Is the series spreading itself too thin?

  • Thread starter MIE1992
  • 70 comments
  • 3,249 views
I was the exact same way...started playing 1P, then discovered online, and never looked back...

...until recently. I’ve basically just followed the same path as you, just a few steps further.

I’ve grown tired of the headache of online racing. Sport Mode is ok, but constantly having to worry about SR and DR, while welcome for competitive events, is frustrating and stressful for quick, fun races (especially when there are so many ways to abuse and subvert the penalty system). Random online lobbies are just that, very random, completely hit or miss, and for the most part, don’t offer too much variety in terms of the cars/category being raced. Leagues and Series are great when they’re well organized, but typically only take place once per week. On top of that, most leagues are quite competitive, and require a significant amount of time in regards to practice and tuning in order to be competitive (for me at least). Additionally, racing as a whole is a very subjective enterprise, with each person having their own personal definition of what is “clean”, “fair”, “fun”, “casual”, “competitive”, etc. My point here is that even if I open a “Fun Race Lobby”, my chances of 15 other people who have the same interpretation of “fun racing” as I do is pretty slim.

I consider myself still a “gamer”, not a “sim racer”. I’d like to go into the deep end, but don’t have room for a rig right now. So while I’m happy to see legit competitions grow and evolve, they’re really not for me. At this point in my gaming, I just want to have fun races, as well as role play different scenarios with different cars from different eras. I’ve found it’s really tough to do online, and nearly impossible to get anywhere close to full grids.

With all that in mind, I would LOVE to see a game come out that focused on the single player aspect. A structured career mode, I can take it or leave it...but what I’d really like is custom races, custom championships, and complete control over all aspects of setting up events.


So maybe that’s the major splitting point. Do you want to see the developer focus on making the perfect online experience, or the perfect single player/co-op experience? Obviously it would be ideal to have both in the same game, but it doesn’t seem like that’s really possible at the current time.

Is the single player in GT better or worse than it used to be? Yes and no. Is it objectively worse than almost every other game out right now, and that’s been out for the better part of the last 10 years? Yup.

I mean, in most car related gaming communities I’ve been part of, the general consensus is that the ideal game would be Project Turismo Corsa...you take the UI, online lobbies, and match making from GT, combine with the tracks, Livetrack 2.0, and dynamic weather from Project Cars, and then the handling and physics model from AC, then you’d have the perfect racing game on console.

At the end of the day, I think PD does have a choice to make, as I don’t think they have what it takes to do it all. That’s not a dig at them, I just don’t see it happening. I think continuing to try to be a little bit of everything to everyone is going to cost them in the long run, instead of picking one area to really excel at. If PD does make that choice, I have a feeling they will choose to focus on online multiplayer, as that’s where the potential revenue lies (as long as online racing isn’t just a passing fad like the slinky or bell bottoms). The unfortunate part of that is that the online racing market is already nearly saturated, and there’s almost no one focusing on a compelling and immersive single player experience in the racing genre (pCARS is probably closest, but comes up short in a few areas).
I don't know guys, I suggest you give the way I play GT a try.
90% the time it's just me, my car, and a track. It's endless and its all you really need. Drive that car. Feel it. Racing with other cars is only good with friends who want to have a good time together. The rest is no fun.
 
It's just really too bad because I love how GT has introduced all sorts of obscure cars, tracks, and automakers to people who would've never known about them otherwise.

But PD should know this: most empires fall because they become too big to govern, whether we're referring to the Romans, the Ottomans, or the British. Gran Turismo, in a sense, seems similar, in that it's trying to do so many things at once, and even more items are being consistently added to that list of things.

Eventually, like any other IP, Gran Turismo will die. It's up to PD: they can either delay that inevitability with acknowledging that dazzling but fleeting graphical effects alongside fancy tie-in promotions are no match for timeless & competent game design, or they can hasten the process. In the end, nobody will care about Raytracing, fancy particle effects, or any of that, but a GOOD GAME DESIGN. It should be noted that there is a trend, wherein most older games that are still discussed, have a stylized art direction instead of being purely realistic. Because Gran Turismo is one with realism (not that I have an issue with realism in concept), it needs to try that much harder to be memorable, and good game design is the way to go about that, even for the aforementioned stylized games.

Otherwise, all these partnerships - Skip Barber in GT3, Nike in GT4, Top Gear, Sebastian Vettel, Jeff Gordon, Sebastien Loeb, Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Goodwood, TAG-Heuer, Michelin, the FIA, Toyota, the VGT project - all of them will only be hollow publicity stunts, the death convulsions of Gran Turismo.

At this point, between their non-existent PR, we can only pray that between future GTS updates, and the next title, that our faith in this IP can be restored. Because if it isn't, then as far as I know, the series won't deserve a future after that next title. It'll officially be "Weekend At Bernie's" status. But I want to believe PD can change that. All this. To avert a bad future for Gran Turismo, as well as its influence on the world.
 
Last edited:
It's just really too bad because I love how GT has introduced all sorts of obscure cars, tracks, and automakers to people who would've never known about them otherwise.

But PD should know this: most empires fall because they become too big to govern, whether we're referring to the Romans, or the British. Gran Turismo, in a sense, is similar, in that it's trying to do so many things at once, and even more items are being to that list of things.

Eventually, like any other IP, Gran Turismo will die. It's up to PD: they can delay that inevitability with acknowledging that fancy but fleeting graphical effects are no match for timeless competent game design, or they can hasten the process.
Honestly?
blah blah blah.
just like your first spot. but we get it. the situation is dire.
 
Honestly?
blah blah blah.
just like your first spot. but we get it. the situation is dire.
I wonder why would he think of it that way. Because despite the shortcomings of the series, I think it still remains fairly popular to many players.
 
It's just really too bad because I love how GT has introduced all sorts of obscure cars, tracks, and automakers to people who would've never known about them otherwise.

But PD should know this: most empires fall because they become too big to govern, whether we're referring to the Romans, or the British. Gran Turismo, in a sense, is similar, in that it's trying to do so many things at once, and even more items are being to that list of things.

Eventually, like any other IP, Gran Turismo will die. It's up to PD: they can either delay that inevitability with acknowledging that fancy but fleeting graphical effects are no match for timeless & competent game design, or they can hasten the process. In the end, nobody will care about Raytracing, fancy particle effects, or any of that, but a GOOD GAME DESIGN. It should be noted that there is a trend, wherein most older games that are still discussed, have a stylized art direction instead of being purely realistic. Because Gran Turismo is one with realism (not that I have an issue with realism in concept), it needs to try that much harder to be memorable, and good game design is the way to go about that, even for the aforementioned stylized games.

Otherwise, all these partnerships - Skip Barber in GT3, Nike in GT4, and more recently, Top Gear, Sebastian Vettel, Sebastien Loeb, Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Goodwood, TAG-Heuer, Michelin, the FIA, Toyota, the VGT project - all of them will only be hollow publicity stunts, the death convulsions of Gran Turismo.

At this point, between their non-existent PR, we can only pray that between future GTS updates, and the next title, that our faith in this IP can be restored. Because if it isn't, then as far as I know, the series won't deserve a future after that next title. It'll officially be "Weekend At Bernie's" status. But I want to believe PD can change that. All this. To avert a bad future for Gran Turismo, as well as its influence on the world.
There is plenty to be said about graphics improvements.
And being constantly at the front of the field is one of PD's calling cards.

How do you think we got from the graphics of GT1 to where we are now?
 
I wonder why would he think of it that way. Because despite the shortcomings of the series, I think it still remains fairly popular to many players.
From the first post I was wondering if he was just trying to create a discussion at all costs. It quickly became apparent that yes.
 
I know it's still popular, but aren't the sales declining with the most recent installments? It's just that I see so much potential in Gran Turismo, other IPs, and videogames in general, and it just worries me when we're left in the dark like this. And even more so when potential outlets for communication like the Pit-Stop blog & YouTube channel are seemingly abandoned right after they start, without any reason given for that, even.

If PD would explain themselves - or at least just some things, like the communications strategy - then I'd be willing to listen and understand. But I don't know what I can do other than hope for the best and expect the worst if they seem to be either unable or unwilling to communicate despite being such a successful, long-lasting IP.
 
From the first post I was wondering if he was just trying to create a discussion at all costs. It quickly became apparent that yes.
I suppose he also plays racing games other than GT. But why would he want to compare them and think that the latter is a lackluster or something like that based on what he's trying to imply here? Why not just simply appreciate the greatness that each games has to offer? I think threads like these are simply made to attract attention.
 
I suppose he also plays racing games other than GT. But why would he want to compare them and think that the latter is a lackluster or something like that based on what he's trying to imply here?

Because there are actually things to be critical of with GT Sport? The fact that Polyphony does kind of treat the community in a sort of one way street manner - where the only *real* communication given to the fans is via cryptic (and frankly, useless) silhouette teasers, and the odd Kaz interview with Jordan that basically reeks of the typical PR ******** that most studio heads give. OP did lay out some instances where Polyphony tried to be forthcoming with regards to communication, but those fell by the wayside, quickly. Granted, they were back in the days when developer/fan communication were much less then now, but especially now with an online focused title, you need to tell the fans what is going on at a bare minimum. Then you don't have stuff like the Spa hullabaloo happening, because fans know what to expect.

In an era where both T10/PG are forthcoming with each Forza game's faults, and what needs to be done, where Ian Bell is on this very forum telling people about what is going on with PCARS (granted, half the time it's just being his typical boastful self, still, the effort is appreciated) there is simply no excuse for the only developer contact is through cryptic silhouette posting on Twitter, and people leaking stuff from World Tour builds.

There's also the fact that, as I have described in this very thread, that Polyphony seems to be incapable of holding down their own desires with regards to what the vision is of GT Sport, that is a online focused racer, and the fact that they have focused nearly all of their attention on trying to build a single player mode when they could have built one in the beginning and at least saved the headache of trying to appease people later instead of at the beginning, causing Sport Mode to lag behind as a result.
 
I also would appreciate some words on their general approach on some things - not only features, or car/track selection, but stuff that are more related to the production, like why they'd drop the various communication outlets.

My guess is that since it was a decent amount of years before the much more recent studio expansions, they didn't have enough staff to maintain it.
 
Because there are actually things to be critical of with GT Sport? The fact that Polyphony does kind of treat the community in a sort of one way street manner - where the only *real* communication given to the fans is via cryptic (and frankly, useless) silhouette teasers, and the odd Kaz interview with Jordan that basically reeks of the typical PR ******** that most studio heads give. OP did lay out some instances where Polyphony tried to be forthcoming with regards to communication, but those fell by the wayside, quickly. Granted, they were back in the days when developer/fan communication were much less then now, but especially now with an online focused title, you need to tell the fans what is going on at a bare minimum. Then you don't have stuff like the Spa hullabaloo happening, because fans know what to expect.

In an era where both T10/PG are forthcoming with each Forza game's faults, and what needs to be done, where Ian Bell is on this very forum telling people about what is going on with PCARS (granted, half the time it's just being his typical boastful self, still, the effort is appreciated) there is simply no excuse for the only developer contact is through cryptic silhouette posting on Twitter, and people leaking stuff from World Tour builds.
Nobody cares sorry. tldr kind of as well.
 
you're bringing ProjectCars into the discussion lol
Its NFS Shift 3 in case you don't know.

That's to illustrate a point, that other racing game developers have managed to be much more forthright with their communication towards fans, but sure, make it into a fanwar pissing match, whatever.

Don't you have more posts to throw the r-word around, willy nilly?
 
you're bringing ProjectCars into the discussion lol
Its NFS Shift 3 in case you don't know.
What does PD have to worry about that seriously

Oftentimes, the Project CARS series is mentioned alongside Gran Turismo, as well as Assetto Corsa. They're all realistic racing games that are on consoles. Not seeing why one would compare the two would be like not understanding the comparison between SMT: DemiKids and Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, or WipEout and F-Zero. Like it or not, they are often being mentioned in the same breath. That means a lot.

EDIT: I'm also unsure if GT League was really planned & made so quickly as to be a response to post-release backlash, or if there were plans for it before release.
 
Oftentimes, the Project CARS series is mentioned alongside Gran Turismo, as well as Assetto Corsa. They're all realistic racing games that are on consoles. Not seeing why one would compare the two would be like not understanding the comparison between SMT: DemiKids and Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, or WipEout and F-Zero.

Honestly, I'd have reservations about comparing PCARS with GT, or any of the harder core sims that are on the market currently, but in terms of how developers interact with fans? I have no problem comparing them, considering that nearly every developer in the racing game space has openly embraced having an open line of dialogue with fans, and telling them of what's going on.

Everybody except Polyphony, seemingly, and for a game that's focused on online racing, that's sort of bad.
 
That's to illustrate a point, that other racing game developers have managed to be much more forthright with their communication towards fans, but sure, make it into a fanwar pissing match, whatever.

Don't you have more posts to throw the r-word around, willy nilly?
well my point is that other racing game developers had better worry about how it feels to drive the damned car on the damned track, but sure if they can get sheep to think communication is as important as anything then good on them!
another point Im trying to make I guess is that those who love GT still love it as much as ever and aren't worried a bit.
 
Honestly, I'd have reservations about comparing PCARS with GT, or any of the harder core sims that are on the market currently, but in terms of how developers interact with fans? I have no problem comparing them, considering that nearly every developer in the racing game space has openly embraced having an open line of dialogue with fans, and telling them of what's going on.

Everybody except Polyphony, seemingly, and for a game that's focused on online racing, that's sort of bad.

Indeed. GameFreak has recently been making truly admirable strides in PR, to name a Japanese developer that seems to understand the power of transparency - and one that's been in charge of Pokemon almost as long as PD has been working on the Gran Turismo series, too. Heck, it feels like Project ACES and their producer Kazutoki Kono have been pretty good about this, too - though the perception may be affected by the nature of the Ace Combat series as opposed to that of Gran Turismo, and specifically Gran Turismo Sport.
 
well my point is that other racing game developers had better worry about how it feels to drive the damned car on the damned track, but sure if they can get sheep to think communication is as important as anything then good on them!

Again, mature, considering that nobody brought up how vehicles drove, I only brought up others to illustrate the point I'm trying to make about communication. But go ahead and go 'tldr' on a post not even two paragraphs in length.

Really scintillating discussion being held here.
 
Again, mature, considering that nobody brought up how vehicles drove, I only brought up others to illustrate the point I'm trying to make about communication. But go ahead and go 'tldr' on a post not even two paragraphs in length.

Really scintillating discussion being held here.
tldr
 
When we look at what PD were dealing with before launch Trying to release everything to now, on day one, would have been far too great a task. From the General thread.
20151028181803328edyw.jpg



News
Oct. 17, 2017
-It's out, folks!
-Decal Uploader not available at launch; will be released later on.

Oct. 5, 2017
-Interlagos finally revealed thorugh a trailer
-Full car and track list revealed
Oct. 3, 2017
-4 Day demo confirmed starting October 9th
Sep. 20-21, 2017
-McLaren VGT revealed; coming to GTS
-Porsche 911 RSR confirmed
Aug. 8, 2017:
-GTS will have no microtransactions
Jul. 27, 2017
-Aftermarket rims confirmed
-More campaign mode and livery editor details revealed
Jul. 13, 2017:
-Official release date: October 17th, 2017
Jul. 11, 2017:
-Closed Beta ends July 16th
Jul. 7, 2017:
-Closed Beta v1.08 released
Jun. 21, 2017:
-Closed Beta v1.07 released
Jun. 14, 2017:
-New E3 trailer reveals new tracks and cars
May 31, 2017:
-Closed Beta v1.06 released
May 3, 2017:
-Closed Beta v1.05 released
Apr. 11, 2017:
-Porsche confirmed!
-3 new tracks revealed: Dragontail Seaside, Blue Moon Bay, Sardegna (dirt course)
Mar. 9, 2017:
-Gran Turismo Sport Closed Beta beginning March 17th in the US
Mar. 8, 2017:
-Gran Turismo signs partnership with Tag Heuer for in-game timing
Mar. 7, 2017:
-Fittipaldi EF7 VGT revealed; coming to GTS
Dec. 20, 2016:
-New scapes shown in new release of scape photos.
Dec. 12, 2016:
-Porsche cuts off EA exclusivity contract; could mean PD can finally have Porsche.
Dec. 8, 2016:
-Confirmed that PD has worked on the HDR feature for 3 years.
Dec. 3, 2016:
-New trailer shown at PSX game conference.
1. HDR and VR shown
2. Different times-of-day shown
3. New cars: Mercedes AMG GT3, VW Scirocco Gr.4, McLaren 650S, Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Nov. 2, 2016:
-Confirmed 4K and HDR support via PS4 Pro
Oct. 27, 2016:
-1 Year since the announcement of the game
Oct. 17, 2016:
-New direct sound feed video footage brings highly improved sounds.
Aug. 30, 2016:
-GTSport delayed to 2017
Aug. 17, 2016:
-78 new images released at Gamescom. M6 GT3 and dirt track (Fisherman's Ranch) confirmed, along with a (possible) replay improvement.
Aug. 1, 2016:
-GTSport could eventually have up to 400-500 additional cars
May. 19, 2016:
-GTSport info revealed
1. Campaign Mode: 117 offline events guiding you through the motorsporting genre
2. Sport Mode: Features online FIA events including the Nations and Manufacturers Cup.
3. 137 cars, 19 locations with 27 different layouts.
4. Photomode Scapes: Over 1000 scapes to choose from. No limit on cars in the photo.
5. Livery Editor.
6. Museum mode returning from GT5.
7. Tracks Seen: Nurburgring, Brands Hatch, Tokyo Expressway, Northern Isle Speedway, Seattle (?), Willow Springs.
8. New cars including PD-developed GT cars
9. New car ranking system (Gr. 1, Gr.3, N, etc.)
10. Community/Social aspect.
11. Release onn November 15th-17th.
-Popular first impressions: Good graphics, not so great sound, a few minor graphical errors and glitches. Overall, below expectations.
-Beta cancelled (?)
May. 12, 2016:
-GTSport event to be held at Copper Box May 19th-20th.
Jan. 4, 2016:
-Scuderia Glickenhaus may be coming to GTS
Nov. 5, 2015:
-Sung Kang's 240Z to be added to Gran Turismo for PS4
Oct. 28, 2015:
-More Substantial than a Prologue
-Sony Executive Jim Ryan confident on release date
Oct. 27, 2015:
-Announced Gran Turismo Sport at PGW
-Beta starts early 2016


GTSport Update Log


Released Oct 17-18, 2017
 
Group 3 and group 4 is 90% of sport mode. The issue is there's not enough categories with depth.

But that's because they divert resources to include rally (which PD has never done well), VGT and including 1000+ scapes. Its poor management.
 
Group 3 and group 4 is 90% of sport mode. The issue is there's not enough categories with depth.

But that's because they divert resources to include rally (which PD has never done well), VGT and including 1000+ scapes. Its poor management.

I wonder if they should keep the rallying (especially with Pikes Peak likely coming) but cut the dirt/snow driving? There’s plenty of rallying & time attack events done on tarmac, including Pikes Peak and Goodwood. Not to mention that there’s no way dirt/snow driving in GT can compete with Dirt Rally 2.0, or the other rally-based games around these days.

I’d be real interested to hear more about their management - it may not be necessarily bad management, even. But the longer we go without communication, then like you’ve implied, people in general start assuming the worst.

See, this is what I mean by my OP, that GT may want to consider borrowing a page from GameFreak and not spread themselves so thin in every installment, but instead focus more on a realm to give more time for features outside that realm to be better-developed when it’s that realm’s turn to be featured. I hypothesize that it’d speed up releases while also being able to focus better on certain realms in GT.

I want to believe that GTS is the start of that, but it reminds me of the stages of cell division where they’re not fully separated yet, as if GTS’ design strategy struggled to break free of prior GT games instead of going all-in regarding eSports. Prior GT games are like the very initial stages of cell division, and what I had in mind were two cells that’ve succeeded in splitting from each other while still sharing some DNA.

It makes me wonder how much of calling the fanbases of various IPs “entitled” is only due to said fans trying to work off of what little informarion they have on the development/design process of those series. That is, if they have any information at all. For example, I’d say anyone who says GameFreak’s decision on cutting the national dex is the worst thing ever while also complaining about animation/model quality is entitled if they stick to that sentiment despite seeing the videos that GameFreak put out that helped to shed light on the reasons behind their decision. (Basically being that some specimens can get more time to get improved animations/models when not all specimens, forms, etc. are compatible with the mainline games going forward, and can be sent to Pokemon Home instead to be sent into games where they’ll be ready on GameFreak’s side insofar that they can be sent into a future title. The stuff like Z-Moves and Mega-Evolutions aren’t going away forever, not at all. Seems more to me like a fully-necessary hiatus for these assets and mechanics.)

PD doesn’t offer anything like that. They should recall that respect is a two-way street. I also worry that GTS is only successful because of the perception of the series was generally positive at GTS’ launch. (As it should’ve, given GT6’s many neat features and improvements.) When an entry in an otherwise good series is bad, the bad title may still be commercially successful, but people will learn from the fact that a series may’ve gone bad, so it’ll have a larger deleterious effect on next entry’s sales, even if it’s actually a great game and has seemingly learned from its mistakes.
 
Last edited:
I wonder if they should keep the rallying (especially with Pikes Peak likely coming) but cut the dirt/snow driving? There’s plenty of rallying & time attack events done on tarmac, including Pikes Peak and Goodwood. Not to mention that there’s no way dirt/snow driving in GT can compete with Dirt Rally 2.0, or the other rally-based games around these days.

I’d be real interested to hear more about their management - it may not be necessarily bad management, even. But the longer we go without communication, then like you’ve implied, people in general start assuming the worst.

See, this is what I mean by my OP, that GT may want to consider borrowing a page from GameFreak and not spread themselves so thin in every installment, but instead focus more on a realm to give more time for features outside that realm to be better-developed when it’s that realm’s turn to be featured. I hypothesize that it’d speed up releases while also being able to focus better on certain realms in GT.

I want to believe that GTS is the start of that, but it reminds me of the stages of cell division where they’re not fully separated yet, as if GTS’ design strategy struggled to break free of prior GT games instead of going all-in regarding eSports. Prior GT games are like the very initial stages of cell division, and what I had in mind were two cells that’ve succeeded in splitting from each other while still sharing some DNA.

It makes me wonder how much of calling the fanbases of various IPs “entitled” is only due to said fans trying to work off of what little informarion they have on the development/design process of those series. That is, if they have any information at all. For example, I’d say anyone who says GameFreak’s decision on cutting the national dex is the worst thing ever while also complaining about animation/model quality is entitled if they stick to that sentiment despite seeing the videos that GameFreak put out that helped to shed light on the reasons behind their decision. (Basically being that some specimens can get more time to get improved animations/models when not all specimens, forms, etc. are compatible with the mainline games going forward, and can be sent to Pokemon Home instead to be sent into games where they’ll be ready on GameFreak’s side insofar that they can be sent into a future title. The stuff like Z-Moves and Mega-Evolutions aren’t going away forever, not at all. Seems more to me like a fully-necessary hiatus for these assets and mechanics.)

PD doesn’t offer anything like that. They should recall that respect is a two-way street. I also worry that GTS is only successful because of the perception of the series was generally positive at GTS’ launch. (As it should’ve, given GT6’s many neat features and improvements.) When an entry in an otherwise good series is bad, the bad title may still be commercially successful, but people will learn from the fact that a series may’ve gone bad, so it’ll have a larger deleterious effect on next entry’s sales, even if it’s actually a great game and has seemingly learned from its mistakes.
Driving dirt tracks in GT2 on PSX feels better than Dirt Rally.
Blah Blah Blah Pokemon (Pokemon???) Blah Blah.
 

Latest Posts

Back