I mean there are completely different vibes going on in (at least the first act of) San Andreas vs. Vice City vs. GTA3. Of course CJ, Claude and Tommy are gangsters. But Claude and Tommy aren't "gangbangers in the hood" for some "crew". They speak differently, behave themselves differently, dress themselves differently and are generally less concerned with some sort of hood or gang.
Or are you trying to say that, for example, the Italian mobsters in Chicago are the same as the Cribs and Bloods in California in terms of general behavior, tone and etiquette? I want to stress that I am not saying that one is superior over the other or something. Just that I had trouble "getting it" when it came to the whole L.A. ghetto gangbanging culture as you'd see with the Bloods or Cribs, which inspired the gangbanging culture depicted in Los Santos in San Andreas.