Three smart ways to prepare for ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’

November and the whole holiday season will be dominated by one game — “Grand Theft Auto VI.” The anticipation for the title is so high that it moved up launch dates for “Call of Duty” and other major franchises. When it’s released Nov. 19, experts are predicting a productivity slowdown that could cost the economy $1 billion with workers calling in sick just to jump in and play it at launch. With the game just days away, here’s how fans can prepare for it. Download it next week With a title this massive, it could also break the internet, or at least the servers, as millions of players try to download the game at the same time. To prepare for that, Rockstar is working with PlayStation and Xbox to allow players to pre-load the game on their PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. For the PlayStation 5, it starts at midnight Nov. 10 in players’ respective time zones. Xbox consoles can download it globally at midnight GMT (that’s 4 p.m. PST) Nov. 9. The game requires 212 GB of space, so players should start clearing their hard drives; or they can add space to their consoles. Although right now, hard drives are expensive because of demand from artificial intelligence data centers. Those who want a boxed version of the game can find it at retailers Nov. 12, though that doesn’t include a disc. Players will receive a code in the box. Listen to the music Rockstar released a track from the upcoming game called “Pusher” that features French electronic music pioneer Gesaffelstein. You can find it here. GTA VI’s score will be released Dec. 11 across all music streaming services as well as on CD and vinyl. It’s composed by Grammy Award-winning French electronic duo Justice. Justice also released “Flowers in the Hurricane,” the song featured in the commercials. The track features Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Return to the original Vice City adventure Players can immerse themselves in a major part of Leonida by playing “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.” The 2002 title is a bit dated graphically, but that also means that players can access it on a number of devices. Players can check it out if they have PlayStation 2 and CRT TV or they can download it from a number of stores on modern consoles. The game is even playable on iOS and Android devices. Going back to the Miami-inspired “Vice City” will offer a refresher on the main city of “GTA VI,” so that players can appreciate the graphical jump over 24 years. They can also grow accustomed to the general layout of the city, though “GTA VI” promises to be much more detailed. The upcoming game will be massive compared to “Vice City” as it adds in more of the surrounding environments of Leonida, which is inspired by Florida.