Gran Turismo 7 Officially Withdrawn From Russian Market

[Tenacious D]

I have 0 empathy for Russians who support war in Ukraine and don't protest against it.

When you get arrested for protesting, and there is evidence that the Russian government has killed many of them, it kind of dampens the mood a scouche. Keep that in mind. As a few others have said, elections are no longer trustworthy, so the people can't be blamed for having their most basic rights stripped from them, or the people in power. Reminds me a bit of where I live.

 

[Rage Racer]

I’m curious.

Why am I seeing Russian flags in GT7 lobbies if the game and services have been pulled? Not sure Sony should be making statements they can’t back up.

Despite of this story, some Russian gamers (including me) already play GT7. There's still a way to get it using a foreign PS Store account. However, since Visa and MasterCard left Russia, paying could be difficult. But no sanctions can stop a true Gran Turismo fan. We can still get around.

But there's another problem. Yesterday, Sony closed the Russian PS Store (and not only for Russia - gamers from other post-Soviet countries such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan (and more) also used the Russian Store, because they don't have their own), and those people who paid for the PS Plus subcription can't use it to get the new PS+ games of the month. Moreover, the money on my PSN wallet that I got after my preordered Russian version of GT7 is refunded just left on the wallet and I can't spend it. Sony just stole my money without warning. Could they at least warn they're closing the Store so the users could spend the money on their wallets? I knew it was probably going to end up like this, and was choosing between GRID Legends and WRC 10 to get... but it took too much time for me to decide.

Anyway, I just hope this whole **** won't last too long. The owned games from the library can still be downloaded, and I have plenty of those I haven't finished or even started. Hopefully it will be enough for the time of Sony's withdrawal.

And if some of you seriously expect gamers to overthrow a government, you have a funny way of thought. It doesn't work like this.

Sorry that i didn't clear but i said about war in former USSR teritories...

Transnistrian war, civil wars in Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and Tajikistan, two Chechen wars, war in Donbass and two Karabakh wars (the latest being in 2020): "Are we a joke to you?"

there is evidence that the Russian government has killed many of them

Sorry if I missed anything, but where is that evidence about "killing many" of the protestors?

When the uk invaded Iraq there were over 1.5million protesters marching through London.

So, did it help?

 

[MotorHead Ed]

This is the discussion thread for an article on GTPlanet:

Gran Turismo 7 Officially Withdrawn From Russian Market​

After mysteriously delaying the digital launch of Gran Turismo 7 to the Russian market at the last moment, Sony has now confirmed that the title — along with all other Sony services and products — is suspended from sale in the country...

Screw you Sony, I’ve been playing this ****ing game since GT1. With this woke BS I may never buy your **** again. This from an American. Was so excited about this game now I’ll find something else to do, ****ers. Most of the supporters of this decision don’t have ****ing clue what their talking about

 

[RPR6143 RPG]

I know why Putin is invading Ukraine, because he wants to bring back the Soviet Union. This could include the govenment seizing everything including their video game consoles and all their prized possessions and brainwashing poor schoolchildren into good communists like they did in the 1930's-1950's (And forcing those who are educated at home right now to head back to school to be molded into what the government wants them to be). They probably want to ban all outside media and video games including the Gran Turismo video games and become more like how North Korea is but much bigger. And if people go against Putin once the Soviet Union comes back, they'll be how North Korea does it; long sentences for minor crimes (like being put in a labor camp) or they will never live again.

This right here is probably one of the first signs of it's comeback: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/russia-invasion-soviet-union-flag-ukraine/ & https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/bidens-approach-ukraine-russia-wrong-start-mike-pompeo.

 

[Rage Racer]

They probably want to ban all outside media and video games including the Gran Turismo video games and become more like how North Korea is but much bigger.

“They”?
It’s Sony who closed the Russian PS Store, not Kremlin.

 

[Nuschel01]

what their talking about

*they're

 

[TT92]

Despite of this story, some Russian gamers (including me) already play GT7. There's still a way to get it using a foreign PS Store account. However, since Visa and MasterCard left Russia, paying could be difficult. But no sanctions can stop a true Gran Turismo fan. We can still get around.

But there's another problem. Yesterday, Sony closed the Russian PS Store (and not only for Russia - gamers from other post-Soviet countries such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan (and more) also used the Russian Store, because they don't have their own), and those people who paid for the PS Plus subcription can't use it to get the new PS+ games of the month. Moreover, the money on my PSN wallet that I got after my preordered Russian version of GT7 is refunded just left on the wallet and I can't spend it. Sony just stole my money without warning. Could they at least warn they're closing the Store so the users could spend the money on their wallets? I knew it was probably going to end up like this, and was choosing between GRID Legends and WRC 10 to get... but it took too much time for me to decide.

Anyway, I just hope this whole **** won't last too long. The owned games from the library can still be downloaded, and I have plenty of those I haven't finished or even started. Hopefully it will be enough for the time of Sony's withdrawal.

And if some of you seriously expect gamers to overthrow a government, you have a funny way of thought. It doesn't work like this.


Transnistrian war, civil wars in Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and Tajikistan, two Chechen wars, war in Donbass and two Karabakh wars (the latest being in 2020): "Are we a joke to you?"

Sorry if I missed anything, but where is that evidence about "killing many" of the protestors?

So, did it help?

I have read all your posts here and I have a question for that remains (to me) unclear.

Do you support your nation's current actions or not?

All I can see from your posts is that you are "inconvenienced" by Sony not letting you spend any money. I am just curious how this equates to e.g the slaughter of women and children in a maternity hospital by your military?

You have asked if we expect "gamers to overthrow the government", well yes. People power can overcome as it did in 1917 for you.

Your nation IS currently committing war crimes and your leaner Putin is a war criminal and your abject apathy is a contributing factor!

 

[Rage Racer]

I have read all your posts here and I have a question for that remains (to me) unclear.

Do you support your nation's current actions or not?

Despite of my negative view on the Kiev government, from my couch I think the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is a mistake. I didn't think it would happen because I thought it would be a trap for Russia. I didn't vote for Putin, I didn't choose this war. I thought there would be another way to resolve the issues.

But in NO circumstances I will stab my army in the back when it's fighting a foreign enemy. And I won't blindly absorb any fake news like you do about the "maternity hospital" (you're talking about Mariupol, right? You can PM me if you want me to explain why this "bombing" is most likely staged. Because videos debunking it are deleted from YouTube. Twitter censors this information, too).

You have asked if we expect "gamers to overthrow the government", well yes. People power can overcome as it did in 1917 for you.

But do you know how it ended up in 1917? It resulted in a bloody civil war killing millions and a more oppressive dictatorship rising to power. Sorry, but I think repeating this in 2022 for re-opening of PS Store and anime streaming services doesn't seem to be a fair exchange.

Your nation IS currently committing war crimes and your leaner Putin is a war criminal and your abject apathy is a contributing factor!

I feel bad for the ordinary people of Ukraine who are dragged into this (not for their regime, though), but I won't risk my freedom, career and life opportunities for people who were standing by when their government was killing civilians in Donbass for almost 8 years. I didn't pledge allegiance to Ukraine and I won't. If they didn't protest against the slaughter of Russian people in their country, why should I protest for them?

And I have a question to you, too. Your nation was one of those who committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Did you do anything to protest against it? If not, then you're not the one to lecture me about it.

 

[TT92]

Despite of my negative view on the Kiev government, from my couch I think the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is a mistake. I didn't think it would happen because I thought it would be a trap for Russia. I didn't vote for Putin, I didn't choose this war. I thought there would be another way to resolve the issues.

But in NO circumstances I will stab my army in the back when it's fighting a foreign enemy. And I won't blindly absorb any fake news like you do about the "maternity hospital" (you're talking about Mariupol, right? You can PM me if you want me to explain why this "bombing" is most likely staged. Because videos debunking it are deleted from YouTube. Twitter censors this information, too).


But do you know how it ended up in 1917? It resulted in a bloody civil war killing millions and a more oppressive dictatorship rising to power. Sorry, but I think repeating this in 2022 for re-opening of PS Store and anime streaming services doesn't seem to be a fair exchange.


I feel bad for the ordinary people of Ukraine who are dragged into this (not for their regime, though), but I won't risk my freedom, career and life opportunities for people who were standing by when their government was killing civilians in Donbass for almost 8 years. I didn't pledge allegiance to Ukraine and I won't. If they didn't protest against the slaughter of Russian people in their country, why should I protest for them?

And I have a question to you, too. Your nation was one of those who committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Did you do anything to protest against it? If not, then you're not the one to lecture me about it.

Thank you for confirming my suspicions. You do support the war and the atrocities being committed and so you will get to see how the world reacts to this personally.

For the record, we (Australia) are still in the process of prosecuting "alleged" Australian war criminals from Afghanistan and as a civilised nation we do not tolerate this behaviour. And also, for the record, Afghanistan is another country you Russians invaded and we were only there to try and clear up your previous mess!

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

But in NO circumstances I will stab my army in the back when it's fighting a foreign enemy. And I won't blindly absorb any fake news like you do about the "maternity hospital" (you're talking about Mariupol, right? You can PM me if you want me to explain why this "bombing" is most likely staged. Because videos debunking it are deleted from YouTube. Twitter censors this information, too).

They censor it, because it's Russian propaganda.

 

[Rage Racer]

Thank you for confirming my suspicions. You do support the war and the atrocities being committed and so you will get to see how the world reacts to this personally.

You see only what you want to see. And you don't want to see facts that don't fit to your picture.
If you think so, then let it be. I'm not going to over-persuade you. But if you're telling me to go risk my life overthrowing the government and start a civil war in my country, then go... go lecture someone else, please.

And also, for the record, Afghanistan is another country you Russians invaded and we were only there to try and clear up your previous mess!

If so, then Russia is clearing up the mess after the US-sponsored coup in Ukraine in 2014. 💁‍♂️ Using your logic...

They censor it, because it's Russian propaganda.

What happened to "freedom of speech" and "pluralism of opinions"? If Google and Twitter declare themselves the Ministry of Truth and erase all information that counters their agenda, they aren't any better than the Russian state censoring the US and Ukrainian propaganda.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

What happened to "freedom of speech" and "pluralism of opinions"? If Google and Twitter declare themselves the Ministry of Truth and erase all information that counters their agenda, they aren't any better than the Russian state censoring the US and Ukrainian propaganda.

The difference is that Google and Twitter are not the government. In the US, freedom of speech is intended to prevent the government from limiting speech. It does not apply to private companies, or for example GTPlanet.

 

[spartan21]

Yeah....that will teach them. I'm sorry but these "protests" are pointless. Has all of these cancellations stopped the war? No. Will they stop the war? No. The Russian government doesn't care about games or phones or any other cancellations these companies are doing.

 

[RPR6143 RPG]

They're then going to turn Russia into a bigger copy of North Korea, a totalitarian dictatorship that controls people with their lies as part of their propaganda like with the Soviet Union. I bet Putin is going to probably learn from the Kim Family of NK on how to control Russian citizens. They're probably then going to seize all the prized posessions such has PS5s of citizens and separate Russian mothers from their children and force them to hand them over to the regime to brainwash them into developing opinions more appropriate for the government (This would of probably end up including all forms of homeschooling as homeschooled kids don't conform to the ideology of the government). I hope that doesn't happen.

 

[Jay85]

As a simracer, I've been reading these forums for years but had to sign up now to vent my disgust at Sony for trying to ban the 145 million people living in Russia.

If Sony bans all Russians, where's the same ban but for Ukrainians due to it's military / militias starting this war by shelling, bombing, and slaughtering thousands of men, women, and children in the Donbas region of Ukraine (mostly Lugansk and Donetsk) ever since this all began in 2014 (largely in part to the American backed coup)?

And then, oh boy, if you want to talk about wars, invasions, occupations, stealing resources, destabilizing nations, destroying nations from economic warfare (ie. sanctions), etc. Then, if the same logic against Russia were applied, every person, athlete, company, etc. from Britain (well, mostly England), France, Israel, and Saudi Arabia would all be banned and sanctioned (and to a lesser extent other countries) on and off for decades straight and all Americans for literally decades straight to this very day.

The hypocrisy and double-standards are beyond measurable.

 

[Neris__]

If Sony bans all Russians, where's the same ban but for Ukrainians due to it's military / militias starting this war by shelling, bombing, and slaughtering thousands of men, women, and children in the Donbas region of Ukraine (mostly Lugansk and Donetsk) ever since this all began in 2014 (largely in part to the American backed coup)?

The hypocrisy and double-standards are beyond measurable.

Congrats on believing in russian propaganda. Lmao, I don't believe that someone who has access to the information and who doesn't live in Russia can write something like this. Like WTH 😧

 

[Mark folsom]

VPN.

Order from China. Russians can play just fine.

This is virtue signaling and does absolutley ZERO to make a difference.

Let the Russians play. My gosh how stupid we've become.

 

[AllWheelDrive]

Cancel Culture and the Safe Space movement are really dangerous. Politics causing people to lose the right to play games, etc. = wrong. Just like McDonalds putting 62,000 Russian workers out of business by closing the restaurants...

 

[Jay85]

Congrats on believing in russian propaganda. Lmao, I don't believe that someone who has access to the information and who doesn't live in Russia can write something like this. Like WTH 😧

Russian propaganda? I've been following this for 8 years. This isn't propaganda and it's been covered by many extremely credible journalists. Stop being so ignorant.

I suppose you also think the Neo-Na*i / Neo-Fascist groups & militias like C14 (part of Svoboda) and especially Right-Sector & Azov Battalion are just "Russian propaganda" too. No. What's propaganda is the Western MSM trying to tell everyone that, that's propaganda in and of itself.

 

[Joshawott331]

Good afternoon. I'm just from Russia. I never really get into discussions about inequalities and unnecessary politics. And yes, I don't bother reading the comments. But when I saw the news here about my country, I decided to read it. Thank you all for supporting us casual gamers. And as a big Gran Turismo fan, March 4th was a sad day. I do not want to offend or humiliate anyone with my comment. Know that we are gamers from Russia, just like you are game lovers). All goodness and peace.

Best of luck to you friend

 

[wasenhorn]

As a simracer, I've been reading these forums for years but had to sign up now to vent my disgust at Sony for trying to ban the 145 million people living in Russia.

If Sony bans all Russians, where's the same ban but for Ukrainians due to it's military / militias starting this war by shelling, bombing, and slaughtering thousands of men, women, and children in the Donbas region of Ukraine (mostly Lugansk and Donetsk) ever since this all began in 2014 (largely in part to the American backed coup)?

And then, oh boy, if you want to talk about wars, invasions, occupations, stealing resources, destabilizing nations, destroying nations from economic warfare (ie. sanctions), etc. Then, if the same logic against Russia were applied, every person, athlete, company, etc. from Britain (well, mostly England), France, Israel, and Saudi Arabia would all be banned and sanctioned (and to a lesser extent other countries) on and off for decades straight and all Americans for literally decades straight to this very day.

The hypocrisy and double-standards are beyond measurable.

Most companies did that for their own good, not for some noble cause. Remember that if you sell something in Russia, you get RUB in return, not USD or JPY or any other currency you might want. The value of Russian Ruble has been dropped in half for the past few weeks (UAH value also dropped in half in 2014, but it took several months not 2 weeks), and no one knows how further it would drop. Furthermore, you can't exactly pull out your hard-earned Russian Ruble from Russia at this moment, thanks to the SWIFT sanction.

So if you stay with Russia, you're essentially handing out your product at a bargain price (it's 50% discount at this moment, but it could be 95% or 99.5% later), and you can't even take the money because your oversea branch can't send the money to you. Obviously many companies don't want to sell anything in Russia at this moment, because they would lose money when they keep selling their products/services for Russian Ruble (not because of the invasion). Also, a lot of companies have suspended their operations in Ukraine as well for the obvious reason.

Some companies have bigger concerns, such as their existing plants in Russia or any other big asset in Russia (imagine a car company which has multiple Russian factories), and they're usually very reluctant to take such measures. They could halt the operation for good, but if they do that, they're likely lose their Russian factories as well as everything inside, so they just sit tight and stay silent hoping no one pay much attention to them.

 

[GT-Roadie]

I have no words, never had faith in all that government since 2000 but truly never thought they going to screw so big time. There is no hope either, doubt that intelligent people numbers overcome blind communists here.
Time to take out wooden toys...

The russian government isn't a communist government. The members of the kremlin are kleptocrates, mafia members and murderers.

 

[Jay85]

Most companies did that for their own good, not for some noble cause. Remember that if you sell something in Russia, you get RUB in return, not USD or JPY or any other currency you might want. The value of Russian Ruble has been dropped in half for the past few weeks (UAH value also dropped in half in 2014, but it took several months not 2 weeks), and no one knows how further it would drop. Furthermore, you can't exactly pull out your hard-earned Russian Ruble from Russia at this moment, thanks to the SWIFT sanction.

So if you stay with Russia, you're essentially handing out your product at a bargain price (it's 50% discount at this moment, but it could be 95% or 99.5% later), and you can't even take the money because your oversea branch can't send the money to you. Obviously many companies don't want to sell anything in Russia at this moment, because they would lose money when they keep selling their products/services for Russian Ruble (not because of the invasion). Also, a lot of companies have suspended their operations in Ukraine as well for the obvious reason.

Some companies have bigger concerns, such as their existing plants in Russia or any other big asset in Russia (imagine a car company which has multiple Russian factories), and they're usually very reluctant to take such measures. They could halt the operation for good, but if they do that, they're likely lose their Russian factories as well as everything inside, so they just sit tight and stay silent hoping no one pay much attention to them.

Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense. Either way, as you pointed out, they're not doing it for a noble cause.

 

[challengerrt10]

It is a very good decision from Sony.

You Russians who support your evil dictator Putin should realize that you are no longer a part of global civilised community.

If you have some pretensions that you can not play GT7 please tell it to over 3 milions Ukraine civilians who had to abandon their homeland and fled because or your ****ing president and your ****ing army which detroyed their cities, homes, killed their relatives and took their dreams and plans away. You may also ask them if their PS consoles and games have been spared by your army?

You will never understand that the neighbouring countries don't want to live under your command, control and oppresion in name of rebuilding your so called great soviet empire.

And yes, Russia under Putin;s command is a parasite that should be blocked and marginalized in any field it is possible.

 

[Bloodytears]

The russian government isn't a communist government. The members of the kremlin are kleptocrates, mafia members and murderers.

Name any communist leader that isn't all that.😄

 

[Dess81]

It's not good that people who don't live in Russia try to judge the all nation for desicion of the one man. You don't know the rules and laws.
It's a big fault to think that people can influence here.
Sony like to make money, and it will return later. But discrimination by nation is unacceptable

 

[Belifant]

It's not good that people who don't live in Russia try to judge the all nation for desicion of the one man. You don't know the rules and laws.
It's a big fault to think that people can influence here.
Sony like to make money, and it will return later. But discrimination by nation is unacceptable

People over here are trying hard separate the Russian people from Putin, and not blaming all Russian people for Putin's actions, but there are always idiots/racists who like to paint a black and white picture of all Russians being war criminals. Due to the Kreml supporting western right wing political parties, there are also more than enough Putin supporters in the West, who contribute sure more to this war than the common Russian people.

Having said that, it may be hard to next to impossible to do so, but the Russian people are the only ones who CAN influence their government in a way that would avoid major damage the the whole planet. I'm sorry you feel discriminated, but I feel more sorry for the people dying and loosing their homes. Sanctions (Sony pulling out of Russia is not a sanction) hurting the common Russian people are not fair, but apart from outright nuclear world war 3, what else can be done by the other countries? Putin cannot go unpunished for invading another country.



PS: and for those going back and forth about what country did what and who is a victim of propaganda and who is not: take a step back and look at the big picture: Putin has invaded another country. Period. None of the semantic and details you want to argue about changes this fact. There is no excuse to invade another country.

Also, I'm an adult person who is able to have a nuanced view of the world and not just black and white opinion. You would think that's a given, but apparently not. And guess what, I can be outraged about the wars the US started as well as the ones Putin started, simultanosly. But this one is currently happening right now, so it's only logical to talk about this one right now. That doesn't mean what other countries did is forgiven or forgotten, but the invasion of Ukraine is the one needing the attention right now.

There's too much sports mentality in politics now, us vs them, there must always be a looser and a winner. The reality is, if there is war or other terrible events, we all loose. And with helping people/the planet, we all win.

 

[Jay85]

Also, I'm an adult person who is able to have a nuanced view of the world and not just black and white opinion. You would think that's a given, but apparently not. And guess what, I can be outraged about the wars the US started as well as the ones Putin started, simultanosly. But this one is currently happening right now, so it's only logical to talk about this one right now. That doesn't mean what other countries did is forgiven or forgotten, but the invasion of Ukraine is the one needing the attention right now.

So the current invasion and occupation of Syria by NATO countries - especially the US - doesn't need attention? The fact that America's sanctions mean Syria needs every dollar it can get yet we're (the USA) literally illegally occupying Syrian oil fields and illegally selling their oil for our profits. That doesn't need attention? Or that fact the we (USA) along with some other NATO members, Israel, Saudi Arabia, etc. are funding, arming, training, etc. head-chopping terrorists to use in Syria as our proxy armies to do our dirty work while we and our disgraceful, lying, corrupt media try to call them "moderate rebels"...Doesn't that need attention right now?

Or how about the estimated 30,000 Venezuelan men, women, and children who've died from 2017-2019 as a result of our (USA's) murderous sanctions. That number is surely higher as of today. Doesn't that need attention right now?

Or how about the Palestinian apartheid. It's a literal apartheid and they're living in almost literally an open-air prison. Constantly being completely cut-off from electricity, water, etc. Having entire family's homes being bulldozed and destroyed for Israeli settlements (imagine your house was one day just completely bulldozed to a pile of rubble with no say). And then when an 10 year old child out of retaliation throws a stone at a tank or soldier, the child gets shot or arrested as if he's some criminal. Doesn't that need attention right now?

What about the war in Yemen? Despite how bad Syria was the past few years, guess what the UN called the #1 worst humanitarian crisis on the entire planet? Not Syria but Yemen as a result of our (USA's) and Saudi Arabia's annihilation of the country and it's people. Doesn't that need attention right now?

It's funny how such a humungous % of the population doesn't care about the lives of millions and millions of innocent men, women, and children around the world until they're told to care by the mainstream media - then all of a sudden they're all acting like they're mother Theresa with "Stand With ..." banners, posts, donations, flags, etc.

 

[FOG-Smokebeer]

You get the leader's you deserve i guess but if you annoy the common people enough things can change this is just a small step in the right direction.

 

[Brego]

People only care about what the media tells them to care about, yet ironically, journalism does not even exist. I don't know about the rest of the world, but Americans CANNOT be bothered to do objective investigation themselves. In fact, the VAST majority of Americans have no clue what the word "objectivity" even means, let alone take upon themselves the pain to abide by it. It is more important to the average American to assert themselves as a one-man geopolitical think tank than to predicate anything with an honest qualifier. Western culture is rusted shipwreck with a fresh coat of paint and some flashy lights.

The same people clamoring about "Russian propaganda" are the same people watching CNN and MSNBC as if it were any different.
The same people clamoring about "Russian invasion" are the same ones that inflate thier chests like the gods of morality when talking about US/NATO/UN invasion, occupation, murder, and collateral murder. Nothing but bravery and honor there, right?

If Russia is an invading force, guess what? They learned it from the masters. Starting with native Americans to Korea & Nam, to Grenada and every failed central American state, to Syria, Iraq, Libya... US/Nato has forces in how many countries?

It is hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Look, do you want to be an American? It's easy, all you have to do is memorize this: "As long as I can find something wrong with you, I cannot be held accountable for myself." Learn to be addicted to yourself like a monkey that chooses opium over food continuously until he dies.

That being said, most of the time I'm not ashamed to be an American, because I'm too busy being ashamed at the entire species.