While it may not have aged well graphically, there's no denying that Grand Theft Auto 3 made a huge impact on both the gaming industry and gamers themselves. While the PS2 wasn't powerful enough to provide a visually stunning appearance like GTA 5 with ray-tracing enabled, it was capable of giving players an expansive open-world experience in the world of Liberty City, setting the groundwork for a series of absurdly successful sequels.
Of course, gaming systems have come a long way since the PS2, including the now 11-year-old PS Vita. While the handheld gaming system wasn't designed to be able to play all PS2 titles, it's more powerful than the home console, and now a streamer is working on bringing GTA 3 to the system.
Streamer Rinnegatamante demonstrated the work on their Twitch channel. After initially porting the game to the system, it played poorly and was riddled with glitches. However, the streamer and their friend worked at it, and now have a build that's playing more smoothly, based on video shared on their channel.
Rinnegatamante plans to release the build to the public, though this may be dangerous, given Rockstar Games' stance on fan projects in the past. Whether it's an effort to port Red Dead Redemption to PC or an attempt at remastering Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Rockstar Games doesn't look as kindly upon fan projects as other developers, like Bethesda. These projects are usually promptly shut down with a cease and desist order, so it remains to be seen if this build will actually be released to the public, and if it is, how long it will remain readily available.
Of course, for players who want to enjoy GTA 3 on the go, there are other (and easier) ways to go about it. GTA 3 has been officially ported to mobile devices, so just about anyone with a modern smartphone should be able to play it. A prior fan also ported GTA 3 onto the Nintendo Switch, though playing it comes with the risk of modifying one's Switch, something that Nintendo has responded to in the past by banning players from accessing online game services.
With Grand Theft Auto 3's 20th anniversary arriving next year, it remains to be seen if Rockstar Games will return to the classic. Rumors of a GTA 3 remaster have circulated more than once, but nothing concrete has yet come to light. While a GTA 3 remaster would likely be welcomed by many gamers, chances are most are placing their focus on Grand Theft Auto 6, which is still yet to be announced by Rockstar.
Grand Theft Auto 3 is available for mobile, PC, PS2, and Xbox.
Source: PurelyPlayStation, Rinnegatamante