I have a GT4 photomode picture as my current desktop background. It's a stunning picture of the old 240RS Rally Car, and it's a constant reminder of how incredible the models in GT4 are.
Recently I've been working on getting gold in all the GT3 License Tests (Did anyone else find the Super License
too easy to gold?). Again, I am astounded by the level of detail, both in car models and tracks, that was possible back then on the PS2.
I have said over and over, if PD just realeased GT4 with twice the tracks, 1000+ cars, improved physics (GT4's biggest flaw), and improved graphics, I would be perfectly saited... Cockpits be damned. Don't get me wrong, the cockpit view is a fine addition to the series. It's hardly necessary, however.
We're getting a fully HD Gran Turismo game with over 1000 cars, new tracks, new series, and new features. It's hard to see how people can still find things to complain about.
I was going to whittle this down a bit, but I can't think of any less pertinent lines in it.
Back in 2005 when GT4 was a few months old and we'd grown used to it, and E3 rolled around in June, many of us began to speculate about GT5. I don't remember if I made a thread, but I was one of the folk who championed the idea of GT4 HD with 8-900 cars and 70-80 tracks, and hopefully a more lifelike color scheme rather than the video look we got in GT3 and 4. We discussed extra goodies like Race Mod and a Livery Editor, damage, weather, night to day transitions and a robust, full featured online system. And when we'd hashed that around for a while, I think a poll showed that about half of us who cared to vote thought it was a good idea, especially if we got the game in 2007-08.
I think this would have been stellar. It would have been facing off against Forza 2, but from browsing my FM2 gallery, it seems that FM2 wasn't such an incredible jump over FM1. GT4 HD should have easily supported 16 car races and at least 8-16 online depending on bandwidth, and with GT HD/Prologue level physics, even without damage or weather, I think it would have been another 10 million seller. Of course, I don't know if GT5 would release any earlier than 2011, and have more than 200 cars. But I think GT4 HD would be a fine fall back for when we wanted to do something with more cars like I'm doing now with GT4. I know that somewhere in there, GT PSP would have been made, and could easily have bumped GT5 to 2012, but hopefully before the Mayan Calendar ended.
Would this have been better? GT4 HD would be looking a little wrinkled compared to a lot of games. PGR 3, then 4, Forza 2, then 3, DiRT1 and 2, GRID, even the NFS games, and then there are all the PC sims. And for better or worse, graphics are a key component of next gen gaming quality. But with racing games, another key component is physics. If GT4 HD had been patched with the physics code of GT5, that might have made a huge splash that even made the sound quality issue nearly insignificant.
I don't know. As an interesting thought experiment, it could be a better scenario, but Prologue is still awesome offline, and even moldy old GT4 - and 3, and... - with its flabby simcadish physics is still so good, it keeps many of us enthralled. I'm getting back to it myself, shortly.
So, all things considered, I think GT5 is going to shrug off all the criticism as GT always does, and it's going to sell 10 million or more. I know I'm probably going to be playing it for years, just as I am GT4 and Prologue in the meantime.
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Different rules for different games it seems.
. I guess the only downside is, PD were pushing the 1000 car figure from the start and some people, myself included, were expecting 1000 prologue-spec cars (Prologue spec as in detail level), when we were told otherwise.
