Gran Turismo 7 Could be PlayStation 5 Launch Title, Says Official PS Magazine

[oneloops]

What is unusual about PD marketing? They announce an initial release date 6+ months away, give a big blowout of info as they do then promote it up to release. It usually gets delayed, but that's also very common.

Anyway there is an obvious factor here you're missing. Pre orders. The pre order business is huge these days,ccompanies want you to be able to do it as soon as possible and are throwing more and more incentives out to do so. It allows them to judge demand and make adjustments based on it. Why would they miss out on the usual 6+ months of pre orders just for some pointless surprise factor? They could be selling thousands of copies right now, but instead people are spending their cash on others titles.

AAA games do not release within 60 days of their initial release date announcement, and with only the same amount of promotion. You can keep claiming precedent doesnt matter all you like but it exists for a reason.They just don't. Keep hoping and dreaming all you want, but GT7 is not releasing in 2020.

Preorders are more important in new games(new ip) and in companies with less resources, etc

Games like GT don't need that that much, it keeps selling a lot along some years (in part because of new free content updates).

AAA games can make a creative and different way of that usual planning when they are very well known as GT.
There is not an only way for making marketing
Creativity and surprise factor are very important too, not always doing the same than others.
And 2020 is not a common year, there are problems with that and creativity and surprise can fit with a 2020 planning problem too.

I'm not hoping nor dreaming, just not as rigid as your view

 

[strela]

Keep hoping and dreaming all you want, but GT7 is not releasing in 2020.

But until 12/31/2020 at 23:59:59 there would still be a chance. No matter how small. I can imagine myself counting down the last seconds of this year when suddenly a GT7 surprise release news came and I totally miss the fireworks.

 

[Famine]

While I largely agree with the concept that hoping GT7 will be a launch title has somewhat passed now, given that there is less than four weeks to the first launch, and only just over four weeks to the global launch, this is a point that interests me:

GT is a system seller, and currently Sony’s best selling series overall. Do y’all really think Sony will completely forgo a marketing campaign and surprise announce the game to come out next month or by the end of the year?

We have seen pretty clear evidence that Sony doesn't need a system seller for the PS5 at launch. Pre-orders are massively oversubscribed (yes, sure, there'll be plenty of scalpers in there too, but that's always true) in every territory, and there's been several reports even before this of Sony struggling to meet demand. The last thing it needs is eight million pissed-off Gran Turismo fans not being able to get hold of a console to play GT7 the day that the game launches*.

It needs a system seller for the second wave, to keep the console moving. We know that the first batch of ~5m consoles is supposed to be ready for launch day, and that Sony is producing another ~5m between October and January, to hit shelves between December and March. The first batch is, in all likelihood, gone now (though I recall the same was said of PS3s, and I grabbed one [of several] off a game store shelf on launch day), and the front of the second batch will probably move just as quickly, but Sony's going to want something to push the tail of that batch off the shelves when the initial hype has worn off. That suggests December/January at the earliest.

However, if we're going to see. GT7 as "launch window" (as widely suggested), it really needs to be in the first three months after launch. That takes us up to February 19 as a latest date.

Significant dates for Gran Turismo in this window are:
23 December - launch of Gran Turismo 1, 1997; launch of GT2 (North America), 1999
28 December - launch of Gran Turismo 4, 2004
28 January - launch of GT2 (Europe), 2000
22 February - launch of GT4 (North America), 2004

I think that GT5, GT6, and GT2's November/December launches are too early, and GT3's April is too late. December 23 looks good though


Incidentally, don't take any of this as factual. I don't know anything you don't.

*Okay, they won't all buy it at once. Figure on 1-3 million

 

[Samus]

Preorders are more important in new games(new ip) and in companies with less resources, etc

Games like GT don't need that that much, it keeps selling a lot along some years (in part because of new free content updates).

Nonsense. Games make the most of their money pre-launch and immediately afterwards. How much do you think GTS has been making the last two years whilst it has been priced $20 or less? Pre-orders are huge business for all big games, why do you think they all come with absurd $100+ options these days? You don't manage that with a new IP, it has to be an established one with a fan base.

AAA games can make a creative and different way of that usual planning when they are very well known as GT.
There is not an only way for making marketing
Creativity and surprise factor are very important too, not always doing the same than others.
And 2020 is not a common year, there are problems with that and creativity and surprise can fit with a 2020 planning problem too.

I'm not hoping nor dreaming, just not as rigid as your view

You are. You've no real answers for any of the issues with it happening other than "Well they could do it differently. Why? Because they could".

All you've got in terms of these "creative" and "Different" ways of promoting games is....err....do it late...as a surprise. That's not creative, nor clever. What are the benefits?

 

[oneloops]

Nonsense. Games make the most of their money pre-launch and immediately afterwards. How much do you think GTS has been making the last two years whilst it has been priced $20 or less? Pre-orders are huge business for all big games, why do you think they all come with absurd $100+ options these days? You don't manage that with a new IP, it has to be an established one with a fan base.



You are. You've no real answers for any of the issues with it happening other than "Well they could do it differently. Why? Because they could".

All you've got in terms of these "creative" and "Different" ways of promoting games is....err....do it late...as a surprise. That's not creative.

Nonsense for you, that's your opinion, ok.

Late is relative, there is not one only way to do marketing. More in 2020.
If you don't like creativity in marketing, ok for you.

 

[Samus]

Nonsense for you, that's your opinion, ok.

Late is relative, there is not one only way to do marketing.
If you don't like creativity in marketing, ok for you.

No, it's not my opinion that games make the most money with pre-orders and first months sales, it's a fact.

GT5 sold 5.5 million copies in the first two weeks. It then took a further three years for the next 5 million, at a reduced sale price. Pre-order importance in the modern era is not an opinion either.

So tell us, what is creative marketing with a video game? Give me some examples. You just keep saying it over and over, but what are these creative marketing ideas? What are the benefits to PD now at best marketing the game for two months, or in your example less than a month, instead of six plus?

 

[oneloops]

No, it's not my opinion that games make the most money with pre-orders and first months sales, it's a fact.

GT5 sold 5.5 million copies in the first two weeks. It then took a further three years for the next 5 million, at a reduced sale price. Pre-order importance in the modern era is not an opinion either.

So tell us, what is creative marketing with a video game? Give me some examples. You just keep saying it over and over, but what are these creative marketing ideas? What are the benefits to PD now at best marketing the game for two months instead of six plus?

5.5 millions not in pre-order

You haven't see any creative idea in marketing ? ever ? LOL

 

[Samus]

5.5 millions not in pre-order

You haven't see any creative idea in marketing ? ever ? LOL

A combination of pre-orders and first two week sales. Based on several years of marketing and hype. Not a month.

I didn't say that, I asked you for examples in video games specifically. There are essentially two ways to market your video game. Announce a release date 6+ months away and then spend that time dropping information about the game, and letting people pre-order it, or releasing a game as a surprise with no marketing at all. The latter is exclusively done with smaller indie games that don't have the ability for big marketing pushes.

So again, please tell us what you think PD/Sony would do to promote the game in 6 weeks, and why it would be better than doing it over 6 months.

 

[Dave A]

Pre-orders are very important, they not only generate early revenue (although you can argue the revenue could be generated anyway) but they help the stores massively in calcaulating the estimated amount of stock they need to buy for a given game.

Based on these figures (amongst others) a retailer will agree a contract with the publisher to stock a certain quantity of the game with a clause to allow them to return x number of unsold units.

Here's a typical chart of the sales impact of pre-orders:

As you can probably tell, this type of data is invaluable not just to the developer and publisher but to the retailers having to stock the item as well.

 

[oneloops]

Pre-orders are very important, they not only generate early revenue (although you can argue the revenue could be generated anyway) but they help the stores massively in calcaulating the estimated amount of stock they need to buy for a given game.

Based on these figures (amongst others) a retailer will agree a contract with the published to stock a certain quantity of the game with a clause to allow them to return x number of unsold units.

Here's a typical chart of the sales impact of pre-orders:

As you can probably tell, this type of data is invaluable not just to the developer and publisher but to the retailers having to stock the item as well.

Yes, pre-orders are very important, I agree.

But not as important in all games and in all circunstances, like 2020 where a launch date or a marketing plan can be different to other years.

 

[Dave A]

Yes, pre-orders are very important, I agree.

But not as important in all games and in all circunstances, like 2020 where a launch date or a marketing plan can be different to other years.

The more units expected to sell the more important pre-orders would be.

I don't see how 2020 would reduce their importance, if anything it could increase due to the need to estimate the impact of economic pressure on sales figures.

 

[oneloops]

The more units expected to sell the more important pre-orders would be.

I don't see how 2020 would reduce their importance, if anything it could increase due to the need to estimate the impact of economic pressure on sales figures.

2020 does not reduce importance, 2020 has changed plans for many people and many companies.

EDIT : I can't post anymore, but 2020 has changed PS production plans, 2020 is a valid answer among others (not the only!) so it could change also PD plans and has to adapt not in the best way, but in other way to fit the situation. @Samus

 

[Zlork]

Incidentally, don't take any of this as factual. I don't know anything you don't.

Sad

In a personal note, when do you think GT7 could arrive ?

 

[NickXP]

I believe it won't come out in 2020 but sometime in the 1st half of next year

 

[Dave A]

2020 does not reduce importance, 2020 has changed plans for many people and many companies.

It has, and it's required companies to adapt to it. But I'm not sure how that translates to this discussion.

 

[Samus]

Not the best, I said that it can be done because 2020 has been a plan changing for many companies and because the PS5 launch problems or many other reasons.

I said "at best", as in even if they announced the release date in an hour from now at the best case scenario is they've got two months to properly market it if it comes out in 2020.

You didn't answer the question yet again. Why would they do that instead of marketing it over the usual 6+ months? Your vague "it's 2020" is not an answer. What about the pandemic specifically means a shorter marketing campaign would be a good idea?

 

[Hellburner]

edit

A combination of pre-orders and first two week sales. Based on several years of marketing and hype. Not a month.

I didn't say that, I asked you for examples in video games specifically. There are essentially two ways to market your video game. Announce a release date 6+ months away and then spend that time dropping information about the game, and letting people pre-order it, or releasing a game as a surprise with no marketing at all. The latter is exclusively done with smaller indie games that don't have the ability for big marketing pushes.

So again, please tell us what you think PD/Sony would do to promote the game in 6 weeks, and why it would be better than doing it over 6 months.

Didn't the promotion began when they released the trailer in June? So if the game gets released on 23 December it will be 6 months after the first notification. So if PD/Sony releases a new trailer at the end of this month and starts with pre-orders in the beginning of November there will be enough hype generated for the game. Personally I'm also more convinced of an April 2021 release because I expect a Gran Turismo edition of the PS5 and there is no need for a limited edition now because there aren't even enough normal consoles..

 

[Samus]

Didn't the promotion began when they released the trailer in June? So if the game gets released on 23 December it will be 6 months after the first notification. So if PD/Sony releases a new trailer at the end of this month and starts with pre-orders in the beginning of November there will be enough hype generated for the game. Personally I'm also more convinced of an April 2021 release because I expect a Gran Turismo edition of the PS5 and there is no need for a limited edition now because there aren't even enough normal consoles..

No, that was just the announcement of the game existing. There has been no new promotion since, only re-hashing of the same announcement, and no release date. You can't say it's had six months of promotion if there is a 5 month gap of nothingness in the middle, and not even a release date.

 

[Hellburner]

No, that was just the announcement of the game existing. There has been no new promotion since, only re-hashing of the same announcement. You can't say it's had six months of promotion if there is a 5 month gap of nothingness in the middle.

Well I disagree. There are examples of music bands, movies and games that only released one picture and they all were talk of the town after that (most recently AC/DC with the neon lightning bolt). So when they released the first trailer they started the hype train. Everybody knows now that it is coming. So that trailer was a massive promotion. And Sony and PD did mention GT7 in the months after that, nothing concrete but enough to keep the train rolling...

 

[Samus]

Well I disagree. There are examples of music bands, movies and games that only released one picture and they all were talk of the town after that (most recently AC/DC with the neon lightning bolt). So when they released the first trailer they started the hype train. Everybody knows now that it is coming. So that trailer was a massive promotion. And Sony and PD did mention GT7 in the months after that, nothing concrete but enough to keep the train rolling...

So if you go to work for one day and don't turn up the rest of the week you can still say you've been at work all week?

GT7 has not been actively promoted since the initial trailer. Other than the most rabid fans on the internet (i.e. us) nobody is going to have it in their mind or on their radar. There is no continued hype, unlike your AC/DC example where they followed up the teaser pretty much immediately with more details. They didn't go quiet for 5 months.

 

[Dave A]

@Hellburner they certainly started the hype train, but there's been no mention of pre-orders, pre-order bonuses, confirmation of content other than the little we saw in the announcement trailer. We've literally had the announcement trailer and very little else.

The lead up time between promotingand releasing a movie is a lot shorter than releasing a game, and an album is different again.. Sticking with movies for a moment though, don't forget they get announced years before they are due for release. A big movie will often get an early teaser trailer months before the marketing push to it's theatrical release starts.

A general rule though is that the more expensive the item, typically the longer the promotional leadup to it required will be.

A new car or example should never just be announced as on sale next week, it's far too expensive a purchase for that, they'll usually be taking pre-orders for months if not well over a year prior.

A film can generate instant actionable interest because it doesn't cost much to go to the cinema (relatively).

An album likewise isn't an expensive purchase, most people can spare £10 or so to spend on a whim. £60-£70 on the other hand is a more considered purchase. So the leadup has to be better managed and if you want to make a big impact

The really big isssue though is distribution, you can't arrange the distribution globally of a AAA title at short notice. The game needs roughly 4 weeks just to print, package and ship, there's a lot of work that goes into what games are shipping where and creating the launch marketing (TV ads, billboards etc.) that goes on before that.

And the retailers do not get told the release date way ahead of the consumers, quite often they find out at the same time as everyone else because information leaks very easilly once it's shared like that.

 

[Hellburner]

So if you go to work for one day and don't turn up the rest of the week you can still say you've been at work all week?

GT7 has not been actively promoted since the initial trailer. Other than the most rabid fans on the internet (i.e. us) nobody is going to have it in their mind or on their radar. There is no continued hype, unlike your AC/DC example where they followed up the teaser pretty much immediately with more details. They didn't go quiet for 5 months.

That's not the same. If your boss tells you in June that your new company car is on the way than you get hyped about that fact and you eagerly check the delivery time every time you think about it. Same for GT7. Creating a buzz about something is marketing even if you do not actively keep that buzz alive. But again personally I don't believe it's coming this year but I support the opinion that there still is the possibility.

 

[Dave A]

That's not the same. If your boss tells you in June that your new company car is on the way than you get hyped about that fact and you eagerly check the delivery time every time you think about it. Same for GT7. Creating a buzz about something is marketing even if you do not actively keep that buzz alive. But again personally I don't believe it's coming this year but I support the opinion that there still is the possibility.

Yes absolutely, an announcement trailer is marketing and it's designed to create buzz.

What we need to recognise however is that creating early buzz via an announcement trailer is not the same thing as promoting your launch. That happens much closer to release. Some games go years between the announcement trailer and generating launch interest. There will be another marketing push when Sony are ready to start promoting the launch.

I cannot see there being much of a chance of it releasing this year, that doesn't it's impossible, but it would make very little sense for Sony to do so. Not only will the game not sell as well due to the limited supply of PS5's in circulation, but there's no word on pre-orders, no release date for the retailers to use and no marketing to lead us up to that launch.

We are far more likely to see a marketing campaign design to take us to launch commence at least 3 months prior to the launch date.

We've already seen people adamant that it could be a launch title proven wrong, adamant the lack of marketing didn't mean anything. It does.

 

[Faultier]

@Famine

hit the nail.
Even if PD could release GT7 now, there would be millions of GT players without a console and who would be pissed.

So they keep this game for second or third wave.

My guess is winter 2021.

GT4 came in asia end of december.
I know that because I got mine on the last day of the year sended with UPS Express.

Good old days ^^

 

[Brzlav]

Amazon Germany is listing GT 7 now for delivery at 12th of November 2020. Which is funny since the PS5 launches on the 19th here...

 

[alex511]

Amazon Germany is listing GT 7 now for delivery at 12th of November 2020. Which is funny since the PS5 launches on the 19th here...

Yes, yes, yes, if thats Right ;-) It could be, because there was written In german press that the official Playstation Accessoires from Sony will come on 12.11., too, at launch Date in America.

I have looked, the Other Sony First Party games will come soon on 12.11.20, too, at Amazon Germany, so could be really real..

 

[FPV MIC]

Even if PD could release GT7 now, there would be millions of GT players without a console and who would be pissed.

So they keep this game for second or third wave.

This is exactly how I see it. There's no way I'd release a console selling game when there's no consoles left to sell.

Five million (or however many it is) consoles out in the wild is far too small of a market, so as you mention, even if it's ready it doesn't make any sense to release the game until they have enough consoles to go round (second or third wave).

 

[FuriousDemon]

There is a small chance that German Amazon listing is correct. They also list Ratchet & Clank for release and in the PlayStation UI video we saw R&C listed for sale in the shop. That could be a placeholder of course, but there is a possibility of a surprise here.

 

[alex511]

Look, they See That possible, too. https://play-experience.com/die-playstation-5-erhaelt-einen-weiteren-launchtitel-gran-turismo-7/
When ist will be Right, Amazon was quicker than other and maybe Sony Wasnt sure if PD gets the game finished until Launch

 

[eikeka]

Look, they See That possible, too. https://play-experience.com/die-playstation-5-erhaelt-einen-weiteren-launchtitel-gran-turismo-7/
When ist will be Right, Amazon was quicker than other and maybe Sony Wasnt sure if PD gets the game finished until Launch

Important bit of this german article:

It should be noted that changes to the release or listings on Amazon are always made by the supplier, in this case Sony, and Amazon only functions as a marketplace.​

I don't know if this is true. But this would mean that GT7 and Horizon Forbidden West will be launch titles.

In my opinion it's just an error. Horizon doesn't even have a box art image...