Grand Theft Auto V best served on current-gen, Rockstar says

GTA 5 is coming out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in spring 2013, right before when many speculate we'll begin to see the next console generation in earnest. So why didn't Rockstar push release back another year or two and get in on the flashy new machines?

Dan Houser, GTA series writer and Rockstar VP of creativity, told Famitsu (translated by Polygon) the best games always come near the end of each generation, when developers are working with well-known hardware. And--most folks we'd chastise for being so unhumble--he's pretty sure GTA V will be one of them.

"We use the technology we have to create content, and we try not to let ourselves get beholden to the hardware," Houser said. "The fact that hardware's so mature right now is exactly why we're able to go on to the next level. [Grand Theft Auto IV] was our first attempt at a new platform and HD visuals, so the first part of development was seriously difficult. Now we know what the hardware's capable of, so it's become a lot easier to move things along and a lot more fun, too. GTA: San Andreas came out at the peak of the PlayStation 2's cycle, and we put out a really good game thanks to that. All the best games for a console come out at the end of the lifecycle, right? So now's the best timing of all."

While the series has flirted with unusual narrative angles, most of its entries feature a relative unknown rising up through the criminal underworld to become a kingpin of sorts--which has been done once or twice before. Houser said the story will be much more intricate in depth and commentary this time around, thanks in large part to the trio of protagonists.

"The three heroes are all playing out their own conflicting roles, and it makes for a deeper and more complex story than before. I'd like you to think of it as a new story, [one] that you've never experienced not just in games but in any other genre. I guess it sort of talks about how that beautiful West Coast, covered in these rainbows of hope, isn't really the paradise you'd imagine."

Also, if you missed games media exploding earlier today, you can catch the second GTA V trailer right here.