Rockstar published a press release alongside this new site detailing the changes and including screenshots.

In honor of the upcoming anniversary, today we are excited to announce that all three games will be coming to current generation platforms later this year in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and the Rockstar Games Launcher on PC. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition will feature across-the-board upgrades including graphical improvements and modern gameplay enhancements for all three titles, while still maintaining the classic look and feel of the originals. We’re extremely excited to share more about these groundbreaking titles in the coming weeks — stay tuned!

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition

It introduces wide-ranging modern control upgrades, including improvements to targeting and lock-on aiming, updated Weapon and Radio Station Wheels, updated Mini-Maps with enhanced navigation allowing players to set waypoints to destinations, updated Achievements, Trophies, and more. The Nintendo Switch version also features Switch-specific controls including Gyro aiming, as well as touch screen camera zooming, pans, and menu selections, while the PC version includes support for NVIDIA DLSS and additional new Accomplishments via the Rockstar Games Social Club.

Additional enhancements across all three titles include a completely rebuilt lighting system; improved shadows, weather, and reflections; upgraded character and vehicle models; along with new higher resolution textures across buildings, weapons, roads, interiors, and more. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition also features a range of environmental upgrades including all new foliage, smoother surfaces, and increased draw distances to provide a new level of depth and clarity throughout the world.

The digital version

Rockstar’s official page for the games has just gone up, revealing that the trilogy of classic murder-fests—GTA III, GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas—will be yours in 20 days if you get a digital version. For physical editions on all formats, it’ll be December 6 in Europe, December 7 in the United States. Any of those versions will cost you a blistering $60 on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and the Xboxes.

Of course, you’re getting three absolutely enormous games here, so 60 bucks might not immediately seem so bad. It’s just that we’re talking games ranging from 17 to 20 years old. Which is to say, announcing the pre-orders with less than three weeks to go, and slapping on a premium price, is asking players to exercise a lot of faith.

However, we can at last see a short glimpse of how the three games will be looking, compared to the originals, in this just-released video:

Improvements

improvements to targeting and lock-on aiming, updated Weapon and Radio Station Wheels, updated Mini-Maps with enhanced navigation allowing players to set waypoints to destinations, updated Achievements, Trophies, and more. The Nintendo Switch version also features Switch-specific controls including Gyro aiming, as well as touch screen camera zooming, pans, and menu selections, while the PC version includes support for NVIDIA DLSS and additional new Accomplishments via the Rockstar Games Social Club.

The PC specs

The PC specs do offer some clues as to how grand the improvements might be, and they’re pretty low. The minimum requirements are an i5-2700/FX-6300, with 8GB RAM, and a GTX 760 2GB/Radeon R9 280. The recommended tech still won’t be stretching many a PC: i7-6600K/Ryzen 5 2600, 16GB RAM, and a GTX 970 4GB/Radeon RX 570—those are five-year-old graphics cards. However, they will be occupying 45GB of your hard drive—the original version of San Andreas, the largest of the games, was only 4.6GB on release.

Things definitely look a lot nicer, and they’ve leaned in to a much more cartoony vibe—a smart move if this is really more of a texture upgrade than a true remastering. Cartoons forgive a lot, where an attempt at more realistic depictions would likely have looked pretty ropey. However, it’s a very different vibe from the originals, which you now cannot buy.

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The Contenders

Justin  Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Maybe it’s time we put some respect on El Hombre’s name. Last season the #21 took home the championship but it doesn’t appear people gave him the respect he deserves. Anderson can ride with the best of them because he is one of the best. He’s fast, he’s smooth, and he’s a workhorse. Anderson isn’t flashy but he’s consistent. And he’ll go after a motherfucker if they ride dirty.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – The Colorado native has the rawest speed out of anyone in supercross the question is can he contain it. He recorded 8 wins in 2018 but missed the second round of the year. With that race and maybe one better result we’re looking at a champ. He’s finished runner-up twice and a third place last year. If Tomac can stay on his bike he’s winning the championship this year. It’s his time.

Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) – Marv rides for a championship winning team on a championship winning bike but continues to underperform. He’s aggressive but runner-up points finish last year is all he has to show for it. One half of the Wet Bandits won three races last year, can he finally step up in the final year of his contract?

Ken Roczen ( Honda HRC)  – Potentially the most gifted rider in the series is returning following back to back seasons of devastating arm injuries. In 2017 Roczen crashed at Anaheim 2 so severely his forearm bones were sticking out of the skin and he nearly lost his arm. After recovering from that and returning in 2018 Roczen got caught up in a crash that saw his right hand get ripped through the swingarm of Cooper Webb’s bike ending his season again. In 2019 Roczen is back and he’s ready to finally claim the 450 championship.

The Maybes

Cooper Webb ( Red Bull KTM) – Kid was fast in 250s and made the move up to 450 with the factory Yamaha team but never panned out. Maybe a change in scenery is what he needed.

Aaron Plessinger ( Monster Energy Factory Yamaha) – Plessinger is the most interesting of the rookies. The kid matured quickly in 250 and figured out how to capitalize. Can he bring that same style to 450 and make it work? Also a Cincinnati kid.

Joey Savatgy ( Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Another rookie here but one that is more questionable. Savatagy is here to play rear gunner for Tomac in 2019.

Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Well he was supposed to make his first start tonight but he broke his collarbone three days ago. However, Osborne is a stout rider just not sure if he can transition at a competitive level.

Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Factory Yamaha) – Bam Bam is back on a factory bike. He might steal a win at like Daytona but he’s not a title contender in 2019.

Yeah No Chance But They’re Here And That’s Cool

Entire Joe Gibbs Team – Chad Reed and Justin Hill will be spearheading the 450 duties for JGR hoping to give Coy Gibbs something to justify the money spent on this team. They’ll be in the gate but they have little chance of winning.

Seven Deuce Deuce – is now on the #97 as he moves to the HEP Motorsports Suzuki. Long live the Seven Deuce Deuce.

Rocky Mountain ATV KTM Team – They’re like the Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing. Rocky Mountain ATV KTM is a satellite of the factory team and will field bikes for Benny Bloss, Justin Bogel, and Blake Baggett. They could steal a win but for the most part, they’ll just be there.

Most Likely To Piss Off The Field

Vince Friese – He’s still here and he’s still likely to throw hands with someone at some point this season. Dude is a danger on the track but the AMA/FIM doesn’t seem to care.

Who Wins The ‘Chip?

Eli Tomac, book it.

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It also made Fernando flirt with IndyCar a little. A fan of emojis, the Spaniard tweeted out a simple emoji with a GIF. To break it down for the Robin Miller old guys of the world, he essentially said “that’s cool”, then “maybe I’ll do that. ” What Alonso didn’t say was “NO.” Instead he fueled the speculation that he might come to America to run the domestic series in this country.

IndyCar doesn’t need anyone to provide validity to it being a proper championship. It’s a hard series to win in and we’ve seen some really talented drivers get in cars and struggle. Rubens Barrichello joined the series in 2012 and it took him all season to finally earn a Top 5 finish at Sonoma in the third to final race of the season. IndyCar gets a bad rep outside of the states but it’s a super challenging series.

Alonso is naturally a more talented driver than than Rubens but the struggles are real. Without a doubt Alonso would find the top step of the podium in his rookie season. Hell he could be such a great driver that he just dominates the season. There’s no doubt about his talent, it comes down to where does he actually want to race.

Formula One

Fernando has said this season that Formula One is his main focus. However, without a proper winning seat available could he consider leaving the highest echelon of open wheel racing for IndyCar? Possibly.

McLaren is the best place for Alonso. After giving up last weekend at Spa when the car was just so slow down the straights it’s hard imagine he will want to keep racing there. Unless there is a massive engine upgrade for next year it’s going to much of the same. So McLaren could farm him out to IndyCar for a season to keep him happy until the car is ready to compete in 2019.

Fernando Alonso IndyCar diecast

Bring Alonso to us for a season, we’ll take care of him. If the Spanish want to stage a new Spanish inquisition to promote the good word of Fernando Alonso in the states bring it on. Not like we have much to look up to in this country. Just don’t build any statues, we’re very triggered by statues at the moment.

IndyCar could use a huge international name joining the series. No offense to Max Chilton and Esteban Gutierrez but they aren’t getting anyone outside of their families excited. Get Alonso, dominate the world. Simple game plan for Indycar.

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Why you should not buy your kid a new car

I’m 25, been driving for almost a decade and have yet to have a brand new car. Why? Because it doesn’t make sense for me:

1. financially
2. It’s literally one of the worst investments of your life.

While I love cars, buying a new one doesn’t really appeal to me. It didn’t appeal to my parents either, they didn’t want to hand me something and at 16 that pissed me off. Instead I got to drive one of the cars in their garage, that car? A 1984 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, 350, lowered 2 inches with a cowl hood.

My background

If I lived on Long Island in 1985 I would have been hot shit. Instead I lived in the suburbs of Cincinnati. But that car, while I didn’t want it at first turned out to be one of my favorite cars ever. I drove that thing for 4 years, sure it wasn’t cool in 2006 but I had the most unique car in the school parking lot and everyone wanted to see it. It didn’t have airbags, traction control and sometimes air conditioning. But it was great, I learned to drive in the snow in that car. A rear wheel drive car in the snow is the most fun you can have. And I never go into an accident.

How about my friends?

While all my friends got hand downed Accords and Civics I had something unique. While I didn’t realize it at the time I totally appreciate it today. Now I sit here a weekend removed from listening to my 16 year old cousin talk about getting a 2016 Camry for his first car. That’s cool, it’s super safe, will run for a century and have no problems. But there is nothing fun about that car. It blends in with society, it has no sport to it, no sense of fun. It’s the car that has sex missionary for it’s whole life and thinks it’s cool. It’s not.

Buy them something they can have fun in

Buy your kid something exciting. No don’t buy them an SRT Challenger or an STI for their first car, most 16 year olds aren’t responsible enough for that. But buy them something they can have fun in. Buy them a WRX, a Charger, a Magnum, Mustang, Mazda Speed3 or a Miata. Buy them something they can customize, have some fun in. Don’t buy them a piece of shit, that’s dumb on your part and theirs but buy them something within the last 5-7 years. Chances are they’re going to beat the shit out of them, dent it and you’ll pass it down to your next kid. But let them have some fun.

How about if you have a daughter?

Thankfully I never had to drive and accord, Camry or Malibu. Don’t do that to your kids, don’t kill car culture. If you have a daughter, sure buy them whatever, literally have no clue what you buy a girl. A Scion Tc? Woo. Don’t buy her a BMW, Mercedes or you’ll be building a nightmare for yourself. Buy your kid something they’ll like, they’ll meet other people with the same car, they’ll have some fun.

Hit up Craigslist and find something.

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Motorsport– I (Roger Penske) talked about if we could get a privateer [effort] with some of those cars. But under the current situation with Audi, all the things they’re going through, they just said they’ve got enough eyeballs on them, they don’t need to be showing up at Le Mans.

I’d love to run at Le Mans, but if I did I’d love to run at the front.

Why can’t Germans have any fun?

Outside of leather and whips they seem the be the driest, dullest group of individuals on the planet. Audi said a few months ago they were open to a privateer outfit running the Audi R18 at Le Mans. Today, apparently they decided to be a bunch of lames because no one can run them.

Roger Penske wanted to run them at Le Mans as a private team. Audi and Roger Penske are a match made in heaven. Clean cut, sharp, measured, engineered in a lab in an effort to take over the automotive industry. They’re the same person if Roger Penske is even a person.

Audi has enjoyed 18 competitive and usually dominating years in endurance racing and at Le Mans specifically moreover, they dominated for years, they introduced diesel power plants to the world of racing. Then all of a sudden a little (massive) diesel emissions cover up becomes public and they have to quit racing in every series they are in. A few Golf’s puts out a little more CO2 in the air and we can’t have nice things anymore. Those damn Germans, always being sneaky.

So now no one can see Audi at Le Mans anymore. Roger Penske wants to run Le Mans but only if he can be at the front. He’s rumored to be teaming up with Honda for an IMSA DPi program in 2018. Might want to rethink that after their debacle with McLaren again this pre season in F1 testing.

Audi get your asses back to Le Mans. No one cares about your emission problems. 10% of the world does, and they’ve all forgotten by now. Forget about Savannah and Brenton from Portland who love the environment. We deserve a three way battle at Le Mans.

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Zane Smith has been fined $5,000, and he and team owner Doug Fuller have been penalized with the loss of 100 championship points (Driver, Owner, Short Track Challenge) as well as corresponding special awards points.

The penalty

That 100 point penalty sets Zane 405 points behind leader Sheldon Creed with 2 races to go. Assuming Creed starts that race at Lucas Oil Raceway on October 6th he will be the 2018 ARCA champion. The race winner in ARCA earns 200 points, even with bonus points assuming Creed starts the race he will have enough points to be crowned champ following the race.

A suspension is what most people were expecting for Zane. With two races left in the season and the championship all but decided a 1-2 race suspension would have been logical. You can’t have drivers deliberately waiting on other drivers.

What Led Up To This

After Smith and Michael Self, both wrecked each other and the retaliation seemed equal the #41 car went back on track and ended the #55’s night. A blatant move that you would see every Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium. Essentially Zane went all Matt Kenseth/Scott Speed on Michael Self.

After the race, we talked to Michael Self on the podcast who explained his side of the story. Give it a listen here.  Self said he thought they were even after he turned Zane off turn 2 earlier in the race. Obviously, Zane had a different idea.

It’s an unceremonious way for Zane Smith to end his championship battle but if you’re going to go out you might as well go out in a blaze of retaliation glory.

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Report–For those who have speculated the GoDaddy Girl may be going somewhere else, think again. Stewart-Haas Racing team owner Gene Haas told Motorsport.com on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he’d like to get Danica Patrick’s deal signed “as soon as possible” — and he expects to do just that.

“We expect her to stay with Stewart-Haas Racing,” Haas told Motorsport.com. “We have some very good sponsors that are in the process of signing up. But we knew that. We knew going in that there’s just a lot of demand for her. Let’s face it, she’s the only woman on the whole grid so she’s going to get a lot of press, and that’s what sponsors want to see. We told her we wanted her to come back. She’s been very flexible about everything. It all has to happen at the same time. You can’t really sign a driver until you have a sponsor. You have to know how much money you’re going to get from the sponsor and that kind of translates into the deal you make with the driver. I think it’s all going good.”

Somewhat surprising news? Danica Patrick is apparently going to be back at SHR in 2016 regardless of the fact that she has done nothing in a car that should be running Top 10 like her teammates the #4 and #41 every week. Danica Patrick is not going to be a top level cup driver, she is a 25th-40th place runner who is taking away a competitive ride from someone who could actually do something with it.

In her three year cup career she has a best career points finish of 28th in her rookie season. That means in 2014 she did worse than that, worse than 28th and she gets to keep her ride. This season she sits 22nd in points and continues to slide. She has 6 career top 10’s. S-I-X, in three years. Martin Truex had 14 in the first 15 races this year, just a little perspective. She averages 2 a year an Darrell Waltrip thinks that is progress. It’s really unbelievable the rope she is given in terms of what other drivers are given.

So in 2016 she’ll be back at SHR taking away a competitive ride from someone who more likely deserves it. She is obviously a media darling and a very marketable driver but at what point does mediocre results effect marketability. This is SHR’s decision but the team has to question the decision when they could have a driver that puts them at the front.

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According to Robin Miller the NASCAR Xfinity Series will test the infield road course this June.

That’s massive news that the series likely didn’t want out in the public yet. If anyone knows what is happening at IMS it’s Robin Miller. This bit of news also goes along with other things we’ve heard. NASCAR has reportedly told IMS it’s the road course or nothing going forward post 2020. We’ll see if that’s true but for now the fact a test is happening leads evidence to those rumblings.

The infield road course at IMS has seen numerous changes since it’s inception in 2000 when it was constructed to host the United States Grand Prix. MotoGP joined the track in 2008 when the turn one complex was constructed. IndyCar has hosted a Grand Prix on the road course since 2012 to kick off the month of May.

Now NASCAR could be joining those ranks and it wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. The current road course runs clock-wise (the opposite of an oval for you mouth breathers) which is perfect considering all teams already build cars for Watkins Glen. Fueling is done on the opposite side, that’s why it’s a big deal.

One of the biggest questions is will NASCAR use the complex down in oval turn 1. Or will they skip that complex and run the opposite way through turn 1 like F1 did? Both have upsides, but they’ll likely settle for running the complex to lengthen lap times and keep speeds down headed into road course turn 1.

No word if this test will be open to the public.

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Excuse me, the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard presented by Florida Georgia Line doesn’t matter anymore.

In fact, it hasn’t mattered for the better part of a decade. NASCAR and its media partners have tried relentlessly to convince drivers and fans alike that this race remains a Crown Jewel race on the calendar. All while completely ignoring the putrid racing and atrocious attendance.

When NASCAR came to the speedway for a test in 1992 some 20-25k spectators showed up to watch them turn pointless laps. A Goodyear tire test boosted the excitement that NASCAR was coming to the crossroads of America.

A success for NASCAR

Just two years late in 1994 the first Brickyard 400 was held in from of 350,000 fans. An astronomical amount of fans, more fans than any other NASCAR race. The Daytona 500 hosted about 130,000 fans at its peak and currently still hosts 100,000 fans each February. It was a resounding success for NASCAR and it was only amplified by the fact a Hoosier in Jeff Gordon won.

The Brickyard 400 carried some massive weight for the better part of a decade. Every driver wanted to win there, fans wanted to watch a race there. If there is a cathedral for racing, it’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NASCAR was so popular the race was only 400 miles so it wouldn’t take away from the prestige of the 500. Things have certainly changed back since 1994 but at the time this was the biggest race in NASCAR next to the Daytona 500.

Flashforward to 2019 and the Brickyard 400 isn’t even a shell of its former self. Moved from it’s traditional August date to the cut-off race for the playoffs last season in hopes of boosting attendance didn’t help. Indy 500 qualifying likely had more fans in the stands than the Cup race last season. In 2020 the race will once again move dates this time to the Fourth of July weekend taking Daytona’s traditional summer spot. It once again will not help ticket sales. Indy in July is abysmal and the Cup race at the speedway isn’t a vacation destination for many.

Indianapolis track

Some folks in Indianapolis have mentioned that the track has sold less than 20k tickets for the Brickyard 400 this season. The tire debacle of 2008 combined with the sports incessant need for more downforce has killed fans interest at the track. If fans wanted to watch a parade there’s a lovely one every Thanksgiving morning.

The fans no longer care.

In the lead up to this race, some of the sports media personalities have done everything but beg fans to come out to the speedway. “We need people in the stands, we don’t need to see empty seats” is what one member said.

Outside of 2017, there hasn’t been a memorable race at the speedway since 2008. Both of the races named here were chaotic completely abnormal races. For the most part since the introduction of the CoT and Gen 6 cars, the racing has been sleep-inducing and the fans responded.

The greatest race in the world

NASCAR would be better served to visit the short track 7 miles away in Brownsburg. Or maybe take some turns on the IMS road course. The Indy 500 is the greatest race in the world, let them have the oval. NASCAR needs to lick their wounds and move on or debut the Gen 7 car with less front downforce. One thing we do know is the stands this Sunday will be baren.

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Power played the strategy game and while others like Rossi were stretching their fuel mileage the Indy 500 winner pitted for fuel with 18 laps to go. With enough fuel on board Power literally put the power down and caught Rossi immediately. Rossi pulled over to let Power through thinking of the championship.

With Rossi out of the way, Power cruised to the victory. For a guy that was once terrible on ovals, the Aussie is now an oval savant, winning at another oval. Certainly a complete 180 from how he used to feel/perform on ovals.

What About The Championship Battle?

The battle between points leader Scott Dixon and pursuer Alexander Rossi is down to just 26 points.

Dixon led 145 laps Saturday night and still salvaged third behind some poor strategy calls. That wasn’t good enough though with Rossi finishing second.

Rossi won the two races prior to Saturday Night’s race at Gateway. The third-year driver has found his stride in the second half of the season and has asserted himself as a clear and present threat to Dixon. With Sonoma being a double points race in the finale Rossi could swipe this championship away like Dixon did to Montoya in 2015.

There was one moment Saturday night where the championship battle nearly came to an end. Rossi drove out of some massive oversteer thanks to a nice oppo-lock and phenomenal throttle management.

Portland will be an interesting race next weekend as the circuit should fit both Rossi and Dixon. A fast road course that requires precision, a Mid-Ohio at one end with a simple section at the other.

How Was The Gateway Race?

Once again a super solid race that was intriguing from multiple angles. From the strategy to the championship, to the mid-pack battles Gateway provided again. IndyCar on flat tracks is something we need more of, looking at you people in Milwaukee.

Zach Veach continues to impress as the season winds down. The rookie recorded a 5th place finish on the heels of a 6th place finish last week at Pocono. Veach now has four Top-10 finishes in a row. Spencer Pigot also impressed on the short oval again, after a second at Iowa he came home 6th tonight.

A definitive second lane never fully developed but passing was certainly possible. Gateway should be a mainstay on the IndyCar calendar, the crowd was little lighter than 2017 but still stronger than every oval not named Indianapolis.

IndyCar is back in action in Portland.

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