I am sorry, but I could not see a post of this already and though that it was worth mentioning.

I think that Rockstar have lost the idea of GTA, I really hope this is just testing the water. Please see the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olEGtoYs_8A

Could you perhaps do a nice summary for people that can't/don't want to watch the video?
I remember reading ages ago that they were doing a persistent online world for GTA V, is that this?
If it is, I don't really see the problem. All the shooters and such also have that and people enjoy leveling/ranking up their character.

I remember playing on GTA: SA server with 500 people online at the same time in the same place

Rockstar managed to provide 16. I'm impressed.

http://stephen.jonesing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/samp5.png

I know, I know, it's not the same, since GTA online mods were very barebones, but 16 people is still, well... not so impressive.

But I guess for this world size it's accurate.

How does that work? What happens if you and everyone else on line choses to rob the same pizza place? More than that can you imagine driving around in a city full of other people driving just as bad and recklessly as you? It would be like L.A. at rush hour.

Please. LA at rush hour is way worse than that.

Well, I for one can't wait to invite all my friends over to my video game apartment to watch some TV with me.

I posted about this but no one cared

It is because it is a non-issue...

So GTA comes with an online components for those who wants it... GTA IV did have online multiplayer modes for those who want it, and lo and behold, GTA V will have online play modes for those who want it... and the issue here is?

If I was in an open world and I saw someone else driving as crazy as I was my first instinct would be to smash them against a wall to 'shut them down' so their car was added to my junkyard, then I'd realise that it was GTA V and not Burnout: Paradise!

RIP GTA

Well as they say you can both continue with a story while playing in groups. It is WOW meets GTA.
I am sorry to tell you but GTA was really about petty criminals striving to make their place. You grew to feel a real sense of proportion for what they were achieving.
Claude = Revenge
Tony = Taking over Vice City. Becoming the head of his own gang.
CJ = Putting Grove Street on the map again.
This will just end up being another rent-a-hero situation, sorry rent-a-criminal.

This will just become how Gotham city ended up the way it is. 1000000 petty criminals meet a population of 100000 with a 10% police force.
Although I guess some might take up becoming police officer, but really what is the point of that in GTA?

and?...

If you do not like this GTA Online - don't participate and just play it solo. If someone want's to play it as an MMO, I do not see it as being any issue at all.

I have never conscripted to this "everyone should play a game the way I want" idea. You can still play it solo, this is not forced on you. Choice is good, and this why it is a non-issue

kinda reminds me or rather makes me think of APB reloaded.... you know, the mmo...

I am not going to say people cannot play the game if they want.
I did not play GTA IV because it came with GFWL, but making the multiplayer a secondary concern in a solo game is how it should be. The GTA's are all about mayhem, yes, but they are held together with a story.
The problem with this for me is it shows that Rockstar are chasing what others have done before and they will allow to story to suffer as they attempt to make their very own MMO out of GTA.

I love the GTA series and would love to see them all here, even GTA V. Yet I can look at it right now and knowing how Rockstar care for their games I can see them (I believe it was Mass Effect 3 who did it first) making the multiplayer necessary to progress the actual game itself. They are trying this now and just like Blizzard the next installment is then just a MMO.

It affects development time though and sometimes if it's popular enough, it'd overshadow the singleplayer and the devs will concentrate on it (RIP Singleplayer Warcraft...).