Grand Theft Auto (series)/WMG

The Statue of Happiness in GTA4 eats children
Notice how there are no kids in a GTA game except for the ones in cutscenes? And that strange beating heart inside of her? Plus the fact that she looks like Hillary Clinton? It all adds up.

The protagonists of GTA IV are psychic.
Specifically, they can tell when people are lying, and what the person really means. This is why people out-and-out say on the radio that they're going to rip you off if you buy their product (they really are), or that they're going to kill someone (they're thinking that they'd love to do it while saying normal things), or political commercials hurling insults at the opponents instead of just saying "their policies suck". Somehow WEAZEL News has managed to partially shield their reporters, as you can tell they're trying to impede free speech by saying people that don't like ridiculous government restrictions are terrorists, but you don't hear them say out loud that they are actually a propaganda machine. Independence FM is probably taking the music and radio announcer directly from the protagonist's mind, as at one point the DJ says "now for more lies from WEAZEL News." or something along those lines.

GTAIV's Liberty City is a purgatory for lost souls.
Liberty City is a place where partially sinful souls can earn redemption. For one thing, notice that Liberty City is an island that is impossible to leave. No matter how far you fly, swim, or boat away, you can never leave the city. As well, if you follow the random inhabitants around the city, you will notice that they never actually do anything. They are simply soulless husks, placed there to give the illusion of a city.

Something else that fits in with purgatory being different for each main character is how their perceptions of other characters change. For example, in Niko's story, Jim Fitzgerald is white, whereas in Johnny's story, Jim is a black man. Johnny is clearly established as being Jewish American, so he sees Jim in purgatory as a fellow minority. Also, notice that anyone who expresses anti-Semitic beliefs against Johnny ends up dead. Perhaps in Johnny's original life, he was a victim of racial violence, and in order to earn his penitence, he must kill those who expressed racist beliefs.

In fact, upon further reflection, the game is rife with symbolism.

The title of the game is The Lost and Damned. Johnny leads a gang of souls, some of whom, such as Johnny, Jim, Terry, Clay, and Angus, are simply lost in purgatory. There is no gang affiliated with the term "Damned" in the game, making it clear that it refers to the corrupted souls within the gang.

As well, there is plenty of other symbolism, such as the rival gang being named "The Angels of Death", and the fact that the final act all the "Lost" characters do is  and earning their rights to ascend to heaven.

A final note to consider: In all three games, the penultimate confrontations either take place on modes of transport that would allow you to leave Liberty City, or the enemy has an explicit want to leave the city. Niko kills  on a tanker ship, then kills   in a helicopter while he attempts to escape on an outboard boat. Johnny kills, who were are informed was going to be leaving the city and moving to Arizona, and in the end of The Ballad of Gay Tony, Luis kills   in a plane in midair as he attempts to fly away from Liberty City. sdmitch16: So each person in purgatory gets their own city?

GTA IV is in the Matrix.
To out-weird the above theory; Why is it that cheats (or hacks) are accessed via phone? Why do the police have a hive mentality, indeed with some being copies of each other? Why can't you leave the city? Why do people never die? Because Niko, and everyone he knows are part of the Matrix.

Luis Fernando Lopez will kill Bulgarin in The Ballad of Gay Tony.
This one's not just due to Bulgarin's mysterious disappearance and the police computer referring to him as deceased. Think about it -- everyone in Grand Theft Auto IV short of Niko and Johnny gets theirs at some point (and the two of them do as well, to some degree), while Bulgarin seems to pull off a huge Karma Houdini, who causes a lot of problems for a lot of people. The general way the story of the original game was crafted to accommodate The Lost and Damned helps -- it seems weird to have a What Happened to the Mouse? situation in this particular game, especially after that diamond subplot that Bulgarin's interference spelled the abrupt end of. And whose diamonds were those initially? Gay Tony's, and Luis is his bodyguard. Plus, Luis doesn't have as clear a position in things as Johnny did prior to The Lost and Damned, so he'll need something to do and somebody to kill...

The entire GTA III canon is part of a Lotus Eater Machine within the GTA IV canon.
It explains how the two continuities seem so connected, yet are so different. Think about how the world of the III-canon games is so wacky and over-the-top, while IV is so much more realistic and somber. The Liberty City in III is a scaled-down version of the Liberty City in IV, with obvious creative liberties taken with the portrayal. Lazlow's presence in both means that either he's in on it, or one of the programmers is a fan of his, and threw in clips from his show as a Shout-Out. The machine is located in a bunker deep beneath the offices of U. L. Paper, whose real purpose is to run the machine as a vast experiment.
 * Update: Word of God says that III and IV are set in different worlds, and that the III canon is "not necessarily over.''

The Holland Hustlers are an off-shoot of The Grove Street/Seville Boulevard/Temple Drive Families.
The Hustlers are a part of The Grove Street/Seville Boulevard/Temple Drive Families that spread to Liberty City. Proof: If you look at the backup Dwayne sends for you they'll have green hair. Not a coloring glitch, it's deliberately dyed green.
 * (Going by what the GTA wiki tells me here): Indirectly Jossed. GTA IV takes place in a different continuity than San Andreas, and The Families (Grove Street, Seville Boulevard, and Temple Drive) are COMPLETELY anti-narcotic (except maybe weed and other "soft" drugs) at the end of the game. It is also doubtful that the ONLY green thing they have is dyed hair, or that they would be riding around in black Patriots and Landstalkers.

Only very few people in GTA REALLY die.
People you randomly shoot on the street are actually never killed but severely wounded. However Medi-care in the GTA world is so damn good that even shooting someone's head clean off can be healed. In previous games you could shoot someone a million times but an ambulance could always put them back on their legs and in Grand Theft Auto IV, even after you killed someone (reduce their health to 0) they still moved sometimes. Shooting them again just knocked them out. That's why you get out of jail with a relatively low bribe all the time, you're NEVER actually accused of murder except during plot points.
 * Also explains why, despite the over the top deaths you can achieve, you just get "wasted" not "die".
 * Then explain how plot-required deaths happen, instead of those people getting revived ten minutes later.
 * Plot.
 * The ambulance doesn't get there in time, or someone makes sure they're actually dead dead, and not only mostly dead.
 * The reviving rests on the medical personell. If they just ignore you, you are screwed.

Mike Toreno is an X-COM agent.
It's never explained which agency he works for, only that it's not the FBI or the CIA. He has undercover agents working in the United States, and has to keep them secret from US government agencies for some reason. At least one mission (the one with the plane landing at your airfield) involves you fighting 'men' in black suits who don't seem to be entirely...human. This troper believes that Toreno is an undercover operative working for the GTA universe's version of X-COM, and he has contracted you to help root out a group of body-snatching aliens that have infiltrated the government.

By 2008, almost every protagonist from the III era is dead.
This is pretty much taken from the easter egg in IV with the names of the previous protagonists. Considering the line of work they're in, it's highly likely that such a thing would have to happen sooner or later (more likely for Tommy and CJ, who were last seen in 1986 and 1992 respectively).
 * This is at least partly true since Victor Vance's death was what effectivly started Vice City's plot.
 * True. Salvatore Leone DID threaten to kill CJ, his friends, and his family for . However, CJ knows Mike Toreno, knows how to operate a jetpack, a Hydra fighter jet, and a wide range of other vehicles and aircraft, all of his friends are bad asses like him, he has an entire gang at his disposal, is friends with the leader of another gang, and is an expert with a wide range of weaponry. CJ may die, but he'll take a lot of Mafia down with him.
 * One of the online news articles in IV makes reference to the meth epidemic having effectively wiped out Vice City's drug lords, who were heavily invested in cocaine and couldn't compete with the meth dealers. The obvious implication of this is that Tommy Vercetti is either dead or back in prison.

Rockstar will be making GTA IV: Vice City and GTA IV: San Andreas
They would be stupid not to.
 * GTA IV: Vice City will be inspired by CSI: Miami, The Glades, and Dexter, with the protagonist being a Cuban gangster coming to live the American dream. Early in the game, he kills someone, and for the rest of the game is pursued by a red headed police officer who may in fact be a killer himself.
 * No Burn Notice?
 * That... would be awesome.
 * Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

Uncle Fu from the first game is Fu Manchu in his old age
Well, they have the same surname, the same moustache, and Uncle Fu is said to be over 130 years old, while Fu Manchu is said to be using an elixir vitae to extend his lifespan.

The GTA world works in very slow motion
Which is why the distance covered by a super car going full speed (we'll say 200 mph, just to make it simple) in an hour is the same distance as a regular car in our world can cover in 5 minutes going 45 mph. By 2008 (when IV happens) the world became faster by a small amount. The game just fixes it so that it seems like things are at normal speed and that the clock is just faster for our convenience.

Sequels
The next game will be set in the IV continuity, will star Niko and be set in San Andreas, focusing on Las Venturas. It will be called GTA: Sin City. The next true sequel will be in the timeline of GTA 2 and it will be called GTA 5, and it will have a expansion/sequel set in Tokyo. This is going by the trademarks that R* registered just before San Andreas came out.

Big Smoke survived his assassination.
His surviving henchmen found him barely alive, and rushed him to a back-alley surgeon, who worked through the night to save Smoke's life. Upon waking, Smoke realized he had gone way over his head. Tenpenny was dead, so he didn't have to work anymore, but he could never go back to Grove Street. Deciding to take it easy for a while, he moved to Liberty City, becoming a saxophone player in a Jazz Band at one of Salvatore Leone's clubs. He takes it easy until 2001, when Claude assassinates Salvatore, and Toni Cipriani takes over the Leone Family. Carl Johnson comes to Liberty City to check up on Joey Leone and offer his condolences, and happens to run into Smoke at the Jazz Club. The two wind having to join forces to take down Tommy Vercetti, who is trying to wrestle control of mob operations in Liberty City, with Claude serving as his Dragon. The whole thing will end with Carl killing Claude (perhaps partially as revenge for killing Catalina), and both Carl and Smoke using a pair of missile launchers to overkill Tommy.


 * You forgot to mention the explosion. I await an explanation of how Smoke is really Wild Dog.


 * If one wanders back to Big Smoke's fortress after the last 'mission' is won, well, the place is remarkably well preserved for being wracked with explosions. Possibly Smoke was smart enough to have special effects explosions going on so as to fake things so he can bug out if need be. Heck, the guy was smart enough to have a fortress in the first place.


 * That sounds more like Fan Fiction, as it doesn't relate to anything and is useless.

In the GTA universe the evil on the streets is cosmically balanced with the greatest public works department the universe has ever seen.
Wherever you drive, you're knocking over lamp posts, mailboxes, fire hydrants, street signs... but circle the block and everything's neatly back in place. There must be an army of DPW trucks following you around.

If Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Stories is ever made, either Ryder or Sweet will be the main character.
In the previous Stories spinoffs, the main protagonists were Toni Cipriani and Victor Vance, a supporting chraracter and a minor character, respectively. Following this trend, either Ryder or Sweet would be the protagonist of the San Andreas incarnation. If it turned out to be Sweet, perhaps it would follow Sweet shutting down some of Tenpenny's early operations, a la the Grove Street 4 Life LP.
 * Alternately, it could actually show some of the seemingly invisible Balla command structure.

Mike Toreno is an alien. The Truth is an X-COM agent.
The Truth may be a Cloudcuckoolander, but he also often seems to be the only person who really knows what's going on in the world. Mike Toreno makes a lot of bizarre and inscrutable comments and sends you on strange and ridiculous missions that are never explained. The Truth is at least partially aware of Toreno's existence and seems to be in conflict with him in some way. This troper postulates that Toreno is either an alien in human form, or a human who is collaborating with an alien race. The Truth is an agent of the GTA universe's version of X-COM, probably the organization' resident Bunny Ears Lawyer, who is working to undermine the alien threat.

The main characters have a power passed down to each other
Claude. C.J. Johnson. Tommy Vercetti. They all hung out in Liberty City at one point. Or just plain met each other. My theory is that 'being able to recover from a machine gunning' and 'cops don't really mind being slaughtered that much' are all part of a huge cosmic power that gets passed from person to person.

Carl Johnson is Jesus Christ
Similar initials. C.J. to J.C. Both easily come back from the dead. Both collect a large following of people, some of questionable morals. They have problems with loyalty.

There's only a few hundred real people in San Andreas
Everyone else is just a semi-sentient drone. This explains why C.J. gets in so much trouble over the framed murder of one cop and yet he can mow down dozens of others and get away with it by getting a car repaint. Also, the rest of his hideous massacres (he murders his neighbors in San Fierror and nobody stops by to ask if he saw anything).

The protagonists in GTA are Schrödinger's cat from the point of view of the cat
This would explain why a player character never dies, you are seeing the world from the point of view of the protagonist. What ever they do quantum immortality keeps them alive as they are always going to perceive the universe they survived in. When they get arrested they are always going to get executed or killed by the gangs/cops in prison they made enemies with so they always end up getting off free as they will never perceive that universe.

The GTA 3 era games are set in a world revolutionised by hyperspace storage and advanced medical treatment.
People only die when the ambulance doesn't show up in time. Vehicles explode easily, but respawn instantly. Nobody locks their cars. Repairs are cheap and easy. You buy spawnpoints instead of specific vehicles, and the replacements are built by a vast excess in production caused by the inefficient american car industry.

Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, and Max Payne all take place in the same universe.
Specifically, Max Payne and Manhunt take place in the GTA III continuity. Carcer City is mentioned numerous times in the GTA Radio series, and Adrenaline is clearly the same stuff Max Payne's been taking for the past few years (which might very well be Valkyre...)
 * That's not a WMG, Word of God confirms it.

Grand Theft Auto (III era) and Scarface take place in the same universe.
After Tony Montana's death, Ricardo Diaz (one of the Diaz brothers mentioned in Scarface) takes over the mansion. While cleaning up the mess left by Sosa's men, Diaz has the mansion remodeled into what you see in Vice City. That's also why the soundtrack to Scarface is played on the 80's station in GTA III--those were the songs that were topping the charts at that point.

The Grand Theft Auto III universe is a film franchise in the Grand Theft Auto IV universe.
Think about it, GTA IV's universe is more realistic, Liberty City goes above and beyond on being an Expy for New York, and Lazlo Jones exists in both universes. The GTA 3 Liberty City could be a set on a back lot, or filmed in Toronto to save money. We see Las Venturas on TV in GTA IV, and the other cities are said to exist, so it's possible those movies were filmed there. That's why the games in the GTA III franchise are based on mafia movies, Vice City is like Scarface, and San Andreas makes multiple movie references and features many A-list actors.

Michelle is killed by Dimitri.
Maybe he shot her silently and got rid of her body with Niko and the head of Liberty Paper didn't noticed it. When Niko confronts him in the end, Dimitri didn't mention to him what he did to Michelle because he is aware that they're not a couple anymore.

GTA V will be set in the "London" of the GTAIV-verse
Awesomeness will ensue...
 * Much like the real thing, there will be police-manned surveillance cameras around that will be a part of the "wanted" system.
 * Beat cops (bobbies) will be armed with nightsticks, not guns. Maybe most will be of average skill, but you will also randomly encounter expert bobbies that will crack your skull open before you even blink. While getting away with petty crimes may be easier, by the time the ones with the guns DO get called in, you're in for a world of hurt.
 * As in GTAIV, gun shops will be of the "black market" variety.
 * Rockstar will show that they are equal-opportunity "lampooners" as they will go after the left much more than the right this time around.
 * At some point, the protagonist comes across filming for a certain popular British car show in desperate need of some wheels. He winds up jacking a test driver in a white jumpsuit and helmet. You KNOW it could be awesome...
 * Jossed, it's set in Los Santos.

All GTA protagonists are Assassins.
They have one mission: to turn their Crapsack World into a better world. It involves in ruling the world and killing the Templars, the rival gangs and corrupt officials.

Luis Lopez and Johnny Klebitz are parts of Niko Bellic.
When Niko has arrived in Liberty City, he has trouble of understanding what America's lifestyle is. He represses the moments of getting to know of it that he suddenly splits into three people: himself, Luis, and Johnny. Luis is the manifestation of having an American lifestyle working for clubs while Johnny is the manifestation of leading his own gang.

Grand Theft Auto V will be multi-regional.
Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas will all be featured in the game. With some luck maybe even Carcer City.
 * Los Santos is the city featured in the trailer based on the Vinewood sign shown. It hasn't been announced what system it will be on so anything's possible at this point.

The protagonist of Grand Theft Auto V will be an All-American optimist.
To fully contrast against Niko's well-travelled pessimism.

The GTA Universe is really an libertarian utopia, or dystopia, depending on which way you see it.
It's got a great amount of social freedom, and great public service, the most prominent of which are the health care and public works department. Because of the great medical care it's nigh impossible to die, and of course the public works department puts anything back to normal improbably fast. Utterly relaxed, sometimes non-existant, laws can be observed when dealing with free speech, traffic safety and property damage. On the other hand: People are more tense, neurotic dramatic because to the consequences of this society, such as poverty due to higher taxes and rampant criminality, higher drug use, etc.

Carl Johnson didn't learn ANYTHING during his time at Liberty City/San Andreas contains a mysterious force that helps develop people towards faster attribute growth
The more Carl (CJ) uses weapons, or drives, or partakes in physical activity such as running or swimming, in San Andreas it adds to a corresponding meter. When each meter is high enough, he rises up a level. Through each level, he'll become a better driver, be a better aim with weapons (can even get to a point where he can fire two weapons simultaneously while moving), and have longer stamina (even becoming a harder hitter with more muscle gained). CJ starts the game as bottom in all stats. In the grand scheme, he's a poor driver, rubbish aim, and even other people comment on how pasty and skinny he is. His time back in San Andreas sees him build up his stats, but he spent alot of time in Liberty (when he left San Andreas), and didn't build up any of these stats at all. One might even go as far as to say Liberty City has a mysterious presence that HINDERS people's attribute growth.

Cars will need fuel in the new game.
The series had become a lot more realistic. GTAV is set to be a commentary on the economic crisis. And fuel is very much a part of the financial landscape. Plus this will add to the challenge: you have enough to buy that Uzi you want but you need gas too.
 * I fucking hope not...
 * Would you care to elaborate, perhaps, why you fucking hope not?

Claude is immortal and far older than his looks imply.
He appears in a poster in Vice City (which takes place in the mid-80's), and doesn't age a day between his cameo in San Andreas. The only possible reason for this is that Claude is simply a lot older than he looks.