Porsche's Contract With EA

[Skygrasper550]

NINEEE-ELEVENNNNN GEE TEE THREEEEE ARR ESSSSSSS!!!!!!!

It might've been mentioned before, so sorry if this is a repeat.

My question is could EA buy back the Porsche license? If they could, I would'nt be surprised the slightest if they did. At the moment though, I think this is a great thing. Finally having Porsche available in more games will be quite nice 👍

they definitely have the money, but Porsche has to be willing to accept the money *AGAIN* as well. The license is a business deal, so both parties have to agree or come to terms. If not, the deal is off.

 

[-Fred-]

Still, there's no real reason for them to not want to add their cars to GT, solely based on that. Having cars in a game is pretty much free publicity, so there they have nothing to lose.
About competing with fictional cars or not, if you asked Porsche why they wouldn't want their cars to compete, let's say, with that Bugatti VGT, they wouldn't be able to give you a straight answer. If the cars are balanced, their car loosing for a VGT in a racing game will solely depend on its driver, a driver with no relation whatsoever with Porsche, so Porsche is not getting their reputation touched in any way and neither is loosing money. So, they can't find a real reason to be "offended" by the presence of VGTs.
All that matters to them is real life, they won Le Mans 24h, apart from that, everything else is just free publicity to their feats and cars.

There are more serious cases of fictional vs real life. Ace Combat is one example, where you see fictional aircraft shooting down real aircraft. It's a much more serious matter, since it involves, well, war equipment and security matters. Do you see Lockheed Martin complaining? No. Boeing? Nope. Not even Russian manufacturers. So why would a car maker adopt an attitude like that?

I never said it was a fact, I'm pretty sure I mentioned it was an opinion and that at this point I am, like everyone else here, purely speculating. The VGT program is something that I personally feel would absolutely turn me off if I was in charge of marketing for a car company. Your mileage may vary, this is again my opinion and not a fact.

But thinking that Porsche's arrival is guaranteed in every racing game that will come out in the next 2 years is a bit far fetched. I'm not saying it will not happen, but I'm not saying it will happen either. Porsche doesn't really need the "free" publicity, even if it doesn't hurt... Everyone knows what a 911 is, whether they like the car or not is their personal preference, but no one, even non-car people, will ever wonder "what's that car, I've never seen that before?" when one pulls up next to them at a stoplight.

Truth is, Porsche will probably not give away their licence, I'm pretty sure no manufacturer actually does give it away for free, from a business standpoint it does not make sense. I don't see Lamborghini going; "sure, we'll lend you a Huracan for as long as you need, you can record the exhaust, model every little detail until you're satisfied, then advertise it in your game as a selling point and sell a million copies at 70-80$ per disc/download, but nah, we don't want any of the money you're going to make from using our name, it's totally fine!" This is financial suicide, and no one, absolutely no one does that.

Porsche will charge for their licence like everyone else, and Porsche being a brand with a long history and a bit of cachet, I'm fairly sure it's not going to be cheap, much like Ferrari and Lamborghini, or any other exotic car maker out there. Problem is, they're not going to sell it to just any studio that flashes the cash in their face, because they obviously care about their image, and the target demographic. And again, I fear the problem lies on PD's end and their inability to produce a game since 2013... the interest dies down quickly (well, aside from the diehard people like us, but we're a minority) when every other studio releases game after game and you're still polishing yours to make it look better than real life.

If, as I said in the other thread, Nintendo comes up to Porsche and proposes them a tie-in in the next Mario Kart game, like they did with Mercedes a few years ago, do you push them aside because they're not an actual racing game studio? Mario Kart as a franchise has sold 113 million games, which is more than GT, but still less than Need For Speed. And it's a game for kids... is there a better crowd to sell your products than kids? I don't think so. It doesn't matter if there's no way in hell the cars in the game can do that in real life, as far as product placement goes, it's damn near perfect. Princess Peach in a cartoony pink Boxster? Girls will love that. Mario and Luigi in red and green 911s? You know you want to.

PD has a chance to get Porsche, no doubt, but they will not get first dibs.

 

[John_Marsten]

I'm sure that Yamauchi will find a way to stuff up whatever Porsche's come into GT Sport. Maybe a fastest corner in reverse challenge or something, or maybe only Porsche's in photo mode.

 

[MisterWaffles]

I'm sure that Yamauchi will find a way to stuff up whatever Porsche's come into GT Sport. Maybe a fastest corner in reverse challenge or something, or maybe only Porsche's in photo mode.

Or maybe he could implement them like every other car in the game and not stuff it up.

 

[John_Marsten]

Or maybe he could implement them like every other car in the game and not stuff it up.

Possible - Yes
Likely - No

 

[MisterWaffles]

Possible - Yes
Likely - No

How is it unlikely that PDI would treat Porsche models the same as the other cars instead of gimp them?

 

[John_Marsten]

How is it unlikely that PDI would treat Porsche models the same as the other cars instead of gimp them?

I dont think he will gimp them. I just think its a 50/50 possibility that they will have some sort of ridiculous restricitions on them.

Remember the challenges on the Top Gear test track in GT5? that had SO much potential and replayability. Instead, we got 3 of the worst challenges to ever grace a driving game.

 

[05XR8]

The Ruf RGT had an awesome challenge a the Test Track in GT3.

Also the Boxer Cup in GT3.

 

[dacc10]

I never said it was a fact, I'm pretty sure I mentioned it was an opinion and that at this point I am, like everyone else here, purely speculating. The VGT program is something that I personally feel would absolutely turn me off if I was in charge of marketing for a car company. Your mileage may vary, this is again my opinion and not a fact.

But thinking that Porsche's arrival is guaranteed in every racing game that will come out in the next 2 years is a bit far fetched. I'm not saying it will not happen, but I'm not saying it will happen either. Porsche doesn't really need the "free" publicity, even if it doesn't hurt... Everyone knows what a 911 is, whether they like the car or not is their personal preference, but no one, even non-car people, will ever wonder "what's that car, I've never seen that before?" when one pulls up next to them at a stoplight.

Truth is, Porsche will probably not give away their licence, I'm pretty sure no manufacturer actually does give it away for free, from a business standpoint it does not make sense. I don't see Lamborghini going; "sure, we'll lend you a Huracan for as long as you need, you can record the exhaust, model every little detail until you're satisfied, then advertise it in your game as a selling point and sell a million copies at 70-80$ per disc/download, but nah, we don't want any of the money you're going to make from using our name, it's totally fine!" This is financial suicide, and no one, absolutely no one does that.

Porsche will charge for their licence like everyone else, and Porsche being a brand with a long history and a bit of cachet, I'm fairly sure it's not going to be cheap, much like Ferrari and Lamborghini, or any other exotic car maker out there. Problem is, they're not going to sell it to just any studio that flashes the cash in their face, because they obviously care about their image, and the target demographic. And again, I fear the problem lies on PD's end and their inability to produce a game since 2013... the interest dies down quickly (well, aside from the diehard people like us, but we're a minority) when every other studio releases game after game and you're still polishing yours to make it look better than real life.

If, as I said in the other thread, Nintendo comes up to Porsche and proposes them a tie-in in the next Mario Kart game, like they did with Mercedes a few years ago, do you push them aside because they're not an actual racing game studio? Mario Kart as a franchise has sold 113 million games, which is more than GT, but still less than Need For Speed. And it's a game for kids... is there a better crowd to sell your products than kids? I don't think so. It doesn't matter if there's no way in hell the cars in the game can do that in real life, as far as product placement goes, it's damn near perfect. Princess Peach in a cartoony pink Boxster? Girls will love that. Mario and Luigi in red and green 911s? You know you want to.

PD has a chance to get Porsche, no doubt, but they will not get first dibs.

The point I was making is, that it's too early to speculate reasons for Porsche not being in game, when we don't even know if PD is looking for its inclusion.

I didn't say Porsche wouldn't charge for it's license, probably a few other brands do the same too. The difference is between paying the license to Porsche and not to EA. With the end of the deal with EA, there's a higher chance of PD getting the cars. For now, we have no idea if they will sooner or later get some of their cars. I didn't say that every game in the next 2 years would get Porsche either.

At this point, we have to make clear that we want Porsche. On the rare interviews with Kaz, someone should ask about Porsche (instead of asking the same questions about HDR, 4k and Scapes). Doesn't matter the answer, what matters the most is them getting the idea that we want Porsche.

 

[syntex123]

The Ruf RGT had an awesome challenge a the Test Track in GT3.

Also the Boxster Cup in GT3.

And also the RGT Complex String challenge.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I dont think he will gimp them. I just think its a 50/50 possibility that they will have some sort of ridiculous restricitions on them.

Remember the challenges on the Top Gear test track in GT5? that had SO much potential and replayability. Instead, we got 3 of the worst challenges to ever grace a driving game.

C'mon, you didn't enjoy this?

 

[Samus]

At this point, we have to make clear that we want Porsche. On the rare interviews with Kaz, someone should ask about Porsche (instead of asking the same questions about HDR, 4k and Scapes). Doesn't matter the answer, what matters the most is them getting the idea that we want Porsche.

Kaz doesn't live in a bubble (most of the time), I'm pretty sure he knows they're a desirable brand. He's been asked about them being in GT several times over the years.

 

[Scaff]

So, they can't find a real reason to be "offended" by the presence of VGTs.

They don't need a 'real' reason, they can just say no.

As far as GT:S goes its not going to change my buying intentions one bit if they do licence Porsche.

With AC already having them and PCars 2 looking very, very likely to also get them its not exactly a USP for PD if they do manage to get hold of them.

 

[Fredzy]

I'm sure that Yamauchi will find a way to stuff up whatever Porsche's come into GT Sport. Maybe a fastest corner in reverse challenge or something, or maybe only Porsche's in photo mode.

There needs to be a good expression for that disappointment that only PD can create. When they squander an opportunity and it leaves you scratching your head like "how could they have got this wrong like this?" And you feel a painful wanting for it to be right.

 

[Castrol96]

While EA's contract seems to have expired, doesn't Sony have the money for the Porsche Licencing?

Why is Asseto Corsa getting endless Porsche Packs!?

 

[Scaff]

C'mon, you didn't enjoy this?

That wasn't the one that annoyed me the most, that damn Elise challenge still fills my nightmares.

Why is Asseto Corsa getting endless Porsche Packs!?

Not endless, three.

The reason is they have entered into a licencing agreement with Porsche, which see's AC get Porsche DLC and Porsche use AC Pro for demo pods at its events, etc.

 

[Samus]

While EA's contract seems to have expired, doesn't Sony have the money for the Porsche Licencing?

Why is Asseto Corsa getting endless Porsche Packs!?

Which Sony game do you want them to appear in exactly? They're not adding anything to Driveclub anymore and GTS is months away, still time to announce Porsche content.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

The point I was making is, that it's too early to speculate reasons for Porsche not being in game, when we don't even know if PD is looking for its inclusion.

I didn't say Porsche wouldn't charge for it's license, probably a few other brands do the same too. The difference is between paying the license to Porsche and not to EA. With the end of the deal with EA, there's a higher chance of PD getting the cars. For now, we have no idea if they will sooner or later get some of their cars. I didn't say that every game in the next 2 years would get Porsche either.

At this point, we have to make clear that we want Porsche. On the rare interviews with Kaz, someone should ask about Porsche (instead of asking the same questions about HDR, 4k and Scapes). Doesn't matter the answer, what matters the most is them getting the idea that we want Porsche.

While we don't know if PD is looking to include Porsche, Kaz has recently commented on the situation and relationship with Porsche. I'd be very surprised if they're not aware of the changes.

The difference now is that Porsche gets to decide what games feature its cars, not EA. They still may decide GT isn't for them. The EA exclusivity deal has come to an end at arguably the worst time for PD in terms of including Porsche, in certain ways: this is a marque with a rich motorsports history, the vast majority of which would be ignored in a game like GT Sport (at least, how we know it currently). The oldest car is from 2009. The classes are PD-designed, and littered with fantasy cars. It's entirely possible Porsche won't see much appeal there, in the same way Ferrari and Tesla are super-guarded about their cars being put in comparison tests in the real world.

AC, PCARS, Forza — they all offer more opportunities to show off new and old cars. Plus, they make the PR department happy, since they can also include the big-selling crossovers.

As I mentioned before (or maybe in the other thread), there's also the question of whether Polyphony/Sony see it as worth-while to include Porsche. It likely will still come with a price tag, and if GT is already the top-selling racing game, it may be seen as a needless expense. Of course, it could also be seen as something to further solidify that position...

If Porsche is looking for the most exposure, it's hard to argue with attaching their name to one of the best-selling racing franchises in history. But, it certainly seems that exposure is not the main deciding factor for Porsche's partnership decisions, and that implies Polyphony isn't their first pick. If they were, we wouldn't be talking about the special deal Porsche made when they approached Kunos Simulazioni.

 

[MisterWaffles]

Who knows, maybe if Porsche's execs see footage of the Audi R8 and R18 dominating GT Sport's online championships, they might get salty and send forth the 919 and GT3 RS.

Once Audi starts dominating GT Sport, someone mail Porsche the footage please.

 

[mister dog]

White privilege?

That was precious

 

[queleuleu]

Woah... So much effort here to show how Poly doesn't deserve the Holy Grail Porsche. Poly is seen apparently like a gleaner. Tbh, I don't care if Porsche will be in GTsport. If they're here, cool! I already play with them in Forza 6 but only GT has this vibe. It's not something about the accuracy of the physics, rather a good/weird music in a menu, nice camera angles in gallery view and reading all the descriptions on cars.

Where is Aston Martin in AC? Ferrari in PC? Citroen in FM6? VW in FH3?
I play with what I have.

 

[VXR]

I wonder if Kaz has his old GT3 modeled in GT6 quality for internal use?

 

[05XR8]

Woah... So much effort here to show how Poly doesn't deserve the Holy Grail Porsche. Poly is seen apparently like a gleaner. Tbh, I don't care if Porsche will be in GTsport. If they're here, cool! I already play with them in Forza 6 but only GT has this vibe. It's not something about the accuracy of the physics, rather a good/weird music in a menu, nice camera angles in gallery view and reading all the descriptions on cars.

Where is Aston Martin in AC? Ferrari in PC? Citroen in FM6? VW in FH3?
I play with what I have.

Good point about VW in GTS and being removed from Forza.

 

[RACECAR]

Wait, why was VW not in FH3?

 

[FT-1]

Wait, why was VW not in FH3?

No official reason was given but here is a statement from the FM website:

Volkswagen
With our Forza Garage series wrapping up, I know that a lot of folks in the community have been wondering about a conspicuous manufacturer absence from the game: Volkswagen. With Forza Horizon 3, we’re bringing fans more than 350 cars to the game at launch, including manufacturers who have never appeared in a Forza game before. Our team works hard to license hundreds of brands for every Forza game; from small independent brands to major international automotive companies. Unfortunately, we can’t always align our fans’ desires with the interests of every licensor, as is the case with Volkswagen in Forza Horizon 3. As a result, we’re unable to include VW in the game.



Naturally, there are tons of VW fans here at Turn 10 and Playground Games and we’re as disappointed to share this update as our fans are to hear it. We hope to be able to restore VW to Forza games in the future.

Some people assume VW jacked up the cost of licensing cars in video games recently as a result of dieselgate. But then again, VW is still present in GT Sport and recently released mobile games such as Asphalt Xtreme.

 

[dacc10]

Kaz doesn't live in a bubble (most of the time), I'm pretty sure he knows they're a desirable brand. He's been asked about them being in GT several times over the years.

Still, been asked to add Porsche before the deal ended, and now that that deal is reaching an end, has a new sense of priority. If they feel it's highly demanded by the fans, then they might work to bring them.

They don't need a 'real' reason, they can just say no.

As far as GT:S goes its not going to change my buying intentions one bit if they do licence Porsche.

With AC already having them and PCars 2 looking very, very likely to also get them its not exactly a USP for PD if they do manage to get hold of them.

No, to say no you have to have a reason. They might not want to share that reason, that's up to them, but to say no, they had to have a reason, whether it's a little disagreement, or a huge problem for Porsche that turns them off. There's no "No, because I can say no". It's an invalid argument.

I didn't said that you would buy the game because of Porsche.

While we don't know if PD is looking to include Porsche, Kaz has recently commented on the situation and relationship with Porsche. I'd be very surprised if they're not aware of the changes.

The difference now is that Porsche gets to decide what games feature its cars, not EA. They still may decide GT isn't for them. The EA exclusivity deal has come to an end at arguably the worst time for PD in terms of including Porsche, in certain ways: this is a marque with a rich motorsports history, the vast majority of which would be ignored in a game like GT Sport (at least, how we know it currently). The oldest car is from 2009. The classes are PD-designed, and littered with fantasy cars. It's entirely possible Porsche won't see much appeal there, in the same way Ferrari and Tesla are super-guarded about their cars being put in comparison tests in the real world.

AC, PCARS, Forza — they all offer more opportunities to show off new and old cars. Plus, they make the PR department happy, since they can also include the big-selling crossovers.

As I mentioned before (or maybe in the other thread), there's also the question of whether Polyphony/Sony see it as worth-while to include Porsche. It likely will still come with a price tag, and if GT is already the top-selling racing game, it may be seen as a needless expense. Of course, it could also be seen as something to further solidify that position...

If Porsche is looking for the most exposure, it's hard to argue with attaching their name to one of the best-selling racing franchises in history. But, it certainly seems that exposure is not the main deciding factor for Porsche's partnership decisions, and that implies Polyphony isn't their first pick. If they were, we wouldn't be talking about the special deal Porsche made when they approached Kunos Simulazioni.

If Porsche has an high demand from the GT player base, then it's likely that PD seeks Porsche. Only then they will see if a possible deal is worth it. If they are aware of the changes, we don't know, only when someone gets an interview or manages to talk to someone from PD about that subject, we will see.

The thing is, there's no logical reason for them to not want their cars in GT. Fictional cars don't seem like a reason, since they won't hurt their sales nor image. One might say "Oh Porsche won't like seeing their 919 loose to a VGT car", that shouldn't be a problem, wouldn't it be the exact same "problem" for them to loose against an older LMP1? And some will say "that's why we need all the LMP1 from the same year", but then again, the class would be limited to 3 cars (4 at max).
Any other possible reasons?

Sure, they could want a bigger representation of their older cars, but we don't know what are the planes for the future of the game. Will the game feature classes of classic road/race cars? For now, we don't know, but it is likely since they keep giving the prizes in the Concourse d'Elegance and they had already moddeled some pretty exclusive cars. Who knows if after they complete these 5 main classes/groups, they will add some more.
Reviews in real life might affect the sales and reputation of said brands. Reviews with lap times in them is something different, since not every car goes to those reviews "stock", some having semi-slicks and tweaks. That's why Nurburgring lap times lost their appeal and became redundant. But this is another topic.

The more games they have their cars in, the wider they can spread the range of new and old cars through those games. GTS would not have crossovers (atleast now), but has space for Caymans, Boxters, Panameras, "base" 911s (non-GT3/GT3 RS/Turbo/R), and anything that usually gets skipped in other games. And of course the high-end sports cars/supercars.

Exactly, PD or Sony might think it's not worth it, if the price to get a few of their cars in the game is too high. We don't know how those licensing deals work, if the more cars you get, the more you pay or if they just pay the brand and then can model whatever they want.

Do we know the terms of the deal with Kunos?
They might very well have seen a lot of potential in AC, as pure simulators go. Possibly having a wider player base than the other hardcore sims, could help the deal. Or they could have seen the fidelity of their physics engine, and thought that their game could be a good place to show off the handling of their cars. They could be seeking for a long term partnership for a Porsche branded/approved simulator or something. Could be just a mix of all this, could be nothing. Could be just a good opportunity for a deal like "we grant you a free license, and you give as X percentage of the profit from our Porsche DLCs".
Doesn't make AC the better game, compared to the others, because Porsche chose them, or the others "less appealling" though.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Still, been asked to add Porsche before the deal ended, and now that that deal is reaching an end, has a new sense of priority. If they feel it's highly demanded by the fans, then they might work to bring them.



No, to say no you have to have a reason. They might not want to share that reason, that's up to them, but to say no, they had to have a reason, whether it's a little disagreement, or a huge problem for Porsche that turns them off. There's no "No, because I can say no". It's an invalid argument.

I didn't said that you would buy the game because of Porsche.



If Porsche has an high demand from the GT player base, then it's likely that PD seeks Porsche. Only then they will see if a possible deal is worth it. If they are aware of the changes, we don't know, only when someone gets an interview or manages to talk to someone from PD about that subject, we will see.

The thing is, there's no logical reason for them to not want their cars in GT. Fictional cars don't seem like a reason, since they won't hurt their sales nor image. One might say "Oh Porsche won't like seeing their 919 loose to a VGT car", that shouldn't be a problem, wouldn't it be the exact same "problem" for them to loose against an older LMP1? And some will say "that's why we need all the LMP1 from the same year", but then again, the class would be limited to 3 cars (4 at max).
Any other possible reasons?

Sure, they could want a bigger representation of their older cars, but we don't know what are the planes for the future of the game. Will the game feature classes of classic road/race cars? For now, we don't know, but it is likely since they keep giving the prizes in the Concourse d'Elegance and they had already moddeled some pretty exclusive cars. Who knows if after they complete these 5 main classes/groups, they will add some more.
Reviews in real life might affect the sales and reputation of said brands. Reviews with lap times in them is something different, since not every car goes to those reviews "stock", some having semi-slicks and tweaks. That's why Nurburgring lap times lost their appeal and became redundant. But this is another topic.

The more games they have their cars in, the wider they can spread the range of new and old cars through those games. GTS would not have crossovers (atleast now), but has space for Caymans, Boxters, Panameras, "base" 911s (non-GT3/GT3 RS/Turbo/R), and anything that usually gets skipped in other games. And of course the high-end sports cars/supercars.

Exactly, PD or Sony might think it's not worth it, if the price to get a few of their cars in the game is too high. We don't know how those licensing deals work, if the more cars you get, the more you pay or if they just pay the brand and then can model whatever they want.

Do we know the terms of the deal with Kunos?
They might very well have seen a lot of potential in AC, as pure simulators go. Possibly having a wider player base than the other hardcore sims, could help the deal. Or they could have seen the fidelity of their physics engine, and thought that their game could be a good place to show off the handling of their cars. They could be seeking for a long term partnership for a Porsche branded/approved simulator or something. Could be just a mix of all this, could be nothing. Could be just a good opportunity for a deal like "we grant you a free license, and you give as X percentage of the profit from our Porsche DLCs".
Doesn't make AC the better game, compared to the others, because Porsche chose them, or the others "less appealling" though.

Highly demanded by fans hasn't meant much in the past, don't see why it would mean much in the future. Fans have been banging the drums for a premium Supra and an E30 BMW among many other cars for a long, long time and they have yet to arrive. Same with Pike's Peak, El Capitan, Costa di Amalfi and they have yet to show up in premium form either. Kaz dances to his own tune, that should be clear by now, otherwise we'd have a whole different game coming as well.

 

[05XR8]

Highly demanded by fans hasn't meant much in the past, don't see why it would mean much in the future. Fans have been banging the drums for a premium Supra and an E30 BMW among many other cars for a long, long time and they have yet to arrive. Same with Pike's Peak, El Capitan, Costa di Amalfi and they have yet to show up in premium form either. Kaz dances to his own tune, that should be clear by now, otherwise we'd have a whole different game coming as well.

Beat me to it.

 

[Stephen220378]

The only Porsche cars I'd be really interested in is their LMP cars from throughout the years, the rest I don't really care about and to be honest I would rather have them in Project Cars than Gran Turismo as my interest in GT is at rock bottom at the moment.

The only Porsche road cars I'd like in a game are the Carrera GT, the 959, 928, 944 and the 968 but again I'd rather they were in a Project Cars game.

 

[Grayfox]

If their is a Porsche how many versions where there of a single model where the only differences are a rear wing and stripes?
I would only care about the LMP1 cars.
Dont care much about the 911, boxer and that stupid SUV thing.