The creators of the original Grand Theft Auto title, David Jones and Mike Dailly, have admitted that without the help of high profile publicist, Max Clifford, the game wouldn't have received as much attention as it did and might not have become the success story the series is today.

Created at what would become Rockstar North, then DMA Design, the game was created with fun as its focus. However with Max Clifford at the head of the firm's PR, it quickly garnered a much needed boost in notoriety.

“He designed all the outcry, which pretty much guaranteed MPs would get involved… He'd do anything to keep the profile high. He told us how he would play it, who he would target, what those people targeted would say.” Jones and Dailly said, while speaking with The Sunday Times (requires free signup).

The pair were keen to emphasise however, that they remained firmly in control and “knew why every decision was made, and we were never, ever influenced by ‘let's do something to create a bit of controversy,'” but they allowed Clifford to spin the game's marketing to reflect its controversial nature and therefore draw publicity from the fact.

KitGuru Says: Seeming somewhat tame by today's standards, GTA was ground breaking in its time – though I never got the hang of the top down view point.

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