Had some more time to reflect on this but...
What will the focus of GTS be going forward ? I actually bought into GTS because it wasn't the same old GT. Instead of the first update celebrating the games strongpoints and adding something related i get this GT7 type apology update with cars that don't even have a GT counterpart. Yay, cars from my dads era that have been in countless of racing games before. Don't the people whining about their exclusion have enough games to choose from already ?
Such a missed opportunity. They could have added 10 Super GT machines from the nineties and their 'normal' versions and add a daily 'classic' race for them to race in. Something like this would be in line with what i think is Sports' philosophy and actually be fitting the game. I would have loved that. Adding a truck, a van and some random JDM machines from the nineties and a Ferrari doesn't make any sense to me. For GT7 yes, but this isn't GT7.
So what's the deal here. I love Sport but i fear the next ten or so updates aren't going to focus on making the online aspect any better but just randomly adding cars and single player stuff i don't care about. This isn't what was advertised.
I don't care if it doesn't sell initially, the gameplay is good enough and that is all that matters to me as a consumer right now. Kaz san should have word with Kono san from Project Aces. Kono's Ace Combat Infinity on PS3 got slammed by 'critics' and 'fans' upon release only to become the most financially successful and most played entry in the series. If the gameplay is good, gamers will (eventually) notice. Show some spine and believe in your product man.
I get the impression that the vast majority of people here prefer a traditional Gran Turismo experience, thus they have decided to add more traditional content. Although, I believe they had planned this in the first place, but just didn't have time to implement it for the October release.
I understand where you're coming from. GT Sport is primarily an E-Sports game, so it's sudden inclusion of more single player content goes against the games primary purpose. However, all things considered, this is still a Gran Turismo game at heart. If they put the effort into creating the museum pieces and scapes then you can pretty much guarantee that the old school GT traits will continue with every update.
Gran Turismo Sport is still a game in which you race, earn credits, buy cars with credits and modify your cars. Ok, so the performance mods need an overhaul badly, but the option is still there. If GT Sport was a true E-Sports title, then they wouldn't have bothered with things like scapes, hell even the livery editor would potentially bite the dust. The main appeal of Gran Turismo to me is that is does more than one thing. It's a racing game, it's a photography suite, it's a car design competition and so on. Gran Turismo Sport is no different to previous GT games in this regard. It just so happens that they decided to use the FIA partnership as the main selling point of the game.
This does naturally mean that the game lacks a specific focus. Yes, the game certainly prioritises the online experience, but a lot of GT fans have made it clear that they want more single player content, so why not? Besides the initial single player offering was not too bad despite being super short. It's only natural they would add more to it.
As for the online, I think it's great as it is, aside from a really questionable penalty system. The only way you could expand the online is by adding more cars and tracks to race online with. I mean come on, imagine competing in a multi-race camper van championship. That would be amazing!
But also, this is the first of what will hopefully be many updates. PD should be listening to our reactions and will know where to take the game next. The E-Sports focus certainly won't be taking a backseat, especially when the proper FIA championships kick off.
But that's my view of it. The irony here is, I've spent the vast majority of my time playing the single player of GT Sport, having only done a handful of online races. You could say that's me not making the most of what the game is, but seriously, the online focus is not the main reason I bought GT Sport. It was the scapes, museums and livery editor which sold it for me, but hey, everyone has their own ways of getting enjoyment out of something
