Kazunori Yamauchi Responds to Gran Turismo 7 Fan Outrage

[GBO Possum]

Does anyone know the User score on Metacritic prior to the server issue?

It’s down to 2.5 now and I’m guessing will probably fall further.

Users are calling out these issues…

1. Requiring an online connection for single-player seems to top the list
2. The brutal new game economy
3. The staleness of starting at the back of the grid and “chasing the rabbit“

 

[Jay84]

What they should do is implement offline saving, it is the only way to avoid these problems

THIS!! Its not a damn MMO like "The Crew" this is just about Sony holding all the power over its customers.

 

[FordGTGuy]

The fact that they held back the microtransactions until after the reviews is super scummy too.

I honestly wouldn't mind the current economy without the microtransactions and a bigger career mode.

Cars would be a lot more rare.

 

[danjama]

GT'er since the first on PSX. Couldn't find a PS5 this holiday season, ended up with a Series S for the kids. Picked up a Forza Motorsport 7 digital coupon for $13 to lick my wounds a bit for while everyone else would be loving GT7.

No regrets.

I've just got a key for Forza 7 too, downloading it now. KAZ and PD have massively dropped a bollock with GT7. There's too much that sucks about it, and much of it actually comes across as deliberate and malicious.

 

[Motorbreath_]

I've just got a key for Forza 7 top, downloading it now. KAZ and PD have massively dropped a bollock with GT7. There's too much that sucks about it, and much of it actually comes across as deliberate and malicious.

This nails it! Outside of the actual driving and livery editor, that they ripped straight out of Forza, this game is junk. Games at the dawn of console online gaming had better multiplayer options and setting. This has MTX money grab written all over it the more I think about it. It’s a shame. I absolutely love the gameplay.

 

[dacc10]

They are a problem because the in-game economy is deliberately structured to manipulate people into buying them.

I'll put it this way: If they removed microtransactions, would the in-game economy as it stands be fine? No. So, yes, the problem is the in-game economy, independently of there being microtransactions or not.

We could speculate that if there were no microtransactions the in-game economy would be better, but we don't factually know that. But then again, games with no microtransactions still have bad economies and require the player to grind, but the real challenge is making the "grind" fun. But that's another debate.

By identifying microtransactions as the problem, even if rightfully so, we are saying that removing them, would solve it, but in fact, it wouldn't as the in-game economy would still be terrible. By identifying the economy as the problem, PD only has to fix it to a point where it's, well, better.

Microtransactions stopped being optional years ago. The "you don't have to buy them" excuse is no longer relevant when time and time and time a-ducking-gain we see how ingame economies shift away from honest and proper balance towards "hey buddy, just get that 5$ coins pack, what do you say"?

also having microtransactions doesn't guarantee "Free DLC". Do I need to even to mention the failure of Anthem, the abandonment of Battlefield V, or endless "roadmaps" developers love to share and feed players empty promises?

They are still optional though. Nobody is pointing a gun at you to make you buy it. That's the same logic of people buying stuff they don't need, just because they are "50% off".
Said that, you can make a point about in-game economies becoming worse, because devs are gready, sure. Bethesda (gready) literally changed the pricing of the Season Pass (or whatever it was called) for Fallout 4, after the game was launched, claiming that the size of the DLCs "justified it". I bought it when it was in a discount for a limited period of time, so I payed like half (or maybe even 40%) of it's full price, and I can say that it was worth it for the price I payed, but not for the full price. They figured the game was a huge success, gotta take advantage of it.

The solution? If the game has microtransactions, still make a balanced economy for it.

And did I say that free DLC was guaranteed? Nope. But given that GTS had microtransactions, and free DLC, that's the best comparison we can make. And given the option, I'd be fine with free DLC, thank you. In an ideal world we wouldn't have neither, but that ain't happening.

 

[greenlightning]

Real life racers not to horde as many cars as they can, most of them driving luxury suvs, because that's their end game, to relax between races, this games do not imitate real life of a racer

Agree 1000 percent, in no way shape or form is GT series designed to simulate actual racing. It is more of a car enjoyment game with dabs of racing mixed in. However now it seems it might be more on the lines of real world car collecting. Where the average person would have to spend years earning the scratch to purchase a lower class car of their dreams and or years upon years of fixing up a car to show room condition.

I am absolutley fine with a game based on car collecting, however there is no way I spending anywhere remotley to as much time that have spent with GT series in the past.

 

[PVL_93_RU]

They are still optional though. Nobody is pointing a gun at you to make you buy it. That's the same logic of people buying stuff they don't need, just because they are "50% off".

sure, they're not pointing a gun. But they do let you know it's there, sometimes in rather obvious ways

 

[DodgySyrup]

I've just got a key for Forza 7 too, downloading it now. KAZ and PD have massively dropped a bollock with GT7. There's too much that sucks about it, and much of it actually comes across as deliberate and malicious.

I thought Microsoft had effectively turned off Forza 7, and weren't selling it anymore?

 

[Gerarghini]

Why did they nerf the 15,000 Cr. races 😭😭😭😭😭

If you needed to know what PD's endgame was, there ya go. Because there is absolutely NO reason to nerf those events for any other reason other than slowing down progression. Seriously.

 

[Imari]

I'll put it this way: If they removed microtransactions, would the in-game economy as it stands be fine? No. So, yes, the problem is the in-game economy, independently of there being microtransactions or not.

We could speculate that if there were no microtransactions the in-game economy would be better, but we don't factually know that. But then again, games with no microtransactions still have bad economies and require the player to grind, but the real challenge is making the "grind" fun. But that's another debate.

By identifying microtransactions as the problem, even if rightfully so, we are saying that removing them, would solve it, but in fact, it wouldn't as the in-game economy would still be terrible. By identifying the economy as the problem, PD only has to fix it to a point where it's, well, better.

That's fair. The game would be better off without the microtransactions, but the economy would still be borked unless further changes were made. People are (probably rightly) assuming that MTs influenced the economy during the design phase of the game, but we're beyond that now. Taking what we have now as a baseline, the first thing to fix would be the economy.

They are still optional though. Nobody is pointing a gun at you to make you buy it. That's the same logic of people buying stuff they don't need, just because they are "50% off".

It's more likely to end up as a sunk cost thing though. You've already spend hundreds on a console and $70 to buy the game, you might as well spend another $20-40 to have the cars you want even though you know it's a rip off. You've spent so much already, it's not that big a deal. Just a little more money then you can have fun and win some races.
Just a little more to tune it.
Here's a rare car for cheap, you can't miss out on that!

There's any number of psychological tricks and corners for people to get caught on with MTs, and that's what developers rely on. Some of them even seem reasonable at the time, but had the game been built without them in mind it would be a different story. It becomes psychologically draining playing the game and having to say no all the time.

You're tired and you just want some races after work but you need to tune your car and buy wet tyres for this week's race. Wanna spend $5 to get credits for tuning parts so you don't have to grind for half an hour? No, not really but sure, **** it, whatever, let's get this over with.

If the player constantly has to be on the defensive for what the game might be trying to trick them into, that's not great.

 

[dacc10]

sure, they're not pointing a gun. But they do let you know it's there, sometimes in rather obvious ways

I think GTS did it much worse (as presentation goes). In Brand Central, the option to use real money was right after the option to buy with in-game currency. A player (specially a kid) could easily buy the car with real money by accident.

 

[danjama]

Why did they nerf the 15,000 Cr. races 😭😭😭😭😭

If you needed to know what PD's endgame was, there ya go. Because there is absolutely NO reason to nerf those events for any other reason other than slowing down progression. Seriously.

It's just punishment for people daring to use races in a way that PD didn't intend or envision.

 

[Famine]

Does anyone know the User score on Metacritic prior to the server issue?

Tricky to say, as it was review-bombed by Russian players (well... non-players) after its launch was cancelled in Russia.

 

[Johnnn]

I've just got a key for Forza 7 too, downloading it now. KAZ and PD have massively dropped a bollock with GT7. There's too much that sucks about it, and much of it actually comes across as deliberate and malicious.

And you get much better gamepad experience because since X1 Xbox controller is the best for racing.

 

[FordGTGuy]

It's just punishment for people daring to use races in a way that PD didn't intend or envision.

I thought it was a crafted masterpiece and designed with incredibly detailed design of only a true artisan. Well that's how some people talk about certain developers.

 

[JoaoSilva]

Tricky to say, as it was review-bombed by Russian players (well... non-players) after its launch was cancelled in Russia.

It was 6.3 at March 17th around midnight UK time.

 

[Famine]

It was 6.3 at March 17th around midnight UK time.

It was review-bombed by Russian users on March 5th - 24 hours after launch, when user reviews can be posted to MC - after PlayStation withdrew it from the Store. And then again on March 9th after Sony announced the launch had been cancelled for Russia, because Ukraine.

We've not had a representative, non-bombed score yet.

 

[JoaoSilva]

It was review-bombed by Russian users on March 5th - 24 hours after launch, when user reviews can be posted to MC - after PlayStation withdrew it from the Store. And then again on March 9th after Sony announced the launch had been cancelled for Russia, because Ukraine.

We've not had a representative, non-bombed score yet.

Yes but the comment you quoted asked for a score prior to the server issue, that's it. Serves as a good benchmark to see how far it has dropped since this whole debacle.

 

[whadafock]

It's just punishment for people daring to use races in a way that PD didn't intend or envision.

Simply put, they nerfed it because they didn’t meet their sales targets with credit mtx in the first two weeks lmao.

 

[Johnnn]

Yes but the comment you quoted asked for a score prior to the server issue, that's it. Serves as a good benchmark to see how far it has dropped since this whole debacle.

And texts say online only requirement and greedy microtransactions. It's a fact and score is probably very real.

 

[Famine]

Yes but the comment you quoted asked for a score prior to the server issue, that's it.

Indeed, and I responded that it was tricky to say as Russian users also review-bombed it.

There hasn't been a post-launch period free from widespread, organised review-bombing (as opposed to the usual "I like game X, so game Y is trash" crap you get from random trolls).

 

[whadafock]

Tricky to say, as it was review-bombed by Russian players (well... non-players) after its launch was cancelled in Russia.

That’s a rather biased statement, I am not a Russian and I just changed my score for this game to a one after 1.07.

 

[jimmyb5374]

Having got the game at launch I’ve done the menu books , All but s licence which I’m half way through, and have completed 2 of the “missions” . There are a few races I cannot be bothered to do as I’m rubbish at them and tuning the cars is a compete ball ache…..I have 500k credits and the enjoyment has completely worn off now . Just taking pictures of my various cars in various locations !!!

I genuinely hope more championships and better / less ludicrous physics come for some of the higher level races where you literally spin out 90% of the time..

Still I’ve spent my money , enjoyed what I would consider a 50% complete game so now time for PlayStation to gather dust until I check for updates.

 

[JoaoSilva]

And texts say online only requirement and greedy microtransactions. It's a fact and score is probably very real.

Also this is the score on March 6th, only two days after release:

So not exactly much better. The game was officially removed from Russia on March 9th I believe, although I think GT7 was already unavailable before. So not exactly a much better score.

Yes it was somewhat review bombed by some people due to the whole Russia thing, but people already had their gripes with the game, me included and with the latest situation I changed my rating accordingly.

 

[Johnnn]

Also this is the score on March 6th, only two days after release:

View attachment 1126310

So not exactly much better. The game was officially removed from Russia on March 9th I believe, although I think GT7 was already unavailable before. So not exactly much better.

Yes it was somewhat review bombed by some people due to the whole Russia thing, but people already had their gripes with the game, me included and with the latest situation I changed my rating accordingly.

True, but cafe part of the game is amazing. Everybody found later how bad this game really is. OK, 2.5 is rather low but for a game with blocked content, you can't get much more.

 

[Famine]

That’s a rather biased statement

Not in the slightest. It's literally what happened.

I am not a Russian and I just changed my score for this game to a one after 1.07.

So that'd not be because of the game first being pulled from the Russian store on March 3rd and then the launch being cancelled in Russia on March 9th, but because of the economy "rebalance" and server outage a full week later...

... so why would you think that my statement should apply to you in order for you to object to it because you're not Russian?

 

[dacc10]

That's fair. The game would be better off without the microtransactions, but the economy would still be borked unless further changes were made. People are (probably rightly) assuming that MTs influenced the economy during the design phase of the game, but we're beyond that now. Taking what we have now as a baseline, the first thing to fix would be the economy.

Exactly, right now there's no point in complaining about the MTs, without focusing first on the in-game economy.

It's more likely to end up as a sunk cost thing though. You've already spend hundreds on a console and $70 to buy the game, you might as well spend another $20-40 to have the cars you want even though you know it's a rip off. You've spent so much already, it's not that big a deal. Just a little more money then you can have fun and win some races.
Just a little more to tune it.
Here's a rare car for cheap, you can't miss out on that!

There's any number of psychological tricks and corners for people to get caught on with MTs, and that's what developers rely on. Some of them even seem reasonable at the time, but had the game been built without them in mind it would be a different story. It becomes psychologically draining playing the game and having to say no all the time.

You're tired and you just want some races after work but you need to tune your car and buy wet tyres for this week's race. Wanna spend $5 to get credits for tuning parts so you don't have to grind for half an hour? No, not really but sure, **** it, whatever, let's get this over with.

If the player constantly has to be on the defensive for what the game might be trying to trick them into, that's not great.

That's pretty much the rule on every business. They will try to use every trick in the book to make you buy their product/service.

I agree that that's too much, when everything is "in your face" constantly. There's definitely a better way to do things, where the game can keep the microtransactions, for those who want that option, while the game itself is not forcing anyone to buy them by displaying the option constantly and/or via a terrible in-game economy.

 

[Phaceless_Ph]

Does anyone know the User score on Metacritic prior to the server issue?

It’s down to 2.5 now and I’m guessing will probably fall further.

Users are calling out these issues…

1. Requiring an online connection for single-player seems to top the list
2. The brutal new game economy
3. The staleness of starting at the back of the grid and “chasing the rabbit“

View attachment 1126285

It was around 8.4 before this and the Russia thing

 

[danjama]

I thought Microsoft had effectively turned off Forza 7, and weren't selling it anymore?

Well I bought it on cdkeys for £14.99 and have just played through the very engaging intro. Quick look through the cars shows incredible diversity. Any idea what bit is turned off?