05-17-2016, 06:21 PM
I felt like making a submission regarding Claude from GTAIII and Claude Speed from GTA2 and the confusion between these two characters. You would think that there'd be a clear seperation between the two but Rockstar isn't really making things easy.
First, let's look at the names. Claude in GTAIII is never actually referred to by this name in the actual game, but in GTA:SA, GTAIII's game files and GTAIII's 10 year anniversary material he is referred to by this name. Claude Speed from GTA2 is, like the GTAIII protagonist, referred to with nicknames in-game but his name can be seen in the opening video of the game on a computer monitor. So, both are named Claude and in the 3D era his last name is not mentioned. Darn. Well, on to the next point.
Strictly looking at the specified time the games take place it would seem impossible for these two characters to be the same. GTAIII takes officially place in 2001 and GTA2 presumably in 2013. This is what it says on every wiki page I could find on the matter:
Here's the intro video for reference, the rap sheet is seen at 1:08.
The in-game references they are talking about in the quote point to a radio host by the name of Johnny Riccaro saying "the millennium is coming" in one of his broadcasts, indicating the game might actually be taking place in, or just before, 1999. Just click on the quote, I went through the trouble of timestamping the part for ya.
The date "2013" for GTA2 comes from police records on the official GTA2 website but those could be non-canon or just simply set in the future. Speaking of future, the GTA2 instruction manual states the game's date as "three weeks into the future", and the game's website has a clock with a date always set 3 weeks from now, though sadly the future date part seems to be broken nowadays. It was in the bottom, though. All this makes the actual date anyone's guess, though personally I would go for the actual in-game mentions. The date is perhaps left ambiguous on purpose, as the city the game takes place is also called Anywhere, USA.
Okay, so we haven't really proven anything, just made things more convoluted. To further complicate things, we have these official statements from Rockstar:
When asked about Claude's (GTAIII) origins:
When asked if the GTA2 and GTAIII protagonists are the same character:
And then we got this:
![[Image: 800px-Claude-GTAIII-artwork.jpg]](http://www.grandtheftwiki.com/images/thumb/Claude-GTAIII-artwork.jpg/800px-Claude-GTAIII-artwork.jpg)
That's the protagonist of GTAIII with the name "Calude Speed" next to him. This is from an official Facebook quiz from Rockstar's page. I can't find the quiz anymore but it's mentioned here: http://www.grandtheftwiki.com/Claude (just scroll till you see the picture).
So we have multiple possible conclusions:
-They both just happen to share exactly the same name
-They are two different incarnations of the same character
-The 2D and 3D games are canon with each other, meaning Claude survived being shot at the end of the GTA2 opening and Claude's rap sheet from the opening was fake
-The 2D and 3D games are canon with each other, meaning Claude survived being shot at the end of the GTA2 opening and GTA2 actually took place in 1999
-The 2D and 3D games are canon with each other and the GTA2 opening is not canon
Here's a bunch of wiki pages for the character(s) I used as reference:
http://www.grandtheftwiki.com/Claude_Speed
http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/Claude_Speed
http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/Claude
http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/2013#2D_Universe
I uh... It took so long to write this I actually forgot what my actual trivia was going to be. Oh well, I'll submit this when I figure that out.
First, let's look at the names. Claude in GTAIII is never actually referred to by this name in the actual game, but in GTA:SA, GTAIII's game files and GTAIII's 10 year anniversary material he is referred to by this name. Claude Speed from GTA2 is, like the GTAIII protagonist, referred to with nicknames in-game but his name can be seen in the opening video of the game on a computer monitor. So, both are named Claude and in the 3D era his last name is not mentioned. Darn. Well, on to the next point.
Strictly looking at the specified time the games take place it would seem impossible for these two characters to be the same. GTAIII takes officially place in 2001 and GTA2 presumably in 2013. This is what it says on every wiki page I could find on the matter:
Quote:Upon close inspection of Claude Speed's rap sheet in the intro movie, it reveals that he is 28 during GTA 2, which is set in 2013. If Claude Speed is in fact Claude from GTAIII, this would make Claude 15-17 during GTA III, set in 2001, and 6-8 years old in GTA San Andreas, set in 1992. This makes it impossible that they are the same character, unless Claude's rap sheet is fake or non-canonical. However, if GTA 2 is actually set in 1999 as some in-game references may indicate, then Claude would be 20-22 in GTA San Andreas, and 29-31 in GTA III.
Here's the intro video for reference, the rap sheet is seen at 1:08.
The in-game references they are talking about in the quote point to a radio host by the name of Johnny Riccaro saying "the millennium is coming" in one of his broadcasts, indicating the game might actually be taking place in, or just before, 1999. Just click on the quote, I went through the trouble of timestamping the part for ya.
The date "2013" for GTA2 comes from police records on the official GTA2 website but those could be non-canon or just simply set in the future. Speaking of future, the GTA2 instruction manual states the game's date as "three weeks into the future", and the game's website has a clock with a date always set 3 weeks from now, though sadly the future date part seems to be broken nowadays. It was in the bottom, though. All this makes the actual date anyone's guess, though personally I would go for the actual in-game mentions. The date is perhaps left ambiguous on purpose, as the city the game takes place is also called Anywhere, USA.
Okay, so we haven't really proven anything, just made things more convoluted. To further complicate things, we have these official statements from Rockstar:
When asked about Claude's (GTAIII) origins:
Quote:Definitely a drifter, probably from the west coast, new to Liberty City (and his) surname may or may not be Speed.
When asked if the GTA2 and GTAIII protagonists are the same character:
Quote:Probably. It seems very likely but it’s also possible that there are just a lot of angry silent car thieves called Claude out there.
And then we got this:
That's the protagonist of GTAIII with the name "Calude Speed" next to him. This is from an official Facebook quiz from Rockstar's page. I can't find the quiz anymore but it's mentioned here: http://www.grandtheftwiki.com/Claude (just scroll till you see the picture).
So we have multiple possible conclusions:
-They both just happen to share exactly the same name
-They are two different incarnations of the same character
-The 2D and 3D games are canon with each other, meaning Claude survived being shot at the end of the GTA2 opening and Claude's rap sheet from the opening was fake
-The 2D and 3D games are canon with each other, meaning Claude survived being shot at the end of the GTA2 opening and GTA2 actually took place in 1999
-The 2D and 3D games are canon with each other and the GTA2 opening is not canon
Here's a bunch of wiki pages for the character(s) I used as reference:
http://www.grandtheftwiki.com/Claude_Speed
http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/Claude_Speed
http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/Claude
http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/2013#2D_Universe
I uh... It took so long to write this I actually forgot what my actual trivia was going to be. Oh well, I'll submit this when I figure that out.