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...