IGN has put up an excellent article on the history of GTA - check it out
Gamers live the life Rockstar’s built for them, fifty million of them, doing what they want and getting ahead one drive-by, one stolen ride, one felony at a time. It’s a funhouse mirror on our sliding culture, envisioned by a Scot and a pair of Brits. Imitators come and go. None come close to Grand Theft Auto’s excesses, successes, consequences, and stepping outside the lines. The franchise is big-time. Stocks jump at the mention of its name. So do giant-killers, lawyers, mothers, and politicians lip – all stepping up to take their shot at a game that turned controversy into fame, and then infamy.