Okay, that I can agree on. But then if you go by that logic, not even iRacing is realistic. No tire model can reproduce all the intricacies of a real tire. Probably there will never be a model that will be able to do that and be fast enough to be used in a real-time simulation.
My problem with GT is not less than 100% authentic modeling, it's less than the current satisfactory level for simulators.
If you don't use RS tires, what do you win by eliminating tire restrictions?
The ability to use RS tires for any reason if I decide to in the future. But I don't think the above is really a valid question because removing the limits doesn't get in the way of anything.
What is lost by having free reign on tire selection? Unless someone loses something terribly important there simply can't be a good reason to enforce the restrictions. Seeing as single player only affects one person, no one really can lose anything by removing the restrictions.
Contrary to what @
Johnnypenso said, I don't think sales would increase much just by increasing some options and letting people decide if they want to restrict themselves or not. IMO, options in video games must have pros and cons, to keep things interesting. What would be the disadvantage of using only RS tires?
I think giving the player complete control to make their fun would drastically increase the game's appeal. Ideally, people wouldn't have anything to not like about the game, they could fix any problems themselves.
There isn't any disadvantage to using only RS tires. If someone wanted to play through the game in such a way, it wouldn't affect me or anyone else.
I compare it to saying: "I really like Final Fantasy but I don't want to get through all these boring fights. I just want to watch the story. Devs should give me a button to instantly win any fight". No, you don't like Final Fantasy. Fights are the core mechanics of the game.
I don't see why not liking the combat would mean they don't like FF, there is more to it than combat. The autowin button would be a reasonable feature, very similar to the console commands that separate PC versions of TES games from console versions, with console versions being very bland and restricting in comparison. The general consensus I gather from TES players I've spoken to is that the hard limits on the console games are simply boring. This is true even if you enjoy playing within those rules - it might not be something you want to do all the time.
A big difference between your FF example and the tire restriction though is that GT isn't about using non RS tires. It's about racing. The GT analogue to your FF example is a button that skips racing.
IMHO, Arcade Mode in GT is bad because it doesn't feel like motorsport, the limitations are weird and the AI is not competitive. I think limitations should still exist, but should be more like real life regulations.
All of these issues could be fixed if the player had unlimited, unrestricted options. What benefit would restrictions add to arcade mode at all? They would just make it a redundant, a bland clone of A-Spec.
Don't you agree that if nothing is lost, there is no negative impact to the game?