We're a long way from the '80s, but Vice City is still the sun and fun capital of America.
The glamour, hustle, and greed of America captured in a single city. Each neighborhood has something to offer, from the pastel art deco hotels and bright white sands of Ocean Beach, to the bustling panaderías of Little Cuba and the bootleg brands of the Tisha-Wocka flea market, out to the VC Port, the cruise ship capital of the world.
Vice City — a major coastal city of State of Leonida in Grand Theft Auto VI. The metropolis is known for its beaches, hot climate, entertainment industry and an atmosphere inspired by the 1980s. It is one of the largest cities in the region and an important economic center.
The city is located on the shore of the bay and occupies several natural and artificial barrier islands. On the largest of them is the resort district Vice Beach. The panorama is shaped by numerous skyscrapers, residential complexes and a combination of modern architecture with the style of past decades.
Despite regular hurricanes, Vice City continues to attract people from around the world. The local port is one of the largest in the region and supports commercial, tourism and shadow economy.
Vice City is also one of the centers of organized crime. Drug trafficking and money laundering are widespread here, and historically the city was associated with cocaine smuggling. All this has cemented its reputation as a dangerous and corrupt place.
Vice City is repeatedly mentioned in other games in the series and remains one of the most recognizable cities in the GTA universe. Its prototype has consistently been Miami.
Crime
A brief overview of Vice City's dark side.
Since the 1980s, organized crime in the city has been primarily associated with illegal drug trafficking, particularly cocaine.
The most criminal areas are considered to be poor neighborhoods and neighborhoods with a high proportion of immigrants, such as La Perla and Little Cuba.
For smuggling drugs into and out of Leonida, high-speed boats and drug submarines are often used.
In the late 2000s, drug traffickers delivered cocaine to the Russian Mafia in Liberty City, including the now-defunct Raskalov Bratva.
One of Dmitri Raskalov's men, Andrey Maximov, was arrested after being caught with a shipment of cocaine from Vice City.
Gangsters from Liberty City operated in Vice City and its surrounding areas. Among them was Sammy Bottino — a high-ranking member of the Gambetti family, wanted for murder around 2007.
By around 2008, methamphetamine spread throughout Vice City, which "destroyed the lives and business of cocaine dealers" in the city.
By 2019, a marijuana-based drug called "Zombies" appeared on the streets, which, according to rumors, caused users to develop cannibalistic tendencies.
By the mid-2020s, "neighborhood improvement teams" operate in Vice City, engaged in increasing safety and improving troubled neighborhoods. One of their offices is located in the Rockridge community center.
City Selection
Vice City has remained one of the most beloved places among GTA series fans for many years, and Rockstar Games has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of returning to this city. Former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies spoke about the prospects of returning to Vice City in one of the interviews.
In an interview with journalist Adam Rosenberg from Digital Trends dedicated to the tenth anniversary of GTA Vice City, Benzies said that Vice City exists within the HD universe, and the developers would be happy to return to this city someday. He also noted that a significant part of the city's popularity is related to its unique atmosphere of the 1980s.
In particular, Benzies stated:
It's always possible. In current GTA games there are several mentions of the city, so it is part of the HD universe and, certainly, it is a place we would like to return to. However, GTA Vice City, perhaps more than any other GTA game, reflects not only the setting, but the era itself. Miami of the 1980s is such an iconic city that it would be strange to visit it again in a different time period.
Of course, at some point we would like to create one big world containing all our cities, and let the player fly between them and visit their favorite places, and in this context reimagining Vice City would be very interesting.
Vice City advertising can be seen on many billboards of the FlyUS company in Liberty City.
When vagrant Jerry Kapowitz found the diamonds that were being hunted by Niko Bellic, Patrick McReary, Ray Bulgarin, Ray Boccino, and Jewish Mafia, he planned to open a gun shop and liquor store in Vice City, which was reported on the radio.
In the "Vehicles" section of the GTA 4 statistics, one of the possible ratings for the "miles traveled" metric is presented as "from Liberty City to Vice City".
Lazlow Jones, a radio host on Integrity 2.0, often recalls his life in Vice City in the 1980s, when he was a DJ on V-Rock.
In the mission Catch the Wave, the Russian Mafia delivered drugs from Vice City to the shipyard.
Roman Bellic writes to Niko that if they make a deal with Dimitri Rascalov, they can afford a flight to Vice City on a private plane.
When Niko and Roman's friendship level is high, Niko can call a taxi from Roman. At the same time, Roman will tell Niko that all his taxis go to the airport and take old people from Vice City.
Sammy Bottino is being sought in Vice City on suspicion of murder.
For the female multiplayer model at rank zero, headwear #3 with the text "I ♥ VC" is available.
Iggy Pop, a DJ at Liberty Rock Radio, talks about moving to Vice City and how clean it is compared to Liberty City.
The spin-off of the television series The Science Of Crime is called The Science of Crime: Vice City. This is probably a reference to the series CSI: Miami.
Hossan Ramzy sends Niko an email in which he reports that he escaped from a ship in Leonida.
Near the penthouse of Playboy X in Northwood, the word VICE is written on one of the building's walls.
Various graffiti with the inscription Vice Squad can be found in Liberty City. This is an elite special unit of the Vice City Police Department.
According to Weazel News, Andriy Maximov was intercepted by Liberty City police at the mouth of the Humboldt River, while transporting cocaine from Vice City for the Russian Mafia by boat.
A six-month-old baby Joshua Hampton, who allegedly killed his father Abraham Hampton, stated that he is going to marry his mother in Vice City because they tolerate strange behavior there.
On the website Blogsnobs.org there is a blog of a 47-year-old feminist from Vice City.
Users of the website Liesdamnlies.net with the nicknames Bermuda Triangle, Taos Hum, Majestic12, and The Ripper Lives are from Vice City.
Drug enforcement agent Albert Thomas stated on the website Liberty Tree that "Methamphetamine destroyed the lives and businesses of cocaine dealers in Vice City".
Journalist John Chesapeake from Weazel News expressed a similar opinion: "Methamphetamine destroyed the lives and businesses of cocaine dealers in Vice City, and we see the same thing happening here".
Another article in Liberty Tree states that a drunk pilot nearly killed 200 passengers on an Air Sol flight heading to the Francis International Airport from Vice City.
Washington Beach is mentioned on the website hornyhighschoolreunions.com as the location of one of the high schools.
On the website of the motorcycle club "Angels of Death" it states that they operate in the South. They have their own theme park and they sell branded merchandise such as bedding, books, party sets, diapers, and even dildos.
The name of the city Vice City is engraved on the wall of American cities on the Rotterdam Tower along with San Fierro, Los Santos, Las Venturas and Liberty City.
Yusuf Amir complained to Luis Lopez that he had to fly on a private plane to Vice City and use the services of prostitutes for two weeks to recover after a test drive of sexy cars.
The exclusive radio station Vice City FM broadcasts music from the 1980s. Its host became Fernando Martinez, who previously worked on radio in the 3D universe games.
According to the actor Al Di Napoli in the mission Club Management - Al Di Napoli, he lives in Vice City.
Al Di Napoli during a conversation with Luis Lopez offers him and Toni Prince to expand their business in Vice City. Luis replies that Vice City now is a retirement home.
If you fail the mission Ladies' Night by getting too close to Patrick McReary, a conversation will be activated between Luis and Toni in which they mention that they need to run to Vice City or Los Santos.
In the TV show The Men's Room with Bass and Jeremy, a man named Paul got through. According to him, he's calling from Vice City.
Pedestrians can say something like "Should have moved to Vice City" if you push them.
When Luis drives Toni home at the end of the mission Practice Swing, he will say: "Listen, Toni. Maybe you should take a vacation. Go to Vice City. Maybe the Caribbean".
GTA Chinatown Wars
Some drug dealers may tell Huang Lee that if he sells them enough drugs of a certain type, he will earn so much money that one day he will be able to "retire to sleepy Vice City".
GTA 5
On Blaine County Radio in the broadcast Bless Your Heart, host Bobby June advertises a tanning spray named after Vice City.
On the microblogging site Bleeter, the band Sorry Commode apologizes to the residents of Vice City for a canceled concert due to fantastic local drugs.
On a poster of rapper OG Loc in Franklin Clinton's house, the locations of his performances in Los Santos, Liberty City, Vice City and Las Venturas are listed.
On the Chains of Intimacy website, there is a quote from a book review published in the Vice City Sentinel newspaper.
On a billboard in Hawick, there is an image of a woman resembling Toni, who sponsors Vinewood Sports LS.
After stealing a car, its owner may wish to leave for Vice City. A similar phrase is sometimes uttered by a paramedic if they fail to save the victim.
In the film Rum Runner from Richards Majestic Productions, main character Eddie Olson moves to Vice City after a rival rum smuggler shoots his disabled mistress. There he becomes an insurance agent with a weakness for girls in wheelchairs.
In the animated series Gordon Moorehead Rides Again on channel CNT, main character Gordon and his assistant Molly move from Vice Beach to Vinewood.
In the TV show Impotent Rage it is stated that the main character's parents were immigrants from Vice City.
On Vespucci Beach you can find a towel with the print «I ♥ VC». The same towels hang on the railings of the motel The Pink Cage Motel.
In the game files there is a Vice City license plate with a unique design, but it is not used anywhere.
On the sign «Welcome to Chumash» on Great Ocean Freeway it is indicated that Chumash received an award for outstanding achievements from Vice City Hikers.
According to a report from Senora Beacon, the FIB arrested a branch of Lombank in Vice City for money laundering from drug sales.
GTA Online
On the chewing tobacco advertisement Yukon is depicted a skunk ape, known as the Florida variant of Bigfoot.
On iFruit Radio host Danny Brown mentions that Zombie weed is popular in Vice City.
