Nintendo's Competitive History Against GTA 6

Between the years 2001 and 2013, Rockstar released five Grand Theft Auto games. 13 years and billions of dollars earned later thanks to an online mode in GTA 5 that has become so detached from the base game it’s unrecognizable, GTA 6 is ready to take over the world for the foreseeable future. The dip in productivity when the game drops has been joked about for some time now, with even Houston Rockets center Steven Adams already predicting a league-wide epidemic starting on November 19. Somewhere, someone in the NBA is thanking Rockstar that they didn’t release the game in May, deep into the NBA Playoffs.

The scramble to react to Grand Theft Auto 6’s release date is not unlike what happens during the first hours of NBA free agency. Despite many players and teams with tentative agreements all signed and ready to go (allegedly), nothing becomes official until the biggest names have signed their deals. After the stars are taken off the board, that is when everybody moves accordingly. So when GTA 6’s release date evolved from sometime in 2025 to May 2026 to eventually November 19, their competition was moving accordingly and making shifts to their calendars as well. While it makes business sense for games with similar fanbases to avoid the GTA 6 vortex, there are a number of prominent titles that have very little in common with GTA 6 and still frustratingly shift their release dates like people were going to care. Except for one company, and it’s one that Rockstar probably sees as a rival. Except the other side might not even know there is a rivalry.

For better or worse, Nintendo has never been a company to simply follow industry trends. There are times when their innovations become the new standards that everybody has to follow, like the Switch’s versatility to be both a home and an on-the-road device. And then there are the moments when they do their best Apple impression and introduce a feature that competitors have had for years and successfully convince their audience it's a revolution, like anything that has to do with them gaming online. The same can also be applied to their release strategy, as they coincidentally (or not) released a number of high-profile titles during Rockstar’s window. Here’s a look back at these games that are main entries in Rockstar’s history, but were also met with a competitor who could not care less.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Release Date: October 26, 2018

Copies Sold To Date: 87 million

Nintendo Competition: Super Mario Party (October 5, 2018) (21 million copies sold)

Other Notable Games Released That Month: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Forza Horizon 4, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Considered by many to be one of the greatest video games ever produced, Red Dead Redemption 2’s immersive storytelling and top-notch production values made it a staple of many top games of 2018 lists. In hindsight, maybe Activision and Ubisoft should have followed Electronic Arts' lead when they pushed Battlefield V back a month, so they wouldn’t be dogwalked by Red Dead could polish the game and provide an even better experience for gamers. Despite releasing in the same month, Black Ops 4, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, and Forza Horizon 4 would go on to solid sales, although the Call of Duty fatigue narrative was starting to take shape during this era.

As for Nintendo, the second year of the Switch was relatively quiet, with their biggest hit coming in December 2018 with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Considering the development hell that director Masahiro Sakurai put himself through to get that game out the door, there was no way that game was being released any earlier just to troll Rockstar. Instead, Nintendo released the well-received Super Mario Party, much to the amusement of people who don’t care about things like fairness and skill in their video games.

Grand Theft Auto 5

Release Date: September 17, 2013

Copies Sold To Date: 230 million

Nintendo Competition: Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD (September 20, 2013) (2 million copies sold)

Other Notable Games Released That Month: Diablo 3 console ports, FIFA 14

In a little bit of the past informing the present, Nintendo released an HD port of Wind Waker to the Wii U days after the release of GTA 5. Unlike the upcoming Ocarina of Time Remake that overhauls the Nintendo 64 original in every way imaginable, Wind Waker HD focused on quality of life improvements with updates to the visuals. Sadly, with the Wii U already underperforming less than a year into its life cycle, nobody had any delusions that an updated port of a GameCube game was going to turn things around.

Releasing a mere two months before the launch of both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, GTA 5 felt like a send-off to one of the most memorable generations in the history of gaming, but also a tease of what was to come (GTA 5 for PS4 and Xbox One would release the following year, followed by PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in 2022). While the September 2013 release calendar was rather barren, the impending arrival of the next generation was just as critical to that event, if not more so.

L.A. Noire

Release Date: May 17, 2011

Copies Sold To Date: 7.5 million

Nintendo Competition: None

Other Notable Games Released That Month: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Terraria, Brink

Developed by Australia-based Team Bondi with financial and development backing by Rockstar, L.A. Noire was being hyped as the next big thing with its movie-quality storytelling and realistic facial animations, which were integral to the gameplay. The final product was a solid, if unspectacular, first effort. However, because so much money and resources were poured into the project, not to mention a reportedly difficult office environment that included devs being forced to work around the clock, L.A. Noire did not live up to expectations, and Team Bondi was shut down in August 2011.

Despite the Rockstar co-sign, there were no reports that other companies were ducking L.A. Noire. Nintendo was busy playing damage control from the disastrous launch of the 3DS back in March of that year, while other publishers were releasing high-profile games like inFamous 2, Mortal Kombat 9, and Portal 2 during L.A. Noire’s launch window.

Red Dead Redemption

Release Date: May 18, 2010

Copies Sold To Date: 25 million

Nintendo Competition: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (May 25, 2010) (8 million copies sold)

Other Notable Games Released That Month: Alan Wake, Skate 3, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Unlike the Red Dead 2 launch that saw some companies actively move their games to avoid the heat from Rockstar, nobody was ducking the first Red Dead Redemption because the concept was so unproven. After they acquired the rights to the Red Dead intellectual property from Capcom, Rockstar released Red Dead Revolver to middling reviews and mild sales success. Redemption was less of a reboot and more of a total overhaul of the franchise, opting for a more serious tone and a vast open world. It would release to a crowded May schedule that included the first Alan Wake game, the third entry in the popular Skate franchise, yet another attempt to revive Prince of Persia, and the follow-up to Super Mario Galaxy. It was a very strong month for gamers as they got two all-time classics within the span of a week.

Grand Theft Auto 4

Release Date: April 29, 2008

Copies Sold To Date: 25 million copies

Nintendo Competition: Mario Kart Wii (April 27, 2008) (38 million copies sold)

Other Notable Games Released That Month: The World Ends With You, Persona 3: FES

Maybe Niko and cousin Roman should have ducked Mario this time around. The reality is that while the Rockstar and Nintendo Venn Diagram has plenty of overlap, the audience that rides exclusively for one side is so huge that any effect one might have on the other’s sales is negligible. It would be like saying the Super Mario movies would eat into ticket sales of Obsession or Backrooms if they were released on the same weekend. Despite having some of the most egregiously unfair rubber banding of any Mario Kart game, where skill is rarely rewarded, the Wii entry became the series’ best-selling game until Mario Kart 8 Deluxe arrived on the Switch.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Release Date: October 26, 2004

Total Copies Sold: 28 million

Nintendo Competition: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (October 11, 2004) (4 million copies sold)

Other Notable Games Released That Month: Mortal Kombat: Deception, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2

There is an argument in gaming circles that November 2004 was the greatest release month in video game history. Within that 30-day period, November 2004 gave us Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It was all that, and then Blizzard dropped a little massively multiplayer online game called World of Warcraft, one of the few franchises that has brought in more revenue than GTA. Not that we are implying that Rockstar was afraid to take on anybody, but releasing San Andreas a week ahead of this very competitive space was a wise move. Meanwhile, Nintendo set itself up to give its Mario RPG spinoff series the best chance to grab some sales by dropping near the start of the month.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Release Date: October 29, 2002

Total Copies Sold: 17.5 million

Nintendo Competition: None

Other Notable Games Released That Month: Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Released a little over a year after GTA 3, gamers were eagerly anticipating what was next from Rockstar. While the storyline remained firmly entrenched in mafia intrigue, the move from the grimy streets of Liberty City to the neon shine of Vice City offered a more inviting playground for gamers to cause all sorts of chaos. Coupled with an iconic soundtrack that fed the nostalgic souls of 80s kids and young adults, there has never been a better time to perform wanton acts of video game shenanigans than to tunes of Hall and Oates.

While Nintendo did not release any games in October 2002, Vice City was sandwiched by two legendary franchises in Animal Crossing and the first Metroid Prime. One is a cozy life simulator, and the other is a brooding first-person adventure game that is equal parts shooter and platform exploration. Neither Nintendo nor Rockstar was worried about each other’s output at this time.

Grand Theft Auto 3

Release Date: October 22, 2001

Total Copies Sold: 14.5 million

Nintendo Competition: None because the GameCube released a month later

Other Notable Games Released That Month: Devil May Cry, Silent Hill 2, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, Civilization III

Released just weeks after the September 11 attacks, there was some concern that Grand Theft Auto’s New York City-adjacent setting might stir up some emotions among people. Ultimately, those concerns would fade away and morph into amazement and scaremongering over the autonomy the game gave its players to either follow the story or just mess around in the open world. Along with games that were released that month, like Devil May Cry, Silent Hill 2, and even Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, GTA 3 was opening up a new lane for gamers who felt that they had outgrown the Nintendo house style of whimsy. Even Nintendo’s next console, the GameCube, looked and felt like a child’s toy in comparison to the sleek and mysterious black box with blue trim of the PlayStation 2. We did not know it back then, but lines were being drawn that a lot of people still want to desperately cling to.

Grand Theft Auto 6

Release Date: November 19, 2026

Nintendo Competition: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake (November 5, 2026)

Other Notable Games Releasing That Month: World of Warcraft Forever

According to industry projections, GTA 6 is going to shatter every video game sales record imaginable. However many units the Ocarina of Time remake sells, it will not compare to the copies that GTA 6 will move, especially when the eagerly anticipated GTA Online mode is finally revealed and earns Rockstar billions of dollars annually for the next 20 years. Despite Rockstar collecting all of those monies, the Ocarina of Time Remake might prove to be just as influential in the long run. After nearly a decade of watching Link run around a deep open-world version of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, Ocarina is bringing back the classic Zelda formula that has a more set path with large swaths of freedom to roam mixed in between. Mikey Day’s Link might have the last laugh after all…

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. His current hot take is that people are really underrating the Psyduck trading card market. Email: juan@soleretriever.com Instagram | Twitter | Bluesky | Threads : @ezyville