Volition's 'Saints Row 4' Keeps It Real

Volition knows very well that Saints Row is similar to Grand Theft Auto  except exaggerated and played for laughs. The company delivers what its core audience wants while also maintaining a level of mainstream acceptance.

In an interview with OXM, senior producer Jim Boon, elaborates on what makes Saints Row different from other open world games.

"Ultimately, I don't think that Saints Row's tone gets in the way of bigger sales. If anything, I think our tone is an element of our success," Boon says. "Saints Row is quite unlike anything else out there, and I think gamers crave unique experiences--I know I do. We have a lot of passionate fans that love Saints Row, so I think we are striking the right chord."

Saints Row's humor is bawdily absurd—think of the purple dildo from Saints Row The: The Third—and the developer isn't about to change at this stage of the game.

"Thinking of a movie series like The Hangover--people love the humor but you might not want to discuss some of the finer moments of those movies with your mom, for example." he says "I think the same might be true for Saints Row," he added. "We do get an awful lot of feedback from fans telling us much they love our juvenile tone--with some asking us to go even further! Ultimately Saints Row IV doesn't try to take itself too seriously and we even have a lot of fun at our own expense."

Saint's Row 4 is comes out in North America on August 20 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.