How You Play Gran Turismo 7 Depends on Your Age, says Kazunori Yamauchi

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This is the discussion thread for an article on GTPlanet:

How You Play Gran Turismo 7 Depends on Your Age, says Kazunori Yamauchi​

Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has revealed that game data shows a generational divide in how players engage with Gran Turismo 7 during a recent round-table media interview at the Gran Turismo World Finals in Monaco...
 
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Fezzik
Basically he's calling the GTP users a bunch of old farts :lol:
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Seth Meyers Lol GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
 
“When you look at the distribution of the age groups playing Gran Turismo,” he explains, “it becomes apparent that those in the higher age groups prefer playing offline and the younger generation actually like playing online against others”.

What’s the age ranges here?

Occasionally at work, I talk about playing Sport mode and discuss my races from the previous evening. One of coworkers always says “I don’t know how you put up with racing against 12 year olds”. I’ve always assumed most of the people I am racing against are in the 18-40 year old bracket. It certainly doesn’t feel like I am playing against the 12-18 year old bracket, but I could be wrong. B/S lobbies, for reference.
 
CMB350
What’s the age ranges here?
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It wasn't specifically referred to (again, we weren't in this interview, as it was for continental European media), but on the basis of previous comments about GT players' age ranges you're looking at Gen X and above (40+) being the older players and Gen Z and younger (up to 22) being the younger players. Gen Y likely straddles the camps.
 
If that’s the case, it only proves they need to have more fresh content any day you log in if they want to have GT prosper and grow with the newer/younger audience.

I.E.

  • Some/all of the Sport Mode races actually update daily (Y’know, like they used to in the early days of GT Sport).
  • Time trials with the exact same leaderboard % reward tier format they have now, but fresh ones every day. They could build an RNG system so they don’t even need to have devs dedicating time to designing them.
  • Additional log in/challenges that could give rewards like engine tickets.
  • A “Daily Race X” similar to what I described in #2, but it’s just a random shuffle combination every hour/half hour.

There isn’t enough “pick up and play” features that are enticing/engaging enough to further drag players into the longer form content that they may not otherwise try. Games with a community/online aspect only thrive if they have enough players actively engaging in the ecosystem regularly, and while PD hasn’t really ever done a great job at this since the online era, it’s weird that 7 seems to be a step back from Sport when they should have so much data and experience pointing to this kind of stuff.
 
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If thats what the data suggests then fair enough, but it's the opposite for me. I must admit that i assumed the majority of online players were at least in the slightly older bracket! Im a Gen X player but have no interest in the majority of the offline content. With GTS i enjoyed the online racing (particularly FIA) and the community feel both the game and here on GTP provided, making many friends. It feels like that has gone with GT7. I miss it!! It doesn't help that it feels like PD have abandoned GTWS for the time being too. Why couldn't they have thrown in a couple of sort Exhibition seasons to keep the interest going? Because in all honesty, i'm bored of GT7 and it's rare i log into it these days.
 
As a 35 year old veteran of the series, that data applies to me. In my younger days (20+ years ago?! :boggled:) I certainly enjoyed Counter-Strike or Battlefield 1942 and such, but later in life, honestly maybe somewhere in my late teens/early 20s, I just had no interest or patience for it anymore.

The cycle of getting frustrated from constantly dying instantly because of some bunny-hoping no-scope AWP headshot vs that 1 in 50 game where I actually take down people and have fun seems entirely not worth my time. It only got worse as time went on and became more mainstream. Not to mention the screeching children on mics and other degenerates. Most online racing is just a destruction derby. There are a couple rare exceptions but then still, I'm not a competitive person. I did spend enough time on GT Sport at launch to get S+ but then I got bored, stopped for awhile, came back and I didn't feel remotely competitive so that was that. I think I've tried maybe one or two online races in GT7. I just don't care. At least, in its current format.

What I've said they should do for a long time now, and what I believe I would enjoy, is if they integrated Online with the single player i.e. PvE content. You should be able to go to the Sunday Cup race and choose if you want to play offline or online, where the latter will auto matchmake you with other people registered for that race and then fill the rest of the grid in with AI. You should be able to group up with friends, like a party, and play through the game together, choosing whether or not to allow only friends to join the race or anyone. And just like an MMORPG, they should have general matchmaking pools: Every day, you'll get a 100% credit bonus one time, for joining this pool that will auto matchmake you to any race or a random event or any iA tier race or "Endurance" race etc. And each subsequent time you participate in that pool you'll get a 25% credit bonus on that day until it resets.

And of course, you should have to option to participate in none of this and play it entirely solo.

These days, the online stuff I enjoy is of the co-op or PvE variety like Final Fantasy 11/14, Diablo, or Killing Floor for example.

Edit: Oh and, for any of this to even matter or be worth it, the latency/connection quality needs to be that of the Nation whatever cup tier GT races or iRacing etc. The regular lobbies or daily race quality is complete garbage and good, close racing isn't even possible.
 
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As one of the "Older" older Generation, I prefer playing Offline whilst trying to "tweak" things to make Life a bit more challenging in races. Collecting cars or doing Scapes, or Liveries, depending on my mood or the time available. As most of my on-line experiences end up with me getting punted off by dive-bombing, out of control drivers, who'd be more at home in a "Fun Fare Bumper Cars" Game. :grumpy:
 
it's very true. Old players like me enjoy the single and spend lots of time in it. The younger are not patient, they are lazy to work for their cars and single player achievements. They want to race, they want to win... and thats the beauty of the game, you can enjoy it in many different ways, now.
 
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Interesting topic. Makes perfect sense for the most part.

These days, I play much more offline than online, but still haven’t gotten bored of the game. And I think it’s because the way I play; in a rig, cockpit view, with both paddle shifters and an H-pattern/sequential. I make it a point to use different cars for all the races, and drive them authentically according to how they are IRL….or according to the mods I’ve made; I.E. if I have put a sequential transmission in a civic, I use my H-pattern in sequential mode.

It’s then that one realizes how well PD has modeled the characteristics of these cars. Some cars shift very well with the slightest nip of the clutch. Others require a little more time to shift. In cockpit view you get to admire the intricate detail.

But on the other hand, you have to be a little bit older with some sort of disposable income, to appreciate all these little details to their intended potential. It also helps if you grew up during the era of some of these cars. If I was born in the 2000’s, I could see how it’d be tough for someone to “buy into” a 95’ Porsche 911 RS. It’s the same reason why I don’t really like driving the newer hyper cars. They just have little appeal to me
 
I’m 54, been playing video games since the Tandy 1000/Atari 2600 days (Night Driver). Been playing GT since the Japanese release versions of the PS1 and GT. I can’t stand online play.. No matter what type of game it is.. I realized the online push when the developers of SOCOM tried releasing an online only title. I prefer to play at my own pace, just wish GT had a qualification system for grid placement. The chase the rabbit format sucks.. I switched over to Project Cars series when GT wasn’t giving me the things I needed in a console driving game.
 
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At least they know this fact. Long time i go i realized that anybody must enjoy the game as they like. Because of that, the custom options to play must to wider than they are. Some of us like a game as a hardcore sim. Others prefer a more arcade style (younger kids, i supose, as all we were long time ago, lol). For me its in that point were GT is out. Many of us migrated to Project Cars seeking that. I hope they put a more realistic IA, qualifying and everything that some of us seek.
 
It's an interesting thought, I'm 51 years old and have been playing racing games and sims since day one. I was fortunate to have grown up near an arcade which in the late 70's early 80's had all the latest games, and that included racing games. Then obviously I was lucky enough to play racing games on the then new ZX81 through to the currant P.C's and PlayStation console. I completed all of the Trophies' on GT7 back in August, and like the article says, I mainly play off-line, but do enjoy a good close "non cheating" on-line race.
 
paulinhoT1971
It's an interesting thought, I'm 51 years old and have been playing racing games and sims since day one. I was fortunate to have grown up near an arcade which in the late 70's early 80's had all the latest games, and that included racing games. Then obviously I was lucky enough to play racing games on the then new ZX81 through to the currant P.C's and PlayStation console. I completed all of the Trophies' on GT7 back in August, and like the article says, I mainly play off-line, but do enjoy a good close "non cheating" on-line race.
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Those out run times... I still hear magical sound shower in my ears, cruising coconut beach
 
I'm approaching 29. I have played GT since GT1.

When GT Sport was active, I used to invest heavily in Sport Mode and FIA events, both financially and time wise. I play with a wheel, spend hours every day practicing, and got up to A/S before I stopped from the stress and frustration, most of which stemming from how PD seemed to have given up entirely on the penalty system. I now play once a week with a group of friends whom I know are clean and are more than trustworthy. With the comical mess that is GT7's lobbies and now even with a screen freezing issue for PS4 players, me and that group of friends still don't want to touch GT7 with a ten metre pole, hence why my "play" time in GT7 is exclusively SP. If Kaz wants to dig deeper into my data, I'm sure he'll find my mileage is almost exclusively on the Tomahawk S and Blue Moon Bay.

GT7's online experience is in shambles and not worth my limited time, but maybe I'm just running out of patience with age. Thing is, I don't think I'm that old.
 
XSquareStickIt
I'm approaching 29. I have played GT since GT1.

When GT Sport was active, I used to invest heavily in Sport Mode and FIA events, both financially and time wise. I play with a wheel, spend hours every day practicing, and got up to A/S before I stopped from the stress and frustration, most of which stemming from how PD seemed to have given up entirely on the penalty system. I now play once a week with a group of friends whom I know are clean and are more than trustworthy. With the comical mess that is GT7's lobbies and now even with a screen freezing issue for PS4 players, me and that group of friends still don't want to touch GT7 with a ten metre pole, hence why my "play" time in GT7 is exclusively SP. If Kaz wants to dig deeper into my data, I'm sure he'll find my mileage is almost exclusively on the Tomahawk S and Blue Moon Bay.

GT7's online experience is in shambles and not worth my limited time, but maybe I'm just running out of patience with age. Thing is, I don't think I'm that old.
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28? Noooo!! Here 47...
 

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