Stockman said in an interview with FRVR:
I wondered: am I playing GTA? No! But it feels like I'm playing.
He added that an important factor in the success was that Saints Row was released before GTA 4 on Xbox 360:
The successful release time was one of the key factors in success. There were no open worlds in this style on the platform. If everyone had already played GTA 4, there would be less interest in such a game.
Stockman emphasized that the distinctive features of Saints Row included character customization and the day/night cycle, and also added.
The game was released in August, before the Christmas season, so it did not compete with Oblivion and Gears of War.