One company that hasn't really jumped on the Switch bandwagon is Rockstar Games. While it released L.A.Noire with the help of port specialist Virtuos in 2017 since then it seems to have moved on.
With no sign of the Grand Theft Auto series coming to Nintendo's hybrid platform anytime soon, the homebrew community has taken it upon themselves to get the third entry up and running on the system, and admittedly it looks great.
As YouTuber Modern Vintage Gamer explains, it's all thanks to some "clever" reverse engineering - with the original PlayStation 2 version believed to be the basis of this port.
"So how does it run on the Nintendo Switch, well I gotta say - it's excellent, not only is the full game here, it runs at a good frame rate and takes advantage of Switch features like 16:9 widescreen."
There's always the question of how Rockstar and Take-Two will react. While both companies have been quick to issue takedowns in the past, this homebrew effort may not be in the firing line. To see this project in motion, view MVG's latest video.
Would you like to see Rockstar bring its classic Grand Theft Auto games to the Nintendo Switch? Tell us down below.
[source youtu.be]
Comments 61
You nearly gave me a heart attack with your master baiting!
Stop teasing us so!
I ALMOST GOT A HEART ATTACK
What an evil way to start the news day!
"Would you like to see Rockstar bring its classic Grand Theft Auto games to the Nintendo Switch? Tell us down below."
I know this is a template at the bottom of most news here. But it just feels like putting salt in an open wound this time.
@Snatcher Postal Redux just got announced.
Yep, here it is on my spare modded Switch. Forgive the one-handed playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08_Qi6KCNzQ
@Snatcher and what about dead by daylight, friday the 13th, alien isolation and more ... a lot of mature and bloddy games - gta games look like kids games compared to my mentioned ones
@Snatcher
I suppose south park isn't? Both of those games are on switch.
@Snatcher : L.A. Noire has dead nekkid honeys in it.
@eRaz0r I think he knows. Just wanted to troll.
But to add to your list: Doom, Wolfenstein 2, Hellblade, 2x Saints Row
that "rumor" that nintendo consoles have only kids games - is nintendo homemade.
back in the snes days, they censored games, where on the sega mega drive or other systems, was the "full gore" version available (mortal combat for example) - then they lost 3rd party support (n64, gamecube, wii, wiiU) due to stupid decissions.
switch is the first nintendo console since the snes, where basically every 3rd party is developing for again. so a lot of, thx goodness, mature and NOT censored games available on switch for older audiences.
but in peoples heads, nintendo still is just for "kids" because of the lack of 3rd party releases especially on n64 and wiiU
Too bad Rockstar isn't really interested in their legacy games these days.
I was already pissed they never released a PS2-era GTA on the PS Vita, it's even sadder now.
It certainly helped sales of the Saints Row franchise on the Switch to have basically no competition, I guess.
@neufel It would a bit less painful if they where not all available on my freaking phone. GOD DAMN IT!
It is weird though how not a single GTA game has ever been released on a Nintendo console outside of a couple handheld ones on GBA and DS. What's up with that? Does Rockstar not realize that Nintendo's stance on Violence or adult content has changed drastically since the 90's or do they just figure it wouldn't sell?
A shame it's not an official port.
So you guys want to tell me why its not on the switch sorry I made yall mad.
It's more important for Rockstar to make a new entry in this franchise rather than releasing the most recent installment again. And again. And again
Would prefer Vice City, but only if the soundtrack is maintained
@Snatcher
Probably because Rockstar would rather focus on new games instead of rehash old stuff. Problem is the new stuff just isn't possible on switch. Maybe next gen.
GTA 5 should be possible on the switch, after all its on the 360
modding your switch and breaking TOS.
great nintendo fandom.
If GTAV can run on a 360, then they can put it on Switch.
yet, nintendo couldn't run their OWN n64 game, mario64 in widescreen, for 70$.... just wow.
but nintendo fans get what they deserve. if they willing to pay for that quality, they get THAT quality.
It's interesting how their DS game, Chinatown Wars, was one of the very best on that system. They could work wonders on the Switch but hey ho
.... And i almost whent to the eshop to buy it🤣
In other news: Supermario 64, fullscreen, 60fps, analog contros with maps on new2ds and new 3ds. Amazing that one developer can do what Nintendo can’t.
Nintendolife 10/10
https://www.reddit.com/r/3DS/comments/ixzl69/mksts_mario64_3ds_port_is_awesome_60fps/
The only way it'll get GTA
Homebrew = Hacking
GTA 3 ran on NVIDIA Shield TV several years ago.
Running it on Switch is nothing special as it's same port on same Tegra.
Rockstar could easily farm this out to a talented, and passionate, porting team to work some magic and make everyone happy even their shareholders.
Give us Vice City and yes I would. GTA III was always a let down because of no bikes.
@Zeldafan79 Chinatown Wars was built from ground up from the DS, and still holds up. Probably there was a fallout between Rockstar and Nintendo regarding the marketing push or something like that. Unfortunate, but even having Chinatown Wars on Switch would be great.
Come on Nintendo and Rockstar, why isn’t this an actual thing? Let’s have some official GTA on Switch. Preferably V, but III would also rock!
@Ventilator expect that maybe now it's portable?
@Yanina Tell me about it, right? What’s worse is that where I clearly want this on Switch so much, my brain removed the words 'Just' and 'Not' from the header, so I read the article as saying 'It’s Official'.
@Mfreddy22 It were already playable on Cell Phone for years too as it were ported to Android in 2016 or so.
To be honest id rather them bring the original top down view GTA's than the new one (if you can call a 7 year old game the new one)
GTA 5 has spent far too long lingering in the charts
GTA on the switch would print money all day and night. I want to see it!
This is not news. You can emulate PS2 and PSP on Switch for quite some time now.
Nintendo needs to bring GTA to switch don't let homebrew community to ruin it for me😠
Lol why would you wanna play GTA 3 when you could potentially have GTA 5 running on the Switch?!
Also that's not news, Homebrew always gets games running that are not officially on the platform.
This would lend some credibility to the October Direct news. Here's hoping that the rest of that leak is also true.
i suppose the whole ' family friendly' is thrown out the window to please those who cannot own a dang playstation 4, or etc...ugh..this hybrid turned out to be more of a storage unit for games that exist already on there main base consoles...sigh.
well i am just gonna enjoy my nintendo games...while i still can.
I wonder how long GTA V would continue to chart if it was also released on the Switch?
@eRaz0r
You're a bit wrong.
N only censored the first MK game here in the states (All of em had green blood on all the consoles in JP due to their laws) but stopped censoring after. MK2 and beyond was full gore as was everything else for that time period.
They lost devs on the N64 cause the stupid cartridges compared to CDs. That was when N started showing that they really didn't understand anything and were going to do what they wanted come hell or high water. IF the N64 had a cd drive like the PSX then they wouldn't have lost Square and FF and all the other stuff.
Move on to the GC and again N is dumb as rocks and used that stupid mini-disc. IF they would've continued on with DVD (for the space) then they'd still have gotten the games.
N's downfall in the tv console space was N and N's alone. If they didn't get so butt-hurt over the Sony/SNES stuff and did the right things there may not even be an xbox today. Just a N and Sony console.
I would pay literal money to 2k for this game but they don’t like money apparently
To me, it’s unbelievable & inexcusable to not have at least one GTA game on Switch.
According to a leak, it might actually be coming soon...
Where can I buy this?
After Mortal Kombat SNES, Nintendo grew up. Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 were uncensored. Nintendo wanted DOOM on SNES and supported it with the FX Chip. Nintendo even released their own brutal SNES fighter with Killer Instinct.
The N64 started into its first year with Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Killer Instinct Gold, DOOM 64, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Mace: The Dark Age, and GoldenEye.
Nintendo's kiddy times are over since 1994.
I'm not surprised there are no official GTA games on Nintendo's home consoles. After all, back during N64 times, Nintendo, wanting to boost N64 sales in Japan and thinking they were low because of the lack of RPGs, pretty much forced DMA Design (future Rockstar North) to rewrite their almost finished GTA3 before GTA3 (Body Harvest) into an RPG, then effed that up royally due to piss-poor communications, later even NOJ and NOA giving them conflicting orders, before finally blaming it all on DMA and cancelling the game, bankrupting DMA and forcing them to sell the company to Gremlin.
I know I wouldn't want to have anything to do with Nintendo after that.
Cya
Raziel-chan
I’d buy it. Absolutely. This for me was the pinnacle in terms of gameplay. It wasn’t too complicated control-wise. There were voices and that comedic flair. And I could pick it right up after month long breaks and not forget the controls of get too lost.
Call me old if ya want. I thought GTA5 and 4 and vice city were awesome but this was just perfect.
Very surprised GTA 1,2 and London haven't already been ported. Especially in the early year when Switch seemed to have the "retro" vibe. It would have cost little, got people talking GTA on Switch and a bit of a money incentive for Rockstar to go ahead and begin porting the more complex titles.
@Zeldafan79 Ha what new games? They made one new game in the last 7 years and are about to port the only other game they made during that time frame to another generation of consoles for the 2nd time in a row.
@Snatcher ah deleted your comment I see, troll.
@Doktor-Mandrake I deleted the comment cuse I said somthing stupid I looked back at it and it really did make no sense, so maybe if you did have a life you may not be living under that bridge troll.
I hope this gives a nudge for Rockstar to release gta on the Switch. gta 5 would be cool
Wonder if this means that Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City Stories, and Vice City Stories are also on the way to the Switch homebrew scene since they all run on the same engine.
I would love for Rockstar to jump on board the Switch! Now that EA has started to relax a little, hopefully that will be the ripple around 'the school' that signals others that 'you know this Switch kid is pretty cool...(Naughty Dog)"
@San_D Think it had more to do with the fact that Chinatown Wars was a flop.
@sword_9mm 100% correct. Nintendo's loss of market dominance was caused by Nintendo.
N64: cartridges in a disc based world because piracy.
Gamecube: mini disc because piracy and the system looked like a purple lunch box.
Wii: underpowered and couldn't play dvds.
WiiU: underpowered, proprietary disc format that couldn't play blurays, bad marketing, game pad made no sense.
Switch: underpowered, lack of third party support, rehash / port machine.
Metal Gear Trilogy, Devil May Cry 3, GTA Vice City, Red Dead Revolver, Yakuza, Batman Begins, Shadow of Colossus... amazing how many AAA games came out for the PS2 and how none have been rereleased for the Switch. Having a PS2 with all these games and then reading countless NL articles on Switch ports of mediocre MAME roms and hentai games with leggy controls... Makes me hug my PS2 even more 😋
@Zeldafan79 so bully, max payne, smuggler's run, earthworm jim, and so SO many other ROCKSTAR games dont exist? this is one of the most ignorant things i have read dude. Just gonna leave this here for your edification. #itscalledgoogle #maybelearnaboutthestuffyoutalkaboutidunno
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/09/feature_the_complete_history_of_rockstar_games_on_nintendo_platforms
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