3. Small Town Alabama

With each new GTA, a new world to live in. This time, its Vice City, a fictionalised Miami, in which drugs, guns and killing are the order of the day.

As players stole cars and worked their way up the crime ladder, a soundtrack full of 80s classics brought them into a gaming dream.

Bugzy remembers how the vision of style in the game spoke to him: how the suave and well-dressed criminals and characters were something he found compelling.

The game had already shocked moral America. But it had also shocked one lawyer, who was gearing up for a fight of his own.

That lawyer would try to connect GTA to real world violence through the media when a teenager killed three in Alabama, but his attempts would be dashed when the supposed link was thrown out of court.

WARNING: This podcast contains descriptions violence and some distressing scenes.

This podcast was first published in November 2022, and has been edited and updated in October 2026.

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CREDITS:

Written by Ciaran Tracey and Chris Warburton Presenter: Bugzy Malone Presenter: Chris Warburton Mixing and Mastering: James Bradshaw Assistant Producer: Gabrielle Gatti Additional journalism by Jo Newsholme, Helen Ledwick and Laura Conder

Executive Commissioners for BBC: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins Assistant Commissioner: Natalie Mace

The Executive Producer is Ciaran Tracey for Big City Nights