I nominate Chris Roper for official GT Community Manager

[Famine]

Shame somebody seems to have turned the Twitter post to an attack on @Famine

I don't know about that - it made me laugh my tits off.

The individual in question was banned in December 2011 after several warnings and infractions for lazy posts, posts insulting other users and a spat on Facebook that he claimed was racially motivated. This message, to the user with whom he had the spat, caused the ban:

which I removed and, in my single interaction with the user, banned him for, along with the message:

Multiple infractions, and two temporary bans, for abusing other members doesn't seem to have got the message across. I think we're done here.

All logged in, and retrievable from, the staff area.

Anyone who wants to claim that is racism has a serious screw loose. But then he also claimed that @Imari was being racist for remarking on the importance of proof-reading in written correspondence...


Anyway, as Gran Turismo is technically a first party title, the role of GT community manager falls under the remit of the SCE brand managers for each region.

These people are Penrose Tackie in Europe (SCEE European Brand Manager) and Alex Armour in the USA (SCEA Senior Manager Public Relations). I don't recall SCEI's representative.

I've worked with both Penrose and Alex. Both are active on the regional blogs and participate and respond to discussions on the articles they post. They are, if not as passionate as some of our community, very interested in Gran Turismo and they do their best to bring official information and independent communities like ours together as expediently as they can - but they can't do it if there's no information to give. In fact, because we don't rely just on official channels, we're often ahead of their curve.

And that's the issue consumers are facing right now. It's not that there's no individual to give the information - there is. The problem is that there's no information that these individuals can give. GTPlanet can reveal Bathurst is being scanned, but even if we had a dedicated community manager for the series, they can't say anything about it - and we'd all be even more annoyed.

That said, I'll volunteer

 

[Devil240Z]

Community Manager ? What the hell is that?
Is that the man who will tell us why we don`t get the promised contents? Why we don`t get Updates? Why PD is working so hard on the development of GT-7 and therefore has no time left to support GT-6? Why we should patiently keep waiting?

I don`t need a "Manager". I need more tracks, more cars, more races, a real ingame community, the B-Spec mode, a course maker... that is what I need.

I didn't say having a CM would make updates come sooner. I just think it would be nicer to have one around than not.

 

[lGNAl]

And that's the issue consumers are facing right now. It's not that there's no individual to give the information - there is. The problem is that there's no information that these individuals can give. GTPlanet can reveal Bathurst is being scanned, but even if we had a dedicated community manager for the series, they can't say anything about it - and we'd all be even more annoyed.

That said, I'll volunteer

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. If they wanted to release any info, they (PD) could release it officially via the GT website, or unofficially through GTP or any other website. Kaz isn't sitting on info and saying "oh how can I release it to the public ?" ... No Famine we need you here to kick butt. And a name like Famine doesn't suit a spokesperson/community manager.

Edit: ... as there's already a famine of info.
2nd Edit: ... but maybe if you were called Flood.

 

[Swagger897]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. If they wanted to release any info, they (PD) could release it officially via the GT website, or unofficially through GTP or any other website. Kaz isn't sitting on info and saying "oh how can I release it to the public ?" ... No Famine we need you here to kick butt. And a name like Famine doesn't suit a spokesperson/community manager.

Edit: ... as there's already a famine of info.
2nd Edit: ... but maybe if you were called Flood.

Why, because then we'd be "flooded" with information regarding the series?

 

[lGNAl]

Why, because then we'd be "flooded" with information regarding the series?

yeah

 

[Swagger897]

yeah

Well unless you send him with an anal probe or a really big flashlight, I don't know if we'd get much more than now... There has to be one poor soul at PD who pleads everyday to leak some info...

 

[lGNAl]

Well unless you send him with an anal probe or a really big flashlight, I don't know if we'd get much more than now... There has to be one poor soul at PD who pleads everyday to leak some info...

Or we bribe someone at PD. Some people betray superpowers for money. PD shouldn't be that hard.

 

[Voodoovaj]

but they can't do it if there's no information to give. In fact, because we don't rely just on official channels, we're often ahead of their curve.

That's not totally true. When I had to pick up the slack for BF's lack of community manager, I just interfaced with the community when I could. I didn't reveal features, I just popped up in the threads and openly discussed the grievances.

A straight up explanation goes a long way.

 

[Doodle]

I nominate Translator-san, because why not?

 

[Vagabond]

2nd Edit: ... but maybe if you were called Flood.

@Pestilence

 

[MaDHaX]

Guys PD really do need to fix up but if I was you, I wouldn't worry about it. PD already know that they are not doing well from GT6 sales. Also I believe they will get a solid boot between the legs this year when pCARS get's a release.

I think it's safe to say that GT8 will be back on track with what the community wants, they just need to get beaten up a little first.

 

[Swagger897]

Guys PD really do need to fix up but if I was you, I wouldn't worry about it. PD already know that they are not doing well from GT6 sales. Also I believe they will get a solid boot between the legs this year when pCARS get's a release.

I think it's safe to say that GT8 will be back on track with what the community wants, they just need to get beaten up a little first.

Do they? Do they REALLY know how pissed this community is?

I mean think about that word, community. What is a community? Well this is Google's definition for it:

a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

We all here (who share these ideals) on GTP share the common goals. The love for cars/driving/racing/ and the advancement for this series. As a customer it is sad to see something terrible you spend a lot of time with crumble almost in front of you. Yet you have no control with its trajectory.

And then to see such disgusting care for the customers is what pissed me off. I don't know about you or where you're from but where I live AT&T, the big telecommunications business over here, put out a bad image around 2010... Crap customer support, horrible management, and workers who hated going to work. Pissing off your customers, let alone your own employees is not exactly the best business model. Verizon, the other telecommunications company then basically took over everything and is almost if not above AT&T.

Now I don't want to see that happen to PD, but this is the beginning stage to see your customers write petitions, question the legitimacy of the company, and take a crack at ousting the leader (be it through words or war). All I can say is that these aren't the best of times for the game, but do they REALLY know what's going on outside?

 

[MaDHaX]

Do they? Do they REALLY know how pissed this community is?

I mean think about that word, community. What is a community? Well this is Google's definition for it:

a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

We all here (who share these ideals) on GTP share the common goals. The love for cars/driving/racing/ and the advancement for this series. As a customer it is sad to see something terrible you spend a lot of time with crumble almost in front of you. Yet you have no control with its trajectory.

And then to see such disgusting care for the customers is what pissed me off. I don't know about you or where you're from but where I live AT&T, the big telecommunications business over here, put out a bad image around 2010... Crap customer support, horrible management, and workers who hated going to work. Pissing off your customers, let alone your own employees is not exactly the best business model. Verizon, the other telecommunications company then basically took over everything and is almost if not above AT&T.

Now I don't want to see that happen to PD, but this is the beginning stage to see your customers write petitions, question the legitimacy of the company, and take a crack at ousting the leader (be it through words or war). All I can say is that these aren't the best of times for the game, but do they REALLY know what's going on outside?

I agree with everything you have mentioned and community is probably the wrong word to describe us at the moment, best way to probably describe the PD community is a broken one.

I still think they will do something about it after they get a TKO with a solid right in the chin, but I dont think we will see it in GT7. I think they will polish up GT in 8. By then though they might lose alot more people from the GT series.

They have been too comfortable for years sitting at the top of the console sim world, but it has all come crashing down. They will feel our rage this year, I can garaundamntee that!

 

[eSZee]

I don't know about that - it made me laugh my tits off.

I'd get a premium membership just to see that.

 

[Aloha62_2]

Community Manager ? What the hell is that?
Is that the man who will tell us why we don`t get the promised contents? Why we don`t get Updates? Why PD is working so hard on the development of GT-7 and therefore has no time left to support GT-6? Why we should patiently keep waiting?

I don`t need a "Manager". I need more tracks, more cars, more races, a real ingame community, the B-Spec mode, a course maker... that is what I need.

A community manager is a liaison between a developer and the fanbase to ensure that concerns and ideas are relayed properly. Wanting more features is fine and it would be a CM's job to ensure that the developers know what people are asking for and to respond to concerns raised about the game.

Currently it feels like PD is developing in a nuclear bunker unaware that people are alive outside of it, a CM would be better for both PD and the fans. Nothing is as frustrating as being ignored.

 

[Tenacious D]

I believe (PD) will get a solid boot between the legs this year when pCARS get's a release.

I really can't see this happening. There are only about a dozen games that supposedly were going to put The Fearz in Kaz and the team. Forza was DEFINITELY going to do it, and it definitely didn't. And I still don't know what is so market jarring about P CARS. As far as I can tell, it's what Shift wanted to be. Maybe, but I'm not sure about that.

Every time someone mentions some awesome sauce thing about P CARS, I think 'So... what's the fuss about?' The latest one was Johnnypenso all fired up about the bots. I watched his YT link and was so caught up in the nice graphics, and especially the driver view, that I failed to notice that the bots were basically... cruising like polite cruise missiles. Which I had mentioned a number of times isn't an earthshaking revelation of gaming historicness or anything.

And I have to say that I can't see the same thirty or so malcontents with a few new faces here and there signifying that Gran Turismo is about to see a mass exodus to Forza or Shift or P CARS or Assetto Corsa or whatever PC sim or game you might mention. Those games have come along since GT4 and this whole wash rinse repeat circus began, and those other games did... okay for the most part, some bombed badly like Enthusia. But GT still kept trucking.

Forza 5 is in much worse shape, and from what I can tell has an even angrier fanbase. I'm going way out on a limb and predict there will be a Forza 6. And the fans will buy it again. And if there is a GT7 Prologue put out by PC, the fans will buy it too - did I mention I post when I'm tired?

Now on the community manager thing, like that would change anything. We had something like one with amar212 back in the pre-release of GT5 in 2009 and the early days of 2010, and while his interesting allegories had some of us captivated, it angered others and he was even attacked for them.

The nets are just too overrun with ill mannered bomb throwers, especially here, for anything like that to work well.

By the way, I nominate Famine too.

One more thing, since it looks like I'm going to be late for work anyhow. I wouldn't mind if P CARS or rFactor2 or AC would unsettle Kaz and the team. I've joined with the chorus of people requesting about a dozen features in GT7. The nice chorus anyhow. I want Kaz to really knuckle down and push the team to produce a game with that "GT Pro" thing I've mentioned a number of times, as well as all the features that were promised and alluded to for GT6. GT6 as it is, yeah it's kind of a 1998 game. It does need some gene splicing from those sims-slash-real world racing leagues to take it into the 21st Century. And Race Mod and a Livery Editor would sure be a heaping scoop of ice cream on top of all that, allowing us to create our own leagues in the game. I get accused of just being a blue-eyed fanboy too often because people miss stuff like this.

 

[Voodoovaj]

Guys PD really do need to fix up but if I was you, I wouldn't worry about it. PD already know that they are not doing well from GT6 sales. Also I believe they will get a solid boot between the legs this year when pCARS get's a release.

I think it's safe to say that GT8 will be back on track with what the community wants, they just need to get beaten up a little first.

I am not so sure. The F2P mobile space (car games specifically) is VERY lucrative. Every bizdev guy is looking in that direction in the same way some people look at the lottery as a valid retirement plan. There's a lot of money out there, but they really don't grasp the risks.

Funny, I had this discussion with a colleague yesterday. He, like most bizdev guys, was debating how "obviously" Sony knows it's market ("I mean com'on"). However, he was totally stumped at the obvious aspect being missed. That is that F2P games are device independent. My question, that evoked a "Oh (vulgarity) you're right" response was this, why would an F2P whale ever go buy a console to play games?

It's a similar relationship as that between gambler and casino, or drug addict and dealer. A barrier of entry is a hard wall. F2P is for PSNow (if PSNow were device agnostic), not PS3 or PS4.

Bringing this back on topic, a community manager is a key element in maintaining a close tie to the bread and butter of your market. Project vision is great for the way the project is executed, but F2P is about business and business is driven by customers. You need that feedback to be able to forge ahead efficiently.

 

[Johnnypenso]

The latest one was Johnnypenso all fired up about the bots...[stuff] that I failed to notice that the bots were basically... cruising like polite cruise missiles. Which I had mentioned a number of times isn't an earthshaking revelation of gaming historicness or anything.

If by polite cruise missiles you mean, "driving like a real driver would drive a real car at the same pace as the car I am driving in the game", yeah polite cruise missles. But why just talk about it. GTPlanet has seen fit to make it so easy to link and embed videos why not use that to show everyone what "cruising like a polite cruise missile" is..

​

And I have to say that I can't see the same thirty or so malcontents with a few new faces here and there signifying that Gran Turismo is about to see a mass exodus to Forza or Shift or P CARS or Assetto Corsa or whatever PC sim or game you might mention.

Most reasonable people are saying that they hope PCars is some competition for GT and might actually spur them into being a better franchise or at least give them a wake up call. "Mass exodus" is a gross exaggeration, one you get away with consistently because you run and hide when asked to prove anything so I won't bother.

GT6 as it is, yeah it's kind of a 1998 game.

Most accurate thing you've ever said, can't argue with that:tup:

 

[MaDHaX]

I really can't see this happening. There are only about a dozen games that supposedly were going to put The Fearz in Kaz and the team. Forza was DEFINITELY going to do it, and it definitely didn't. And I still don't know what is so market jarring about P CARS. As far as I can tell, it's what Shift wanted to be. Maybe, but I'm not sure about that.

Every time someone mentions some awesome sauce thing about P CARS, I think 'So... what's the fuss about?' The latest one was Johnnypenso all fired up about the bots. I watched his YT link and was so caught up in the nice graphics, and especially the driver view, that I failed to notice that the bots were basically... cruising like polite cruise missiles. Which I had mentioned a number of times isn't an earthshaking revelation of gaming historicness or anything.

And I have to say that I can't see the same thirty or so malcontents with a few new faces here and there signifying that Gran Turismo is about to see a mass exodus to Forza or Shift or P CARS or Assetto Corsa or whatever PC sim or game you might mention. Those games have come along since GT4 and this whole wash rinse repeat circus began, and those other games did... okay for the most part, some bombed badly like Enthusia. But GT still kept trucking.

Forza 5 is in much worse shape, and from what I can tell has an even angrier fanbase. I'm going way out on a limb and predict there will be a Forza 6. And the fans will buy it again. And if there is a GT7 Prologue put out by PC, the fans will buy it too - did I mention I post when I'm tired?

Now on the community manager thing, like that would change anything. We had something like one with amar212 back in the pre-release of GT5 in 2009 and the early days of 2010, and while his interesting allegories had some of us captivated, it angered others and he was even attacked for them.

The nets are just too overrun with ill mannered bomb throwers, especially here, for anything like that to work well.

By the way, I nominate Famine too.

One more thing, since it looks like I'm going to be late for work anyhow. I wouldn't mind if P CARS or rFactor2 or AC would unsettle Kaz and the team. I've joined with the chorus of people requesting about a dozen features in GT7. The nice chorus anyhow. I want Kaz to really knuckle down and push the team to produce a game with that "GT Pro" thing I've mentioned a number of times, as well as all the features that were promised and alluded to for GT6. GT6 as it is, yeah it's kind of a 1998 game. It does need some gene splicing from those sims-slash-real world racing leagues to take it into the 21st Century. And Race Mod and a Livery Editor would sure be a heaping scoop of ice cream on top of all that, allowing us to create our own leagues in the game. I get accused of just being a blue-eyed fanboy too often because people miss stuff like this.

I admire your devotion to the GT series, really I do but you got to let it go D, PD do need a kick in the goolies.

I am not so sure. The F2P mobile space (car games specifically) is VERY lucrative. Every bizdev guy is looking in that direction in the same way some people look at the lottery as a valid retirement plan. There's a lot of money out there, but they really don't grasp the risks.

Funny, I had this discussion with a colleague yesterday. He, like most bizdev guys, was debating how "obviously" Sony knows it's market ("I mean com'on"). However, he was totally stumped at the obvious aspect being missed. That is that F2P games are device independent. My question, that evoked a "Oh (vulgarity) you're right" response was this, why would an F2P whale ever go buy a console to play games?

It's a similar relationship as that between gambler and casino, or drug addict and dealer. A barrier of entry is a hard wall. F2P is for PSNow (if PSNow were device agnostic), not PS3 or PS4.

Bringing this back on topic, a community manager is a key element in maintaining a close tie to the bread and butter of your market. Project vision is great for the way the project is executed, but F2P is about business and business is driven by customers. You need that feedback to be able to forge ahead efficiently.

By F2P you mean free to play right?

Community Manager wouldnt actually change alot IMO, why? Because PD have a mind like tunnel vission. All they can see is the path ahead of them while they are travelling at top speed. I'm sure he could just pick someone from his office that can speak english to simply throw out some questions to the broken GT community.

And also someone that can tell us that they have found bugs in the game that they are looking into for next patch or as soon as it can be fixed.

If only GT could be a PC title because I think Sony is what is destroying GT. That will never happen unless Sony sack PD or Kaz.

Where PD go from here will be interesting, if GT7 is more or less the same as GT6 then for me they have nailed their own coffin. Still want to release GT7 in a year Kaz?

 

[Johnnypenso]

Community Manager wouldnt actually change alot IMO, why? Because PD have a mind like tunnel vission. All they can see is the path ahead of them while they are travelling at top speed. I'm sure he could just pick someone from his office that can speak english to simply throw out some questions to the broken GT community.

If a Community Manager is simply slotted into the current hierarchy to silence critics, then yes, nothing will change. But if hiring a CM might come along with a realization of the need to change, to communicate with the fanbase. Lower sales have a way of making you look at things differently. GT is Kaz's baby no doubt, and if sales are as bad as they appear to be on VGChartz, Kaz might be hitting the bed at night thinking his baby is in trouble and he needs to make some changes and this could spin into the idea of a CM among other things.

 

[MaDHaX]

If a Community Manager is simply slotted into the current hierarchy to silence critics, then yes, nothing will change. But if hiring a CM might come along with a realization of the need to change, to communicate with the fanbase. Lower sales have a way of making you look at things differently. GT is Kaz's baby no doubt, and if sales are as bad as they appear to be on VGChartz, Kaz might be hitting the bed at night thinking his baby is in trouble and he needs to make some changes and this could spin into the idea of a CM among other things.

If Kaz is losing sleep at night knowing his GT is in trouble then that shows there is no need for a CM because the change would start from himself.

 

[Swagger897]

If Kaz is losing sleep at night knowing his GT is in trouble then that shows there is no need for a CM because the change would start from himself.

That or he lights another cig and puffs away..

 

[wowbaggerBR]

GT is Kaz's baby no doubt, and if sales are as bad as they appear to be on VGChartz, Kaz might be hitting the bed at night thinking his baby is in trouble and he needs to make some changes and this could spin into the idea of a CM among other things.

This is very optimistic. He won't change a thing. It's just like Nintendo: completely blind about the market, the fan base and the competition.

Maybe It's a japanese thing.