Crime doesn’t pay. But virtual crime? That does pay. And by the bucket-load. Even by the time the series reached Florida, it was breaking records in a major way, with Vice City becoming the fastest-selling PS2 title ever - until San Andreas beat it. And that’s despite four million Americans pre-ordering Vice City, and a million more buying it upon its release (in the UK, the Miami Vice-vibed title shifted over a quarter of million units over a single weekend). Both GTA III and Vice City went on to sell well over 10 million units each. San Andreas, meanwhile, sold one million copies in just nine days in the UK alone, going on to top 15 million sales around the world. Astonishing. Total sales of the Grand Theft Auto games are now in excess of 65 million copies.

So GTA is big, but it’s about more than just units shifted and cash generated. Indeed, Vice City’s 2002 release prompted TIME magazine to say that it “will force us to realize that video games aren’t toys anymore; they’re sophisticated, thought-provoking entertainment for grownups. At their best, they’re art.” Not everybody has caught on, even now - six years later and with the release of GTA IV - but it can’t be much longer before games are accepted as entertainment for adults. If only because all the non-gaming haters will die out...