Zaibatsu Corporation


 * For the vehicle company of a similar name, see Maibatsu Corporation

The Zaibatsu Corporation (財閥) is a powerful Japanese-American crime syndicate featured throughout Grand Theft Auto 2 and are also mentioned in Grand Theft Auto III.

History
Founded as early as 2001 in Liberty City, Zaibatsu hide behind the guise of a pharmaceutical company that distributes products in both Liberty and Anywhere City, and their website describes them as "the world's last major privately owned corporation".

In reality, they are a powerful conglomerate in the criminal underworld of the United States that runs both legitimate and illegal businesses, and are more than willing to eliminate anyone that obstructs their goals. By 2013, they have gone so far as to employ countless armed thugs to fight a massive, bloody turf war with the other gangs of Anywhere City in all three of its main districts.

Members of the Zaibatsu Corporation are known to wear black suits (in the Game Boy Color port of GTA 2, they also appear to wear white headgear, possibly hats or helmets) and drive customized Z-Type cars with a black color scheme and the organization's golden "Z" symbol painted on the roof.

Grand Theft Auto III
While members of the Zaibatsu Corporation never physically appear in-game nor are any buildings explicitly identified as being their property, they are mentioned in commercials advertising their latest medical product, which is distributed from Zaibatsu Pharmaceuticals, their pharmaceutical arm. A Liberty Tree article also describes the company as being "Liberty City's very own Zaibatsu Corporation", indicating that Zaibatsu was founded in Liberty.

Grand Theft Auto 2
They appear frequently throughout the entire game, as their presence can be seen and felt in all three districts of Anywhere City. They became embroiled into a violent struggle over control of business interests and gang territories with all other gangs in Anywhere City during the period of which Grand Theft Auto 2 is set in.

The following gangs that contests the control by the Zaibatsu Corporation are: Yakuza, the Rednecks, the Scientists, the Loonies, the Hare Krishna, and the Russian Mafia. They were presumed to be the most powerful criminal organization of all in Anywhere City during the time of Grand Theft Auto 2. The top-ranking leaders of the Zaibatsu Corporation frequently refer to Claude Speed by the nickname they gave him, "Gecko".

GTA 2: The Movie
In the film/movie rendition of Grand Theft Auto 2, Claude is shot dead by a Zaibatsu assassin sent to avenge for his theft of Zaibatsu merchandise.

Products of Zaibatsu
Advertised: From their in-game car crushing / manufacturing plant: Electricity:
 * Zoom Zoom - Energy stimulant.
 * Silky Milky - Breast implants that "feel and taste like the real thing".
 * Doesn't Need Anything (DNA) - Baby food.
 * Hush - Self-reliant sedative.
 * Equanox - Alertness pills (advertised in GTA III).
 * Medicine.
 * Body armour.
 * Weapons.
 * Zaibatsu owns the electrical power stations in Anywhere City.

Trivia

 * "Zaibatsu" or "財閥" in Japanese, means financial clique, which is inappropriate for a company name because it is a type of a business. However this might be an oversight of a Rockstar lacking knowledge about Japan.
 * Once the player reaches the Industrial District, the tutorial NPC erroneously mentions them as the "Zaibatatsu".
 * Despite having appeared in only one game, the Zaibatsu are very popular among fans of the early GTA games, and tributes to them have been made in form of mods and fan art. Rockstar Games even added a Z-Type in GTA V to pay tribute to them.
 * The Zaibatsu Corporation exists in both the 2D Universe and the 3D Universe, though little has been revealed about the incarnation from the 3D Universe.
 * The Zaibatsu Corporation is one of three criminal organizations from the 2D Universe to be carried over to the 3D Universe, the other two being the Yakuza and the Russian Mafia. However, they are also the only one of the three whose members have never made a physical appearance in-game nor display any real evidence of conducting criminal activities. This is a complete contrast from GTA 2, where they are the most prominent gang in the entire game.
 * It is interesting to note how prominent the Zaibatsu Corporation is in GTA 2, yet are only briefly mentioned in radio advertisements and Liberty Tree articles in GTA III. Assuming Zaibatsu's history in either game is compatible with the other, it is likely that either Zaibatsu was a legitimate business in 2001 (when GTA III is set) before being converted into a crime syndicate by 2013 (when GTA 2 is set), or were already conducting criminal activities in 2001 but were not openly revealed to be doing so until some point during the twelve-year gap.
 * Interestingly enough, after Radio Za-Za!, the Zaibatsus start listening to Lithium FM, which is the radio station of their rivals, the Loonies.
 * Screenshots of the alpha version of GTA III, such as this one show that posters and crates with Zaibatsu's symbol were to appear in the Chinatown district of Portland Island. It is possible that the Zaibatsu Corporation was intended to play a larger role in the early stages of the game. In addition, an unidentified gang was also shown in early screenshots of the game, inhabiting the same general area. Whether or not this gang was meant to be the Zaibatsu Corporation or simply an early version of another gang (since the Liberty City Triads and Diablos inhabit the areas taken by this gang in the final version) is unknown.