Gran Turismo:The Greatest Gaming Franchise EVER?

B

BlackBeadyEyes

(Banned)
65
Me and one of my best friends were talking about GT the other day, and he (meaning the friend) made a very good point. he said;

There's never been a bad Gran Turismo Game, really.
Click to expand...

He went on to say that Final Fantasy VIII and IX got really bad reviews, you know, and crap like that.

I thought to myself, 'Hmmmmm, let's see if he's right. So I went on metacritic.com to see if he's right. here's what I got;

so, I figured out the scores for all 4 FULL GT games.

GT1:96 score according to metacritic.com
GT2:93
GT3:95
GT4:89

then, I had my friend do the math and it came off to a 93 average. Not bad for a Racing game franchise.

Now let's compare it to the franchise that's it's most compared to in terms of stability and enduring excellence, at least it is in Japan; The FINAL FANTASY series.

here the Metacritic scores for each of the FF games released on PS1 and PS2:

FFVII:92
FFVIII:90
FFIX:94
FF Tactics:83
(I'm not counting FF Anthology, Chronicles, or Origins, as these were basically rehashes of old games.)
FFX:92
FFX-2:85
FFXII:92
(I'm not counting FFIX in this, as it's a MMORPG, as opposed to the rest of the series, which is a traditional J-RPG.)

*Doing The Math*

Well, it comes out to a 89.7 average.

So, what do you think? Do you think Gran Turismo is the The Greatest Gaming Franchise EVER?
 
[CheesyAlert]In what way? It's the game franchise I've spent the most time playing, yes.

It has not molded me into the gamer I am today since there's games that made me pick up Gran Turismo in the first place. I wouldn't have bought a Ps1 if it wasn't for Ridge Racer and Tekken. I don't know if I'd be interested in car games at all if it wasn't for RC Pro-Am and Super Mario Kart, F-Zero and Daytona USA (Arcade version).

If I personally would make a number one franchise it would however be Gran Turismo for sure. It's the franchise I've spent the most time playing, it's the franchise that I allowed to ruin my first somewhat (I was young, perfect excuse!) serious relationship, it's the one and only franchise that's actually been able to keep me awake at night (night before GT3 release anyone?) like a five year old on Christmas Eve.[/CheesyAlert]

Ten years soon since i played Gran Turismo for the first time. That is quite a lot and no other game developer will ever be able to even come close to effect me in the same way that GT has.

However, some people might have focused more of their time on different games and that could change their experience (of GT) and commitment to racing in general. Makes it hard to say that any one franchise is the best doesn't it? That's something every one of us has to decide for themselves.

Oh well, my five cents.
 
Maybe it had high ratings because it's the only game of it's kind. Besides stuff like Forza Motorsport and Enthusia. But it was the first and set a new racing genre.
 
Venari
Bond?

GTA?

Metal Gear?
Click to expand...
Pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Last 3 GTA games have been....
GTA III - 97
GTA VC - 95
GTA SA - 95


Besides that, the scores posted in the first post would only appear to show that besides GT3, none of the sequels have "lived up" to GT1's score of 96.
 
It's all opinion, so I would put Metal Gear Solid and the Final Fantasy series above Gran Turismo. But Gran Turismo did give me some good playing hours. I played 3 GT games and I want to say that I spent more time on those than the several FF games I played, but that really can't be measured.
 
Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy are my two favorite game franchises. I agree with your point, that there has never been a bad GT but there have been "bad" FFs.

But your numbers are wrong. You can't count FFTactics or FFX-2. Those aren't considered true "numbered" FF sequels. They're offshoots and neither was made by the Final Fantasy development team. (I'm sure this is the same reason you've left out FFXI, for example.)

Eliminate those and you get a FF metascore of 92.
 
BAZZ
It's the franchise I've spent the most time playing, it's the franchise that I allowed to ruin my first somewhat (I was young, perfect excuse!) serious relationship
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Thats funny, my girlfriend hates me playing gran turismo and if she ever broke up with me i swear it would be because of gran turismo. she especially hates it now that i made a cockpit. I tell her "It's not just a game, it's a way of life" :)

I also agree with BAZZ in saying that if he had to pick a number one it would be the gran turismo series. But just because it got the best ratings, does'nt make it the best.
 
I honestly think the Gran Turismo is the best game franchise. I dont really play any other type of game except 'racing' games. GT 3 was my reason to get PS2 and the 'hope' of GT5 was my reason to get PS3. The only thing I dont like about GT is that most races are not competitive yet by the sounds of GT5P they have fixed that as well.
 
Rocket Punch
I think "Sexy Beach" series is the greatest gaming franchise ever.....but thats just me.
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lmao nice.

But yeah, I'd say GT is one of my favorite gaming franchises. Silent Hill used to be my favorite, but since the movie, it's been kinda lame.
 
Gt and FF are my picks as well. My only gripe about FF is that IMO X and X-2 weren't that great, and I never even played 12, because after getting 10 and being kinda dissapointed I was kind of over the direction the franchise was going. FF7 is probably still my favorite game of all time though. There's just nothing like a new Gran Turismo though. They don't come around very often, but you know they're gonna give you hours and hours of gameplay, and amazingly good graphics every time. And like others have stated, MGS should be up there as well. If Killzone 2 is anywhere near as good as I think it's gonna be, that franchise should be considered as well. And although I've never been a big Nintendo buff, I'll say that Zelda should definitely be included in a best franchise cnversation. Zelda games are usually very well recieved by critics and fanboys alike. another non-playstation franchise to think about is Halo. Just imagine how much worse the 360 would have done if it wasn't for Halo being a microsoft exclusive.
 
I'd agree that from pure enjoyment and quality - the GT franchise is number 1 - I remember getting the demo of the wrx on route 5 night and then just saving every penny until i could get the full game. My dad and I spent many nights trying to beat each others times in a Pular gti around Autumn Ring mini in the cockpit we made with the crappy mad catz steering wheel. So many memories. I then proceeded to play to death every installment thereafter.

Other franchises that could be argued to be of equal standing, maybe not in quality, but certainly in sales/reputation/or impact are of the top of my head...

GTA series
MG solid
FF
Civilisation
Sim City
Sims
Need for Speed
Fifa
Quake
Doom
Halo
Mario bros
Pokemon
Nascar series
Burnout etc etc
 
Gran Turirismo changed my life. The endless hours spent on GT2 and GT3, all my sick days from school were spent plaing the endurance races. Its is because of GT i fell in love with japanese cars. I used to hate FWD and all ideas of inexpensive transport and didn't understand tuning. That all changed after GT2. Im 21 now and can really say im a racing historian because of GT. I have yet to met someone that knows about motorsport more than i do. This is all because of GT. All those random cars, like the R30 silhouette, Jaccs civic, and endless numbers of Skylines. Kaz to me is of similar importance as Enzo Ferrari. He gave us auto enthusists a way to experience cars we might not otherwise. Yes, i feel GT is the most important gaming franchise ever but not just cause its fun but because its turned millions of back then teens into absolute car nuts.
 
Giving a game a SCORE does not mean its best franchise.. sometimes dont trust those guys who review games.. some sites gave GT4 below 8 some gave it above 9..
same goes with other racing sim games.. it really depends on how person likes a game.

at end of the day GT series is beast racing franchise game since its the best selling racing game.. not because it has a high score.
 
Jaguar C-Type
at end of the day GT series is beast racing franchise game since its the best selling racing game.. not because it has a high score.
Click to expand...
So what were the sales numbers world wide of all the games in the GT series?
I have heard it was the all time best selling series on the PS2.
 
According to PD numbers:

Code: 
"GRAN TURISMO" Series Software Title List
Optimize to Print
Release 	Title 	Units (K)*
2005/03/10 	GRAN TURISMO 4 (Korea) 	110
2005/03/09 	GRAN TURISMO 4 (Europe) 	5,320
2005/02/22 	GRAN TURISMO 4 (North America) 	2,810
2004/12/28 	GRAN TURISMO 4 (SE Asia) 	70
2004/12/28 	GRAN TURISMO 4 (Japan) 	1,210
2004/05/26 	GRAN TURISMO 4 “Prologue” (Europe) 	410
2004/01/15 	GRAN TURISMO 4 “Prologue” (Korea) 	50
2003/12/04 	GRAN TURISMO 4 “Prologue” (SE Asia) 	110
2003/12/04 	GRAN TURISMO 4 “Prologue” (Japan) 	790
2002/07/25 	GRAN TURISMO Concept 2002 TOKYO-GENEVA (SE Asia) 	30
2002/07/17 	GRAN TURISMO Concept 2002 TOKYO-GENEVA (Europe) 	1,000
2002/05/16 	GRAN TURISMO Concept 2002 TOKYO-SEOUL (Korea) 	90
2002/01/01 	GRAN TURISMO Concept 2001 TOKYO (SE Asia) 	10
2002/01/01 	GRAN TURISMO Concept 2001 TOKYO (Japan) 	430
2001/12/13 	GRAN TURISMO 3 A-spec (SE Asia) 	10
2001/07/20 	GRAN TURISMO 3 A-spec (Europe) 	5,840
2001/07/10 	GRAN TURISMO 3 A-spec (North America) 	7,130
2001/04/28 	GRAN TURISMO 3 A-spec (Japan) 	1,890
2000/01/28 	GRAN TURISMO 2 (Europe) 	3,680
1999/12/23 	GRAN TURISMO 2 (North America) 	3,960
1999/12/11 	GRAN TURISMO 2 (SE Asia) 	20
1999/12/11 	GRAN TURISMO 2 (Japan) 	1,710
1998/05/12 	GRAN TURISMO (North America) 	3,990
1998/05/08 	GRAN TURISMO (Europe) 	4,300
1997/12/23 	GRAN TURISMO (SE Asia) 	10
1997/12/23 	GRAN TURISMO (Japan) 	2,550

*as of September 2007

And according to Wikipedia, GT3 is the second best selling game in the PS2, just after GTA: Vice City, but read the note:

Code: 
# Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (15 million, may include PC and Xbox versions)
# Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (14.87 million)
# Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (12 million)
# Grand Theft Auto III (12 million, may include PC and Xbox versions)
# Gran Turismo 4 (9.52 million)
# Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (7 million)
# Final Fantasy X (6.6 million)

EDIT: Yeah, what BlackBeadyEyes said XD
 
thats why i get miffed at the exposure of motorsport (or lack of it) in Australia, it's clearly popular, and GT only gets more people hooked.
 
You have to give credit where credit is due.

Gran Turismo has no epic plot, no major characters, no heroes.

GT has no sexy babes or cool mascots.

GT has no leveling system, hit points or magic treasure.

GT has no world to roam and conquer.

GT has no weapons or kill ratio.

GT has no online system - till now.

It's just cars, going around a race track. And yet, it captured tens of millions of players' imaginations and racked up a hefty one billion US dollars in sales. It's hard to compare the amazing phenomena of Gran Turismo considering all the things it doesn't have. And yet what it does have is epic enough.

I love many game series from Final Fantasy, Metroid and Phantasy Star through Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil, Virtua Fighter to King of Fighters, to Sonic, NiGHTS and Ratchet & Clank. But the game which owns my heart and got me to buy a PS3 early was Gran Turismo. Easily one of the greatest franchises of all time.

I must add that when Microsoft wanted their own flagship racing title, what they ended up producing was their version of Gran Turismo.
 
I won't disagree the GT is an important player in the gaming realm, I do not think it is the best ever. However, what you think is the best even is purely subjective. If was going to pick the greatest gaming franchise I suppose I would have to go with Mario.
 
GT is certainly a great gaming series. There are some others to consider as well I feel:

Street Fighter.
Tekken.
Pro Evo.
Command & Conquer.
 
gt is my favorite franchise ever. but it doesn't compare to mario brothers or madden when considering gaming appeal to the masses.yhhik
 
I think GTA has got to take it for the best MODERN franchise ever..

For old school I would say Mario is the most successful..

GT maybe the greatest DRIVING franchise...

Robin
 
OK the only way to say whats the "best" franchise would have to be calculated between the number of copies sold, and how consistently good the franchise's content was. There would have to be an extensive scoring system.

Then there is another thing called your personal opinion, and well, it is in my opinion GT is the greatest thing since sliced bread. :)
 
Tenacious D
I love many game series from Final Fantasy, Metroid and Phantasy Star through Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil, Virtua Fighter to King of Fighters, to Sonic, NiGHTS and Ratchet & Clank. But the game which owns my heart and got me to buy a PS3 early was Gran Turismo. Easily one of the greatest franchises of all time.
Click to expand...

Same thoughts as me 👍
 
For race games its the best every but its uncomparable with other games genres
GTA is the overall winner i think ... Command and Conquer another of my favorites ...
 
Best franchise per category then obvious GT wins the racing genre. C+C would take strategy (many people would probably pick starcraft though) FF would take RPG. etc. etc.

But still, if it was up to me then GT is my favorite franchise of all time.
 

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