South Park / Comedy Central / Rockstar Games
still from GTA VI gameplay footage debuted within latest South Park episode
The clock is ticking down to Rockstar’s release of GTA VI, a game that been in development for roughly 13 years. Set to be released on November 19th, the hype train is steaming ahead in full force with GTA 6 taking over Miami aka ‘Vice City’ with a multi-million dollar deal with the city.
In the latest episode of South Park which has temporarily changed its name to South America, Rockstar took the GTA VI hype one step further and debuted gameplay footage within the latest episode. And to be clear, the gameplay footage is both nasty and perfectly on-brand for South Park which makes this quite possibly the most genius and harmonious marketing play in years.
‘GTA VI’ Dog Poop Gameplay Footage Debuted In ‘South Park’ Episode
The latest episode, ‘Guinea Pig on a Stick,’ came with the tagline “Four boys fight to keep South America’s increasingly prized and sought-after beef in local hands.” That ultimately had nothing directly related to the GTA 6 gameplay footage but the footage was still on brand for South America.
According to the clip, there will be realistic dogs on the beach and when nature calls those dogs will do their business. Gamers can then pick up that dog poop and throw it at characters within the game causing a kerfuffle. That’s right, South Park got to announce that after 13 years of development there will be dog poop fights in GTA 6. Check out the clip here:
Have you ever wanted to throw dog poop at someone within a video game? Maybe deep down you did and you were unaware until now. After seeing this clip, if you are now even more hyped for the game and can’t quite place why, the je ne sais quoi of a dog poop fight simply does not need to be explained.
The Hype Is Real
As for the game’s release, Rockstar Games has reportedly spent nearly $4 million with the city of Miami on real-world activations including elaborate lights displays at PortMiami and the Miami International Airport.
In a press release, the city of Miami announced “Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced today a marketing and advertising package valued at $3.9 million ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19. The arrangements include an agreement between Miami-Dade County and Rockstar Games, as well as separate advertising purchases through media companies that manage advertising space at Miami International Airport (MIA) and across the County’s transportation system.”
Elsewhere in Florida, a brewery is releasing a real-life version of the beer that will appear in GTA 6, and economists are forecasting the release of GTA VI will cost American companies an estimated $1 billion in productivity losses.