View source for Community:Universe Debate

For several years, Grand Theft Wiki has had an ongoing debate around whether to group GTA games by  [[Era]] (Game number) or [[Universes|Universe]].

Grand Theft Wiki has traditionally chosen to use the Era system, although we do mention Universes specifically when referring to cross-era continuity.

However - it is acknowledged that neither system is perfect.

{{universes}}


==Era System==

The [[Era]] system groups the games based on each new game with a number. For example, [[GTA III]] starts the [[GTA III Era]], then [[GTA IV]] starts the [[GTA IV Era]]. 


Era is not an official term - but it's a word we use to describe the real criteria of game numbers. 

{| class="wikitable"
!GTA 1 Era
!GTA 2 Era
!GTA III Era
!GTA IV Era
!GTA V Era
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|
*{{link|1}}
*{{link|L69}}
*{{link|L61}}
|style="vertical-align:top;"|
*{{link|2}}
|style="vertical-align:top;"|
*{{link|3}}
*{{link|vc}}
*{{link|sa}}
*{{link|a}}*
*{{link|lcs}}
*{{link|vcs}}
|style="vertical-align:top;"|
*{{link|iv}}
*{{link|tlad}}
*{{link|bogt}}
*{{link|cw}}
|style="vertical-align:top;"|
*{{link|v}}
*{{link|o}}
|}


{|class="wikitable"
!Pros
!Cons
|-
|
* X
|
* X
|}


==Universe System==

The Universe system groups all the games into 3 distinct groupings: the [[2D Universe]], [[3D Universe]] and [[HD Universe]].

This system is based on three things:
* The look/feel of the games is similar
* Some minor characters cross between eras in the same Universe
* A news article once used the term describing an interview with [[Dan Houser]] (see [[Universes]]) 


{| class="wikitable"
!2D Universe
!3D Universe
!HD Universe
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|
*{{link|1}}
*{{link|L69}}
*{{link|L61}}
*{{link|2}}
|style="vertical-align:top;"|
*{{link|3}}
*{{link|vc}}
*{{link|sa}}
*{{link|a}}*
*{{link|lcs}}
*{{link|vcs}}
|style="vertical-align:top;"|
*{{link|iv}}
*{{link|tlad}}
*{{link|bogt}}
*{{link|cw}}
*{{link|v}}
*{{link|o}}
|}


{|class="wikitable"
!Pros
!Cons
|-
|
* A term used in a newspaper interview with Rockstar
|
* X
|}