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Saints Row 4 is due to launch three weeks before Rockstar’s open-world giant hits the shelves on September 17.
But rather than let itself be swallowed up by Grand Theft Auto 5, Volition believes that the series doesn’t pose as much of a threat to Saints Row as it once did, thanks to the team’s work in differentiating itself from Rockstar’s title.
“It’s a hell of a game,” said Saints Row 4’s senior producer Jim Boone, while discussing the proximity of GTA 5’s release with VideoGamer.com.
“I think it’s a threat to everyone in the sense that it’s such a dominant game, and it’s obviously going to go sell what it’s going to sell. [But] I think… where we feel a little more comfortable about it being in proximity is the fact that we’re such a different game now.”
Boone believes that Volition has done enough with the Saints Row series in the years since its initial release to distinguish it from GTA, and thinks that the comparisons between the two is akin to comparing Call of Duty with Dead Space.
“Say if we were doing Saints Row 1 style where it was very reminiscent of GTA in terms of the style and the content, I would probably be a nervous wreck right now, to be perfectly honest with you,” Boone continues. “But I think you can see, we’re such a different game now.
“A crude example that I always think of is that, if I could compare a Modern Warfare game to Dead Space, sure, it’s in the same genre of being a shooter but the style is so different. And I kind of feel like we’re in that phase now with open world. Early on there was GTA and practically nothing else; Saints Row was one of the very first ones to come out in addition to that. And now I think there’s enough different styles within the genre that it’s maybe not as threatening any more.”
However, Boone appears left with little doubt that GTA will dominate the market on its release.
“There’s no doubt, [GTA 5’s] going to go out and do what it does, but I think we’ve differentiated ourselves enough that at least we present something that’s quite a different experience [to] what they’re doing.”
Saints Row 4 launches on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on August 23.
Source: VideoGamer.com Interview
