During the cutscene before the final mission, Spoiler:Tommy Vercetti is heard telling Ken Rosenberg to gather twenty million dollars in counterfeit cash while the subtitles say three million.

In the mission "Waste the Wife", Tommy is hired by Mr. Black to kill his employer's wife, Mrs. Dawson. This is a reference to the 1985 film Commando, as Tommy attempts to crash Mrs. Dawson's car the same way Matrix (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) attempts to crash Sully's (played by David Patrick Kelly) car in the movie. Both feature the same yellow car, as well as Mrs. Dawson whining in fear, just as Cindy (played by Rae Dawn Chong) does in the movie.

In the 1.04 & 2.01 versions of the game, Umberto Robina's "Trojan Voodoo" mission's intro cutscene features dialogue mentioning the word "Haitians". In the 3.0 release this was modified to remove any mentions of the word "Haitian".

Ken Rosenberg is based on Sean Penn's character Dave Kleinfeld from the 1993 movie Carlito's Way. Both of them are lawyers, always supporting the protagonists of their respective series, they're addicted to cocaine and also cut ties with them (in Kleinfeld's case, he was about to testify against Carlito and Tommy cut his ties with Rosenberg because of his drug addiction).

Cam Jones is referred to as "mike" in the game's internal files.

There is a model and texture file for a silenced Colt m1911 on the PS2 disc, but they go unused.

A Steyr AUG was supposed to appear in game, but was cut, although it's model and texture can still be found on the PS2 disc. These files were removed from all other ports of the game.

A pre-release screenshot of Tommy Vercetti preparing to throw a grenade uses the grenade texture and model from Grand Theft Auto III. However, the released game uses a different model and texture, which were also used in San Andreas and Liberty City Stories.

On Rockstar's official Kent Paul website, the name "BJ Jones" is present on a list of characters from the game. This likely refers to BJ Smith, and could suggest that "Jones" was Smith's surname during development.

In early screenshots and trailers, the Pump Action Shotgun had the same model as the Pump Action Shotgun from Grand Theft Auto III, but it was later changed.

Concept art on Rockstar North's website shows that the working name for Ricardo Diaz was "Fernando Diaz".

An unused phone conversation between Tommy Vercetti and Avery Carrington mentions an unused area called "Gator Keys", and suggests that there would have been a mission to go there.

The map at Sunshine Autos depicts several changes to the city before its final design. These include the absence of Hyman Memorial Stadium, the rocks and lighthouse in Ocean Beach, the shacks in the sea, Fort Baxter Air Base (originally an air traffic control tower and a runway), and some roads (most notably the long road from the Downtown police station to the Ammunation).

In the mission "Autocide", in which Tommy must kill undercover members of a European gang, all of the targets are named after characters in rival sandbox games.

• Mike Griffin (Mace Griffin from Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter)
• Dick Tanner (Tanner from Driver)
• Marcus Hammond, Franco Carter and Charlie Dilson (Mark Hammond, Frank Carter and Charlie Jolson from The Getaway)
• Nick Kong (Nick Kang Williams from True Crime: Streets of LA)

There's a criminal ranking called "SA Goon", which only appears if your score is between 1000 and 1009, after which it goes over to the normal "Goon" ranking. Because of this small window, it's nearly impossible to see it.

This ranking is a reference to the Something Awful Forums, where the users are nicknamed Goons.

It's possible to acquire a bulletproof Admiral vehicle in the game during the mission "Guardian Angels". In the mission, instead of helping Ricardo Diaz, kill him to fail the mission and then store the vehicle in a garage. The car is bulletproof, fire proof, explosion proof and strong in collisions.

In the mission "Phnom Penh '86", a worker, like those seen in the mission "Riot", can be seen jumping off of the bridge that the helicopter flies under. The camera must be pointed behind the helicopter in order to see this.

The PSG-1 semi automatic sniper is labeled as the "PSG-1" only in the PS2 Version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City; all other versions label it .308 Sniper

The Havana clothes bear a strong resemblance with the clothes worn by an extra in the first episode of Miami Vice.

The Mr. Vercetti suit is likely based off of one of Ricardo Tubbs' suits from Miami Vice, from which the game draws inspiration.

Tommy Vercetti is heavily based on Tony Montana from the film Scarface. They both end up in exile, both rise to power in Miami using great amounts of violence, both build an empire from a large estate and mansion, both have short tempers and are prone to violence, both work as contract killers, and both killed their collaborators and took their ex-bosses' empires, and both engage in a battle with large groups of assassins at the end of their stories. However, Tommy survives his final gunfight with his enemies, while Tony is killed. Even the mansions in the games are similar.

If you have an RPG, go to the Ammu-Nation downtown and stand on the helmets on the counter and aim the RPG to the street. Turn the RPG around so it's facing the wall, and you will see a picture of Ronald Reagan shooting a picture of Mikhail Gorbachev.

In Tommy Vercetti's room at the Ocean View Hotel, there is a poster featuring GTA III protagonist Claude. There are also some posters parodying famous movies.

In pre-release screenshots, the Blista Compact can be seen with a GPX logo on the rear. The letters "GPX" are a reference to the Honda CR-X, on which the vehicle is based upon.

In Downtown Vice City, near the Vice City News building, there is a window which the player can jump through and the player will find the "Easter Egg Room". In this room there is a brown easter egg on top of a pedestal.

During early development, there were once bus shelters around the city. The model still exists in the game's code.

There is an additional outfit that is referenced in the game's files (Textamerican.gxt>MAIN>OUTFT13). It was cut during development and was called MC Tommy.

There was a deleted character named Mr. Moffat. Tommy Vercetti and him knew each other from the past and Moffat had escaped prison again and was on the run. He called Tommy and begged him to help him. This conversation can be found in the game's files.

The Mesa Grande uses a handling line named DESPERAD, which matches an unused text entry DESPERA associated to the text "Desperado." This implies that Desperado is probably the name used for the Mesa Grande during development of the game.

The key card you steal to free Cam Jones from the holding cells during the mission 'No Escape' belongs to P. Rowe from Chuff Security Co. This is strange, as Chuff Security Co. didn't even appear in GTA Vice City (Gruppe Sechs and DBP Security are the only known security companies in 1986).

Tear Gas is in the original Playstation 2 version, but was removed from all other version of the game. However, the weapon is fully functional and can be obtained only by using trainers or modifications.

The AK-47 was supposed to be in the game, but was cut, probably having the Ruger appear as a replacement. It's model and texture are still in the game's files.

The Grenade Launcher was planned for the game, but was cut during development. Although, in the Playstation 2 version the grenade launcher model (grenlanc.dff) and its textures (grenlanc.txd) can still be found in game files. These files were removed from all other ports of the game.

Rockster Video Games is a store located in Ocean Beach, Vice City, just north of The Pole Position Club. The store is an obvious reference to Rockstar Games. The window of the store has character artworks of 8-Ball, El Burro, Kenji Kasen, and Maria Latore and the door has a Rockstar Games logo.

In the official Grand Theft Auto: Vice City strategy guide, it is stated that Tommy Vercetti is 35 years old during the events of Vice City, making his year of birth 1950/1951.

Going to the Hyman Memorial Stadium between 20:00 and 00:00 grants the player access to three side-missions; Hotring, Bloodring and Dirtring. The mission will change each day.

There is a way to be a good citizen. If a cop on the street is chasing someone, go to the guy that's running and punch him. You will then receive a good citizen bonus of $50.

There is an apartment that you can enter called 3-C. Inside the bathroom is a chainsaw and blood splatters along the walls. This is a reference to the movie Scarface, in which Tony Montana (Al Pacino) is forced to watch his partner, Angel, get brutality murdered by somebody in an apartment bathroom using a chainsaw.

Shooting the moon with a sniper rifle will make it change size.

Off the shore of Leaf Links, near the Downtown area, is a fat man who has had his feet encased in cement and thrown into the water.

In one of the pools on Starfish Island, there is a beach ball. Hitting it will start a hidden mini-game in which the player must keep the ball in the air for as long as possible. A counter appears above the player's head to mark their progress.