8. Getting Stale
Perhaps the most contentious entry to this list, but if recent years have proven anything, it's that people love stats; how else would we account for the massive success of Call of Duty as a sublime action series that is driven not only by its online component, but the meticulous focus on stat-tracking that underlines its competitive aspect. If GTA were to go in this direction, it would prove bold and potentially introduce an otherwise-absent competitive element, particularly as it pertains to online gunplay. Such an introduction would certainly be an injection of life into the series, and keep the formula from getting stale. It is worth noting that these RPG elements should be kept light, so as not to bog down the focus on frenetic action, and also not to alienate the core fanbase, primarily consisting of casual gamers. Rockstar simply need to take the statistics they implemented in San Andreas for physical fitness and transpose them onto the game's more important factors - gun play, driving, running and so on - such that you feel greater progress over the course of the 25-30 hour single player mission. Furthermore, this could follow into the online play, and actually give a point and purpose to the numbered levelling system in GTAIV that, without any notable rewards, really seemed quite arbitrary.