date and location, but nothing has been officially announced and many of the rumors which had previously gained massive fan support and popularity have since been proven to be false. Despite this lack of official news, however, players are certain that something about GTA 6 is going to be revealed soon, likely because it's been nearly seven years since Grand Theft Auto V came out and people are getting anxious to play something new.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was the sixth Grand Theft Auto game developed and took players back to the 1980's, complete with era-appropriate clothes, cars, attitudes, and music. With a plot which borrowed heavily from gangster films like Scarface and Carlito's Way, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City seems to be the GTA game which has been remembered the fondest, and there's a few important things the game does which could explain why that is, and why players are clamoring for GTA 6 to be set in Vice City so loudly.
GTA 6 Needs Vice City's Property Missions
Although almost every GTA game since Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has introduced the ability to own property in one form or another, the way property ownership was tied into the game's story was an integral part of what made playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City so entertaining. The second half of Vice City's story sees players, as the newly-crowned lead gangster in Vice City, building their criminal empire and preparing to do battle with the Forelli Family, and a big part of that domination involved buying up property around town.
Property missions in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (and also in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) are tied thematically to the game's story, and players feel more immersed and connected with their characters because it's believable that they would do these things. While some of the properties in GTA V are thematically related to their characters, such as Michael's ability to buy movie theaters, there is little gameplay which comes from it (apart from random "Save our business" missions) and the concept feels more tacked-on than necessary. There was nothing Tommy Vercetti wouldn't do to establish domination in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and the game's property missions reflected this perfectly.
GTA 6 Should Be Less Depressing
Grand Theft Auto 6 should tone down some of the seriousness which began in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and has continued onward into GTA V. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was a fantastic mix of ridiculous humor, dark violence, and tongue-in-cheek satire, but over time (and especially in Grand Theft Auto IV) these concepts faded into the background to make way for dry, serious, depressing exposition.
There is nothing wrong with having a stance on violence, war, or any other issues, and there is nothing wrong with expressing those stances in video games. However, having a character like Niko Bellic say he is tired of killing and then allowing the player to go out into the street and run over 100 NPCs is, at the very least, tonally inconsistent. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, with it's bright neon skyline and rocking 1980's soundtrack, made no pretensions of unnecessary seriousness and instead just allowed players to embody a character who was as capable and crazy as they were acting.
By tailoring their game's systems to match the theme of their story, and by leaning back into a slightly more camp, more fun attitude, Grand Theft Auto 6 could be one of the best games Rockstar ever made. Hopefully they won't do anything quite as depressing as making players torture an NPC again, or make them feel disgusted over the treatment of a teddy bear.