Grand Theft Auto VI will be released in November.
Rockstar Games
Miami-Dade is embracing its infamy — and trying to make a buck from it.
Smart? Probably. But also ironic. Miami has spent decades trying to shed its Miami Vice-Cocaine Cowboys reputation, but trying to sell Wall Street of the South doesn’t have the same ring to it.
As the Herald reported this week, county officials have pitched an unusual marketing deal to the company behind the popular-yet-controversial video game Grand Theft Auto ahead of the greatly anticipated release of its sixth installment. The proposal was first reported by The Miamian news website.
The idea is to transform some of Miami-Dade’s public buildings and infrastructure into real-world simulations of the game’s hometown of Vice City, which was inspired by Miami’s pastel colors, neon lights, palm trees, beach vibe from the 1980s — and the violence of that decade.
Picture this: parts of Miami International Airport become the Vice City airport with a display aircraft emblazoned with Vice City’s logo; a downtown Miami Metromover train transforms into Vice City train, wrapped in the fictional city’s graphics. Even our sewer system would be part of the homage with special manhole covers to honor the video game.
The July proposal does not mention how much Miami-Dade expects company Rockstar Games to pay for the marketing stunt, the Herald reported.
With Miami-Dade officials projecting budget deficits in coming years, everything helps, right? There’s just a tiny inconvenience: In GTA — as Grand Theft Auto is known — players take on the role of a criminal and participate in a host of law-breaking activities such as stealing cars, evading police and wreaking havoc.
“Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,” released in 2002, featured gangster Tommy Viccenti. Freshly out of prison, his goal was to rise through the criminal ranks of a sleazy yet sunny metropolis. There were, of course, drugs and rampant violence.
There was immediate backlash: Haitians who said the game’s depiction of immigrants was unfair and families of murder victims who sued game makers, claiming it influenced their loved ones’ killer.
With Grand Theft Auto VI getting a lot of buzz — there’s an “Extended Look” available on Netflix before the game is released in November — Miami-Dade seems to be in on the joke.
“Given Miami-Dade’s clear influence on the game, we think there could be a unique opportunity to generate revenue for the County while showcasing Miami-Dade to a massive audience,” Carlos Suarez, a spokesman for County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, told the Herald.
Is Miami-Dade’s proposal in poor taste, or a clever marketing ploy? If it works, there will certainly be those who clutch their pearls — and many more who will post Instagram stories about Vice City-inspired trains and manholes.
If Grand Theft Auto will force Miami to remember some of its darkest hours as a community, let us at least cash in on it.
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