// KOTAKU — GAMING
The Forgotten GTA Game That Secretly Hides A Phil Collins Concert
Florida JokerGrand Theft Auto 6GTA 6Rockstar GamesStealing Cars
Welcome back to Kotaku’s semi-regular Grand Theft Auto 6 column that is still called Stealing Cars because I can’t come up with a better name. Today, we’re looking at how awesome the cars look in GTA 6, checking in on the Florida Joker, sharing some advice on how to avoid being scammed, and having fun at the Phil Collins concert in GTA: Vice City Stories.
It’s weird to call any GTA game forgotten, as the series is one of the biggest video game franchises in the world. And yet, I’d say Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories classifies as a forgotten entry in the series, especially considering Rockstar Games has only ported it once. Originally released on PSP in 2006, Rockstar only ported VCS once, to the PS2 in 2007. And since then, it’s been left behind, forgotten by Rockstar Games and plenty of the franchise’s fans.
While GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas get plenty of ports and remasters, VCS is left to rot. Even Liberty City Stories, a GTA game released on PSP before VCS, got ported to Android and iOS as well as PS2.
It’s a shame that Vice City Stories, a genuinely good game that plays better than the original Vice City and features a wider array of weapons and vehicles, has been forgotten by Rockstar and fans, because it contains one of the coolest moments in any GTA game.
At one point, Phil Collins performs “In the Air Tonight” on stage in Vice City, and you get to watch it. And this isn’t a parody or a soundalike. No, this is actually Phil Collins performing one of his biggest hits inside a PSP GTA game. It’s wild to watch and, honestly, hard to believe it happened back in 2006. Yet it did, and until Rockstar ports Vice City Stories to PC or other platforms, it will be tricky to experience this yourself in-game.
With GTA: Vice City Stories turning 20 years old this year and with us being a few months away from the release of GTA 6, which is set in Vice City, I’m feeling a need to return to those older games set in Rockstar’s strange version of 1980s Miami. The vibes were immaculate.
Let’s check in on the Florida Joker, aka that weird dude who has tattoos all over his face. Years ago, he went viral online after he was arrested and appeared on video in court with his face tattoos. Rockstar then included a direct parody of the Florida Joker in the first GTA 6 trailer, and for about two years, he threatened to sue the studio over it. Then he dropped that silly attempt to squeeze $2 million out of Rockstar Games and began asking the company to hire him to voice the character.
What’s he up to now? Well, he posts videos of himself dancing on Instagram to his over 80,000 followers. More recently, following the reveal that GTA 6‘s Ultimate Edition will cost $100, the Florida Joker posted a request for someone to send him that amount so he could pre-order the game
“Some PayPal 100$ so I can pre-order GTA six at midnight please and thank you.” 24 hours after posting the request, it has 36 likes, no comments, and no update on whether the Florida Joker got his copy of GTA 6 pre-ordered.