GT6 Sales Discussion

[Johnnypenso]

Again these charts piss me off. DIGITAL SALES ARE NOT ACCOUNTED FOR! Almost every one I know opted for a digital version...

Also something to keep in mind. 👍

These numbers carry no meaning whatsoever this early. Anyone condemning the game because of this so-called data, probably also believe in little green men and that Elvis is working in a Burger King in Slickpoo, Idaho

 

[RcWr]

I think I would be pretty happy if GT6 sales couldn't reach huge sales numbers. I mean PD needs a wake up call for what 6-7 years now?
Low scores on reviews, players raging on forums probably won't have such a big effect, as a low sales number could have. Sony would instantly give PD THE LOOK and say WTH guys. That's what we, as the gamers, want. The ultimate wake up call.
However, I do hope they would get enough sales, so they could continue on what are they doing without harsh consequences, because it is still my favorite game of all times. It just needs a kick in the butt.

 

[Kobooi]

I wonder what went down faster: the sales numbers or the course maker area? Anyway no worries, those numbers are just placeholders.

 

[Ferrari458Italia]

the problem is PD (and just about every Japanese developer for that matter) has completely lost touch with what the consumers want, and while they have faltered, their competition has continually gotten better and better...

people want customization, people want cars that sound like cars...they dont want to listen to elevator music in a driving game...most people find the inclusion of standard cars to be comical (it is)...people want real damage...they dont care if the damage is 100% accurately modeled in regards to real world physics...they want to see dents, and wings fly off, and shattered glass and the audio that goes with it

what makes GT popular for some, (particularly on these forums) like the "its a driving game, not a racing game" crowd or the "its about collecting cars" crowd...just doesn't fly with the general consumer and GT's sales will continue to fall, along with its review scores until Kaz realizes this...

to be honest Kaz is probably lucky that PD is a first party studio that has had mega success in the past, because a third party publisher would have booted him ages ago...

GT6 is a huge step in the right direction (in regards to the user experience compared to GT5) but the excitement isnt there...im enjoying the heck out of GT6...as someone that has owned every GT game back to the original i appreciate it for what it is...

but part of me wonders if im enjoying it simply because i chose to get a PS4 and NOT to get a Xbone at launch and have to miss out on Forza 5 (Forza 3 and 4 were much better "games" than GT5), and since im not a PC gamer GT6 is really my only sim option...

the average gamer did not grow up in the PS1 era...they grew up in the Xbox era with Project Gotham and Forza...to them GT is boring, they dont understand what the point of the standard cars is, they dont understand why there is no damage, they dont understand why the cars sound weird...

PD MUST...
- embrace customization for REAL...livery editor of ANY kind...more body/aero kits

- damage...doesnt matter if its real time and physics based...people want their cars to fall apart when they crash, even if its just for the "wow" factor

- sound...even if the sounds are not 100% audiophile accurate...V8's need to sound like V8's...race cars need to sound like race cars...

- standard cars must go...i dont care if it cuts the car count in half (or even worse)...you dont need the 99 and 02 Viper GTS (one as a standard, one as a premium) they are the SAME car in different color choices (except the 02 has ABS in real life)...we dont need a whole page of standard mid 2000 Honda S2000's...the single 2006 Premium version is enough...

- give us something more on the single player front...the old formula of just a list of races just isnt going to cut it anymore...we dont need a stupid contrived story to go with the single player, but there should be something...earn sponsorships as you go along (great way to tie in a basic livery editor)...grow rivalries with other drivers...form a race team (great way to incorporate B-Spec)...make me feel like im racing in a "season." have a calendar where i pick and choose races to enter throughout the season

- DELIVER your features...dont talk about stuff that wont be in the game...dont talk to me about a course editor that is 100x100km and then a month later its 50x50...then a month later its 10x10...then a month later it "wont be there day 1, but its coming!" Dont tell me you're "working on sound" but its not ready...no, stop doing things that are cool, but dont bring anything to the table (moon missions?) and get your work done!


there is so much more i could list, but this is the stuff that comes to mind right now...

REALLY REALLY wish PD could see this post because you completely nailed it and I couldnt have said it any better...

 

[flynch3211]

If I recalled correctly I had GT5 for christmas a few years back.

 

[CodeRedR51]

lol I have never heard that. They may hiss from the intake but from the exhaust?

Yes. Well, it's more of a "whoosh" sound. The GT-R is a great example of this.

 

[Mustangmiha]

I don't remember they did any marketing at all so I'm not surprised.

 

[lpfuelfan42]

Good lord some of you are acting like GT6 gave you AIDS or something like that. While there are some things I think could be better, I'm really enjoying the game. Shouting death to GT6 over an exhaust note being a bit off just really screams OCD to me.

 

[watermelon punch]

Are video games like movies in the cinema, everything's about the first weekend or whatnot?

 

[mralexf1]

I think there are two clear factors on this

-PS4
-Unfinished game (I mean, there are a lot of updates to be done)

 

[eran0004]

I think there are two clear factors on this

-PS4
-Unfinished game (I mean, there are a lot of updates to be done)

- Flawed data.

 

[nickg07]

Anyone have the percentage of GT6 returns because it wouldn't play on their PS4?

 

[Strop]

It's more like 5.1 to me than 6. For the GTPlanet WRS they made what what was already poor support for offline TT racing into something that is virtually useless. We can't see our splits in replays anymore so I guess still having to exit the race to view the best lap replay is moot. Would it have been so hard to add an online leaderboard feature for time trials?

As for the rest of it I don't really see any improvements. The driving physics does seem more realistic but even if it were perfect the illusion of driving a real car is hard to sustain when your V8 5.0L sounds like a Hoover Twin-Tub on spin. I don't really see any improvement on the graphics, the colors are more saturated and cartoonish, the antialiasing seems worse and there are frame rate issues in parts of the races (Matterhorn for example) and times when the screen has just frozen completely for a second or two. Never noticed any of that in GT-5.

About the only place I can say it was worth the cost is the online networking seems much better. Less of the crazy car effect (where cars zig-zag back and forth across the track leaving clouds of smoke), and connecting is much much faster. I also haven't been dumped yet but will reserve judgement until I complete an actual WRS online race (where the change of getting dumped before the end of the race used to be about 50%).

 

[f_399]

forza 5 isn't any better when comparing it to forza 4

but...

Microsoft advertising > sony advertising

forza 5 released on the new hyped console > gt6 was released on an older system when die hard gamers have already moved on to the ps4

 

[alonsof1fan91]

I still think it was a mistake to launch after the PS4 on the PS3. Yeah, the PS3 has sold 80 million console, but how big is the active user base? GTA V sold crazy numbers, but that was before the console launch and it was one of the most anticipated and well marketed games of all time. CoD Ghost also did worse.

The PS4 is sold out everywhere, GT6 wouldn`t have helped at all. It could have hurt Killzone/Knack and other upcoming Sony exclusives over the next months alot. Would casuals buy Infamous/Killzone/Knack instead of a frigging Gran Turismo (with crazy next gen tech)?

IMO 2014 on PS4 would have been a very good release date. More time to polish the game, create alot of hype and it would help to move PS4 consoles (which is important because Halo is coming next fall on One).

 

[ZHPbimmer]

Because they barely did any actual marketing...

This. Has hardly anything to do with the game itself when it comes to initial sales. It's all about marketing and hype. I saw little to no marketing for it. Hell, I didn't even know it was coming out last Friday until a few days before.

Rockstar annihilated game sales with GTA V. They marketed and hyped the crap out of it. Fortunately it is a phenomenal game and they did do a better job on it than PD did with GT6.

 

[Metfanant]

forza 5 isn't any better when comparing it to forza 4

but...

Microsoft advertising > sony advertising

forza 5 released on the new hyped console > gt6 was released on an older system when die hard gamers have already moved on to the ps4

Forza 5 IS a step back from Forza 4...there are many reasons for this like the Xbone's hardware, but that is for another disussion, the major one however is that it is a LAUNCH title on a new console...launch titles are ALWAYS rushed, its just part of being there for a console launch...

GT6 has no such excuse...in fact its PD's second title this generation...and should have been a massive step up...

instead, what did PD do? scrap the entire rendering engine (which took them 5+ years to finish off for GT5) and start from scratch, not only that, but raise the native rendering resolution of a game that ALREADY had frame rate/screen tearing issues....those are examples of absolutely poor project management on the part of Kaz...GT5's rendering engine would have been MORE than adequate for GT6...something NEW should have been written for GT7 on the PS4...period...

unless this new engine is going to carry over to its "next gen" game (and with PD's track record id wager it wont) and is going to result in a turn around time of less than 2 years before we see GT7 proper on the PS4...then it was worth it...

if GT7 doesnt launch until year 3+ of the PS4...then it was a complete waste

 

[nickg07]

This. Has hardly anything to do with the game itself when it comes to initial sales. It's all about marketing and hype. I saw little to no marketing for it. Hell, I didn't even know it was coming out last Friday until a few days before.

Rockstar annihilated game sales with GTA V. They marketed and hyped the crap out of it. Fortunately it is a phenomenal game and they did do a better job on it than PD did with GT6.

They spent alot of time and money at those promo events, naming a street after Kaz etc. They neglected to tell the rest of the world they were launching GT6 and why it's great, I.e ingame footage of cars jiggling about on their suspension etc..

I'm surprised we didn't get to see Kaz planting a PD flag on the moon...

 

[solidboss07]

Hopefully word-of-mouth will spread the good news of GT6. My tastes can't be that bad so that I enjoy a really rubbish game... can they?

 

[MMX]

I checked 3 relatively local Walmarts, and none are going to have GT6 until tomorrow or Wednesday. If enough of other branches are the same way, that's a huge outlet for the game, not getting used. The 3 stores I talked to Thursday night, had no clue about GT6 or it's release date, which forced me to get my copy from Gamestop Friday. I'm not a fan of that store, but I did end up getting the Anniversary Edition, without pre-ordering it.

 

[bodger]

Anyone have the percentage of GT6 returns because it wouldn't play on their PS4?

I'd have thought close to zero given the fact that retailers only take games back with the wrapper unopened.

Given the dirty great Playstation 3 banner across the top, it would be unlikely anyway.

Lower console game sales are a general trend in the market. This accounts for a lot of this. Also, this is 3rd instalment in this generation, so you would expect some marked drop off anyway. Storm in a teacup.

http://business.time.com/2013/02/11/game-over-why-video-game-console-sales-are-plummeting/

http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=478009a6-cdf7-4707-800f-80ddf837ced0

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/05/economist-explains-17

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/185767/

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/video-game-sales-decline-yet-222002913.html

 

[f_399]

i went to walmart friday and they didnt even know what it was

game stop said they only gave them away to pre-orders but had extras so i got mine there

 

[PletdeKoe]

I think it is because of.... Everything you said!

There are a lot of reasons why sales are down to the previous instalments. I asked my friends if they are going to buy gt6 and none, really none, of them knew it was coming out! So yeah well, you do the math.

 

[Seikenfreak]

I think it has to do with it's release timing. The end of a console gen and everyone has already mentally moved onto the new stuff.

The game is fantastic, but still has many small flaws that continue to plague the series.

Cutting down the car count makes no sense to me. It's not hurting the game to have standard cars or some duplicates. Just because you don't like or know anything about a particular car doesn't mean they should trim it all down to 1 model.

I also don't think damage is that big of a deal because, well why is someone so obsessed with visual damage? This isn't a game where crashing is the goal. You mess up, you pause, you hit Restart and learn from your mistakes.

And the soundtrack is great. "Elevator music" is a staple of the series. Grow up.

The stuff they need to do is make it so I don't have to turn Traction Control off on every single car I get into and not having a button to go directly from one license test to the next.

They need to get more Premium cars finished and there are some glaring omissions in the car selection that need to be filled in immediately.

They need to work on car customization (not body kits) with a livery editor and better wheel selection with fully adjustable width, offset, and diameter (not the half ass width job Forza does and not the giant "baller" luxo rims Forza is filled with).

They need a more thorough tuning section that's a bit more broken down like Forza. And add engine swaps.

And they need to work on the sound. Some cars are great and a bunch still aren't. They need to get more intake, turbo, and supercharger audio in there. The rally cars should have crazy anti-lag. And don't make the sound like Forza, as all they do is make every car sound like it has a sport exhaust, crank up the engine volume, and run it through filters to make it sound exaggerated. Changing the exhaust doesn't change the sound in Forza, but in GT6, all the cars have the same 3 different engine sounds for sport/semi/racing exhaust so it's a little bit better but still dumb.

In the end, I'm deathly afraid of where the series could get dragged into if it listens to some of these peoples' complaints. This isn't Need For Speed and this isn't Demolition Derby. Thank god Kaz is kind of stubborn the way he is because the series still is and plays like a Gran Turismo game. He just needs a personal assistant to let him know what some people want and let Kaz filter what is dumb and not dumb.

 

[mokocchi]

im pretty sure it is because of the gt5 release date delay

 

[Hastatus]

Does anyone really trust the sources which the OP cited? They look highly dubious to me. Didn't anyone learn the lesson in school that when all the children tell a story whispering into each others' ears in a big circle, one after the other, that eventually the end result is often greatly distorted from the original? Or do they not teach the concept of gossip vs fact anymore?

 

[Snake1405]

What does this mean? Means that the sales are slow at the moment, GT6 will sell a great number of copies, with the time.

 

[McLaren]

Mainly because it wasn't as hypetacular as GT5 was.

Also, the even numbered GT game curse. No even numbered GT game will sell more than it's odd numbered predeccessor.

Uh, no & I suggest you either read the first post or learn what odd and even numbers are.
Unless 748,000+ isn't more than 648,000+ & 663,000+ isn't more than 468,000+ in some mystical world.

Many people on this forum gave GT5 a pass as 5 being a cursed number. That excuse doesn't fly twice in a row; Kaz or someone at PD isn't communicating with the fanbase as they should.

 

[xStretch-]

I have a friend watch me play GT6 for a few hours the other day, he said he couldn't see the difference between GT5 and GT6 and I graphically, I agree with him lol.

"Physics are still unrealistic as hell for "The real driving simulator". PD can't rely on fan boys sales forever, I was not even going to buy the game untill last week as it just seemed pointless.

GT7 better make the step up or even better, patch this game big time

 

[nickg07]

Whenever I say Gran Turismo at work they think I mean Gran Theft auto.

In asda major uk retailer suoer market gt6 was about number 6 in their chart list for ps3.