Those who wait it and want it will know that GT Sport is GT 7.
It's not really GT7 though, in the sense that it's not at all a traditional GT game. Limited single player mode, no customisation, very small track and car list.
If people buy it thinking that they're getting GT7 they're going to be disappointed.
With Soony marketing and all the bundles that there will be for sure on the market I'm pretty positive about the sales numbers.
I suppose if you take the opinion that anything sells those numbers with enough marketing behind it, sure. Maybe it's true. I like to think that gamers and consumers in general have a little more agency than that.
I disagree with the timing.
Yes, it was SONY's choice, but I think they made an error, and I think it cost them.
I doubt sales figures would be as low (PD wise) if it was a PS4 release.
Certainly in hindsight it was an error, but we'll never know if releasing it on PS4 would have been worse. PS2 models on PS4 would not have gone down well.
Even if we assume that they could bring their graphics engine up to PS4 standards easily, there are too many assets in GT6 that would be a proverbial turd in the punchbowl for it to even think about being a stand out graphics showcase for PS4 launch. Add in the update issues, and while it might have sold better the overall detrimental effect on the brand would probably have been more or less the same. GT6 was a bad release, and I don't think putting it on another platform changes much.
I'm not sure though that GT6 deserves the condemnation you are putting forward.
What am I putting forward that's undeserved? It's the worst mainline Gran Turismo game.
You could make an argument for GTPSP, although it's hardly mainline, but even that was arguably not really that bad at what it was designed to do; short races on a handheld device. Shuffle racing started there, and it was awesome.
Regarding sim-racing game release time frames, game budgets, staff numbers etc.
To me, it's irrelevant.
As a console player, every game I buy is near enough the same.
There is the protracted wait for GT games, which IMO is stretching what's reasonable.
But to be comparing 5 games sales on a direct competitive console with 1 game on the other major console, at some stage it's worth questioning exactly how well the alternative is travelling.
I guess.
Forza seems to be doing just fine, to be honest. Motorsport is in a class of it's own now that Gran Turismo has gone. It's got the best car list of any racing game, probably ever, and the customisation is exceptional. Horizon is also largely without competition, and it provides probably the best "casual" racing experience out there. It offers a huge range of things that really aren't possible in any other game outside of GTA V, and it does so very well. In terms of giggles per dollar, it's largely unbeatable.
Both seem to be selling enough copies to support themselves long term. Which isn't hugely surprising, 2 million sales is for most games considered pretty solid, and both are no doubt of value to Microsoft as a graphics showcase as well (see ForzaTech being used to show off the Scorpio). On the short time frames that the games have and with the small teams with a heavy emphasis on contractors I doubt the games actually cost that much to make.
With the franchises coming to PC as well, they've got access to larger markets than previously. I wouldn't buy an Xbox for Forza, but I'll sure shell out $60 to have it on the PC I already have. Even better, I get to play it with my Playstation controller.
I feel like Forza found it's niche. It's not a major one, but it seems solid and they seem content to keep plugging away making solid games that are each just a little better than the last every couple of years.
I feel like Gran Turismo spent a lot of time last gen shooting for the stars. That was a risky business. They've toned it down with GTS and it actually seems like it's mostly just a solid game that doesn't over-reach too much, but as we see with Forza that doesn't sell 10 million copies.
It feels to me like a 5 million copy game, which is pretty good by anyone's standards. Although it becomes hard when those standards are four year development times with 200+ employees, major travel and licensing costs and serious marketing expenses. GT5 was supposedly upwards of $60 million to make, and I don't see any way that GTS could be less than that. That requires probably a few million just to break even, let alone start making profit. I think 7-8 million probably puts them about even with Forza in terms of money made, but unless GTS is below 3 or above about 15 I don't think it's exactly a stomping either way.
It'll be interesting when the marketing train starts up for real. I think we'll be able to tell a lot from how critics and reviewers talk about it. Will they describe it as a returning juggernaut, or that game that's the source of all those funny vacuum cleaner/zombie Jeff Gordon/sad Range Rover memes?
, they`ll be waiting for GT7 I reckon..they will probably think "what`s this sport, i`ll wait for the proper 7"...
