WI: No GTA 3

What would be the effects on the gaming industry if GTA 3 was never released? Mafia was already in development at this time being mainly inspired by Driver (without the rivalry with GTA the Driver series might also remain focused on driving and car chases rather than disastrously trying to branch into on-foot shooting with Driv3r as it did OTL), so could it kickstart the 3D open-world sandbox craze instead, and if so how would its more linear and story-based focus change the genre?
 
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