After the pre-orders for “Grand Theft Auto VI” were opened, Rockstar originally wanted players to pay attention to Vice City and the new plot content, but now almost all the discussion forums are arguing about another thing. According to the version description released by Rockstar, the standard version of “GTA 6” is priced at US$80 (approximately NT$2,360, HK$628, RM340), while the ultimate edition is US$100 (approximately NT$2,950, HK$785, RM425).
The difference between the two is 20 US dollars, but it seems that these 20 US dollars buy more than just styles and vehicles. Official information shows that some in-game stores will only be open to Ultimate Edition players, and Standard Edition players will not be able to use related services normally even if they pass through these locations.
Are hair salons, tattoo shops, and car modification shops all locked up? !
There are currently five stores that are known to be exclusive to the Ultimate Edition, including clothing store “Stock 305”, car modification shop “Rideout Customs”, off-road modification shop “One-Eyed Willie”, tattoo shop “Electric Fang Tattoo” and hair salon “Sara’s Unisex Salon”. Rockstar even directly marked these locations on the introduction page as “open for Ultimate Edition only.” In other words, although standard version players have the complete main storyline, some locations are just not open to you. What makes some players even more dissatisfied is that in addition to the exclusive store, the Ultimate Edition also contains additional side missions and special content, which will also not appear in the Standard Edition.
Players are beginning to worry about “GTA Online” running into single-player mode
After the news was exposed, Reddit and major forums quickly exploded. Many players said that it would be acceptable if they just gave away a few sets of costumes or exclusive vehicles, but now even the actual locations in the game map are locked behind the high-priced version, and it feels like it has changed from “deluxe edition rewards” to “content cutting”. Some players bluntly said that this is one of the most dangerous signals for Rockstar in recent years. Because in the past, the single-player mode of the “GTA” series rarely had such obvious content stratification, but now the revenue model of “GTA Online” is becoming more and more successful, and many people are worried that similar practices are beginning to affect the single-player experience.
Rockstar is testing players’ bottom line?
Of course, some players believe that the matter may not be as serious as imagined. According to community speculation, these so-called exclusive stores may only provide ultimate edition exclusive clothing, hairstyles and modification items, which are essentially similar to the deluxe edition rewards of many games. But the problem is that “GTA 6” is still months away from release, and Rockstar has been in the news continuously due to “version differences.” From the exclusive missions and exclusive stores of the Ultimate Edition to the fact that the physical version does not have a disc, the focus of player discussion seems to be increasingly deviating from the game itself.