Going silent? Promising a fix-all patch is on the way for... how long is it now?
I thought people wanted PD to communicate
more, not less.
You're not criticizing the update, you're ranting about PD.
It
could be a PR move. It's not definite.
As a comparison: FM7 launched with a few of its features intentionally turned off by T10. The Auction House, Forzathon, etc etc. When I talked to Dan last month at the Porsche event, he explained why that was: players can be utterly overwhelmed by choice in modern games. FM6 launched with all the online hoppers and classes available from day one, and while that's a good thing in terms of choice, it's bad in the sense it splinters the online player base. He explained the long-term plan was to slowly offer more and more online hoppers over the coming months, so people can explore them at a more relaxed clip, and — crucially — it means more players in every hopper at any given time.
GT Sport is in a similar position. Arguably more so: PD has pushed the online-competition narrative for what feels like ages now. Launching the way it did made players practically
have to explore Sport Mode — and surely, some folks were turned off by it, but there were also those that found they liked it. Had a traditional GT mode been in from day one, how many people would have stuck with what they were comfortable with?
Same goes with the cars: they follow the more traditional GT approach, and we'll see how they fit into the class structure. But having them introduced now means players had to focus on the current lineup. In many ways, that's a good thing.
PD and Sony have tons of data about the player base. Far more than you or I do. Whether this was planned from the get-go, or a sharp right turn after the backlash from some vocal corners of the community, it's unlikely we'll ever know for sure. It's very, very unlikely the team didn't already know some of that blowback was going to happen, however. That said, grafting what looks like a career largely similar to GT6's basic structure on isn't the sort of time-suck modelling a car is. One could also argue that if this was the plan all along, PD probably would've mentioned more about it leading up to release, as it would've assuaged the fears of the traditionalists.
I think, now more than ever, the strength of the console sim racing market is in the diversity. GTS, FM7, and PCARS2 (as well as AC, WRC 7, DiRT — you get the idea) all offer quite different experiences these days. Certainly more so than, say, GT5/6 and FM4 did.
Just pulling your chain, man. This update is a step in the right direction. It also confirms that fears about paying for extra content can be put to rest, at least for this batch. Good going PD, keep it up though.
I wrote the other day that PD not giving out any future plans, or listening to users concerns smacked of arrogance, this at least gives some idea of their plans until March at least and they may be listening.
It looks to me that they released the game with the emphasize on the online racing, and while that may or may not be popular, for a lot of users there is not a lot of game there if not playing online. I've never seen so many GT games on the pre-owned shelves so soon after release in the game shops near me. Only PD know how many they have sold, and how many are still playing the game. That is one thing the online saving gives them, a very accurate number of users. My guess is that numbers may be down a lot on what they may have hoped. It is pure speculation though of course. 
But it seems like a big change in direction so quickly after release. 
