GT-Sport had a really bad launch, which has caused a certain stigma to attach itself to the game. GT-6 was the first GT game in the series I didn't bother getting, as GT-5 really got shown up by Forza 4. The one thing I enjoyed with GT-5 was the online racing, which made me excited for GT-Sport. I actually bought my original PS4, T300RS and Premium pedals when I read it was coming out. Sadly it was delayed and I think it took another 18 months to finally come out, which was still too soon IMO. GT-5 did become a bit of a joke with it's sound FX's at the time, as the cars sounded more like Dyson than a mid 00's flight sim's jet engine FX's.
GT-Sport has been playing catch up ever since and I'm actually enjoying the game so much more than I thought I ever would. The thing is, GT-Sport is not really a true "Racing Simulator" when compared to many of it's current rivals. I think by either sheer fluke or a masterstroke, it sits nicely between an all out sim such as iRacing and the more arcade style racers such as Need For Speed. Thank god that the GT team have finally managed to get the sound of the cars to be way better than GT-5.
I think I have bought most of the big rivals to GT-Sport on my PSN accounts, yet they seem to lack a certain spark that Kaz has imbedded into GT-Sport. Project Cars 1 & 2 , seems to be the biggest threat to GT-Sport, as they seem to fit into the same area of game sim level. I find PC2 can get really long winded, with the amount of race series and tracks you race on, to progress to the next series level.
With websites/forums like GT-Planet, there are so many player organised events and online series, for GT-Sport, that it makes it worthwhile to keep playing. I do enjoy the single player element these days, but my biggest weakness is having to drive using the sports tyres, as the grip levels seem to change every few patches, going from driving on ice to having grip levels that feel more like the Michelin Sports on my Z4M.
The sad truth with GT-Sport is it is still missing a ton of features that all of it's rivals have managed to include, usually on smaller budgets than what I would imagine Kaz and his team have. There is still no variable weather conditions, there is no day-night transitions while racing, which really effect doing Gr1 & 3 endurance races on Le Mans ect. These features are a must have in modern racing games these days and the fact it's missing from GT-Sport is staggering. Also, some of the in game features that previous GT games have had from the start are no longer there, such as doing oil changes, buying better parts for the cars and so on.
The amount and types of cars GT-Sport has, was a big letdown during launch and it's nice that we don't have to keep buying DLC race packs, so we can get the new cars/tracks. As you can tell from this post, that the LMP/Group C and GT classes are what I enjoy racing the most, so for the Mercedes CLK-LM/CLK-GTR , Nissan R92 and more importantly the Toyota GT-One to not even be in the game at this point is disappointing. Yes it is getting better every quarter, but there are so many legendary/cult race cars still missing in the game.
But even with all the faults I find with GT-Sport, I'm still able to enjoy playing the game and the features that were new in GT-Sport, such as liveries is awesome. I love the fact that I am able to race some of the older cars, with their proper tobacco sponsors, just like I remember watching them when I was a kid. I do hope before the updates finally finish, that we will be able to have proper variable weather and day/night changes during a race, as I love the GR-1 and 3 races that are organised by users on these forums. Le Mans is such an awesome race to me and I use to love the moment night suddenly turns into dawn and then the morning.
dedicated players.
