Shift 2 gets exclusive rights to Pagani Huayra

[Invictus321]

I am personally sick to death of game publishers doing this.

Sure, have an exclusive car for your game is great for marketing, but it's bad in every other way.

Now EA can get a "Plus One" over Gran Turismo, simply because they have made it impossible for anyone else to use the Huayra. This isn't by any merit of the game. It's just marketing crap.

Instead of them making a game that is better by merit than the others, they just force the other games to be worse than they should be, so theirs looks better. So they're essentially making the entire genre worse for their own gain.

If this isn't evil then I don't know what is.

Yeah, ok, ok, it's just one car. But it's an AMAZING car. And I think this kind of thing should be illegal. Imagine if every racing game grabbed a bunch of manufacturers to be exclusive, and then you'd have a bunch of games with different cars, but no one game with all of the cars. That is what this is going to lead to.

 

[JJ72]

so much hate over one car which nobody knows is good or not, not even car journalists.

I just smell jealousy. Exclusive content is not even a new thing, why complain now?

 

[McLaren]

I don't see how 1 manufacturer or car has any effect on how a game will turn out. GT has never officially had Porsche, & survived for over a decade without Lamborghini or Ferrari, and it was never a bad game.

Your same argument could be made for Ferrari & GT right now as they seem to be the only ones with the Italian license at the moment.

 

[Invictus321]

Because my hopes of PD putting the Huayra in GT6 have been crushed

 

[Terronium-12]

You realize it's only for this year, right?

 

[JJ72]

Because my hopes of PD putting the Huayra in GT6 have been crushed

How do you know PD will actually put the car in GT6 even without the exclusive deal?

And very probably the exclusive deal will run out when GT6 comes out.

 

[Speedster502]

Because my hopes of PD putting the Huayra in GT6 have been crushed

By the time GT6 comes out the Huayra will have been replaced.

 

[Imari]

Because my hopes of PD putting the Huayra in GT6 have been crushed

Which is entirely PD's own fault. Pagani will have said "We want this much money for an exclusive licence. Who wants to pay?" PD will have told them to shove it. EA will have said hell yes, because they're the underdog and they need that sort of thing.

If for some unknown reason the offer never even got anywhere near PD's offices, then they're doing something seriously wrong as the creator of the leading game of the genre. Their guys on the inside might seriously need to work on their connections with the car industry. I mean, the first two phone calls Pagani should make after EA offers them a deal like that should be to Turn10 and PD to see what an exclusive licence could be worth to other studios.

Either way, I hardly see that as being evil. That's just EA not being a bunch of dribbling retards when offered an enormous coup. They got a chance to get something all to themselves (for a whole year!), and they took it. Smart, that.

 

[Destinkeys]

I don't suppose you went over to the GT5 community, and complained that they have an exclusive on the Ferrari's, did you?

Probably not.

 

[UkHardcore23]

Wont this deal be a timed exclusive?

 

[Destinkeys]

By the time GT6 comes out the Huayra will have been replaced.

This. 👍

By the time GT6 comes out, we might all be in flying cars by then... or the oil will have run out, and GT6 will have to be 'The Ultimate Bicycling Experience'!

 

[Terronium-12]

I don't suppose you went over to the GT5 community, and complained that they have an exclusive on the Ferrari's, did you?

Probably not.

Doesn't Microsoft still have the exclusive license or have I missed something?

 

[tribolik]

Doesn't Microsoft still have the exclusive license or have I missed something?

Ferrari isnt exclusive to anyone only one thing - Money - you got Money to offer them you have ferrari - Not even Ferraris F1 are exclusive to any Official F1 game...

 

[The_Reformed]

It's not a very good looking car anyways

 

[Spagetti69]

It's not a very good looking car anyways

Are you saying it's a standard model?

 

[tribolik]

It's not a very good looking car anyways

Looks better to me than 90% of the cars in GT5...

It could have been 70% but the other 20% of the cars in GT5 that could look better are «standards» or should I say look like crap...

 

[Terronium-12]

Are you saying it's a standard model?

Dude, shut up.

 

[Syntax error]

EA shouldn't be solely blamed for these types of scenarios. These exclusive deals are negotiated between the manufacturer and game developer. Pagani is skipping all the way to the bank with big money bags under their arms.

 

[Destinkeys]

I have still yet to read a totally convincing explanation of the licensing issues for Ferrari's, re. Microsoft, Sony/PD and EA, but one thing I have NO doubt about...

If EA could get us all Ferrari's, they WOULD. You can't possibly think it's a money issue. No matter HOW much the license, the increase in sales would cover it. They CANNOT get Ferrari's for PS3 (and maybe PC).

But we get Porsche.

That makes it a push, IMO!

 

[ussr]

EA shouldn't be solely blamed for these types of scenarios. These exclusive deals are negotiated between the manufacturer and game developer. Pagani is skipping all the way to the bank with big money bags under their arms.

Don't tell me that bribe is a wrong thing because this would turn my world "up side down" and i don't want to be Australian

Anyway tell my one thing. For last two days I've been playing Shift 1 on PS3 and there are no Ferraris !!! I've seen on Videos of Shift 2 McLaren MP4C and Gumpert Apollo and Stirling Moss but are those cars are in DLC for the firs Shift. Right? But are there any ferrari in Shift 2? Is this would be the same situation like first time. Different console, different set of cars

 

[Terronium-12]

I have still yet to read a totally convincing explanation of the licensing issues for Ferrari's, re. Microsoft, Sony/PD and EA, but one thing I have NO doubt about...

If EA could get us all Ferrari's, they WOULD. You can't possibly think it's a money issue. No matter HOW much the license, the increase in sales would cover it. They CANNOT get Ferrari's for PS3 (and maybe PC).

But we get Porsche.

That makes it a push, IMO!

Are you new here?

With Ferrari it's about money and the way their image is being perceived.

It's literally "Our way or the highway" Pun intended.

 

[Destinkeys]

You see, Terronium, that completely ignores the issue of Ferrari's being available on Shift 1 for XBox (but not PS3 or PC). You see my problem in getting a satisfactory answer to the question..? Glib answer after answer, that fail to take the FACTS into consideration.

Got something FACTUAL? 💡

 

[Imari]

What facts are there about Ferrari on PS3? We know very little. They're in GT5P and GT5, and were in all the way back at GTHD so it's clearly been planned for some time. During the wait, we got Ferrari Challenge and SCC, featuring a LOT of Ferraris, so the license either wasn't exclusive or some backdoor dealings were going on with Sony for PS3 sub-licenses.

Shift 1 got Ferraris on Xbox but not PS3, which could mean anything. It could mean that an Xbox licence is cheap for some reason. It could mean that a PS3 licence is expensive. It could mean that there's some sort of exclusive deal been done in recent years with Sony/PD. It could mean that EA pissed off Montezemolo and he just told them to shove it, but Microsoft wangled them a deal for Xbox anyway.

But ultimately, unless it's the EA kicked Montezemolo's dog explanation, it comes down to money. It will have cost too much for EA to get the licence for PS3 compared to the return they expected on it, whereas the Xbox licence was considered to be profitable. There could be any number of reasons for that, and we'll likely never know, but at the end of the day it does all come down to hard dollars.

 

[Destinkeys]

Sorry, but I read that EA got the Ferrari's on XBox because Microsoft had a sub-license for it on their platform...

If you look at the logic behind your premise, it doesn't really work. EA are certainly not short a few cents. If the license COULD be bought, I am convinced it WOULD. There's something else going on we don't know about.

Perhaps, if Microsoft have the license for their platform, maybe Sony have a license for theirs? And GT5, being a Sony/PD product, gets the Ferrari's, and Shift, being the only sim-like competitor, gets denied?

Only the Shadow knows....

 

[Imari]

If the license COULD be bought, I am convinced it WOULD.

Yes, with some reservations. Something like that can always be bought, but if the seller doesn't really want to sell it they just set the price ludicrously high. Say for example it's Sony who has the license, and they don't want EA to have Ferraris. They don't say no, they say "Sure, that'll be 60 million dollars". It's the same thing in the end, with the slight difference that EA *could* have bought it but they would have been criminally insane to have done so.

Anyway, if I may cast some speculation. Say that Ferrari really charge a lot for the licence. I mean, a LOT. Microsoft pays big bucks but gets a full licence for any games on the 360. It's cost them a lot, but now they're in a position to grant rights to any developer for 360, at a discount if need be. It's worth it to them, because it's something to give their system an edge over PS3, something they've been pretty ruthless about.

Ferrari Challenge gets through on the cheap, through some sort of inside dealing. They have Fiorano, which is very unusual, and it's Ferraris only so it could be seen as a sort of elaborate marketing move for Ferrari. Small studio and the game saw limited success so they definitely didn't pay heaps for the licence.

PD buys Ferrari for GT. Only buys rights for a limited selection of cars and only for the one game/studio. For whatever reason, Sony isn't involved and/or doesn't see the value in buying a console-wide licence.

Shift comes out. EA can get a cheap licence from MS for a few cars for DLC, because that helps MS pimp their system. Sony is unable to help EA with Ferrari because they don't have the appropriate licence themselves, and the money Ferrari is asking for a PS3 licence is far too much for EA to consider for DLC.

And probably too much to consider for a main game too, by the looks of it. I'll bet that EAs budget for Shift is substantially lower than GTs was. No doubt we'll probably see the same thing as Shift 1 in Shift 2. No Ferrari's in the main game, because they couldn't secure a licence for both consoles. 360 DLC, because MS hooked them up. No PS3 DLC because it's far too expensive.

It's not about EA not having the money. They obviously have a lot. But they're businessmen, so before they buy anything they'll be asking themselves "Will the cost of this addition result in equivalent or greater profits down the road?"

All speculation. Simply one way it *could* be working out behind the scenes. It is fun to spin this sort of stuff around in your head though.

 

[Destinkeys]

Something like that can always be bought

Not if an exclusive deal has already been struck. Think PD couldn't AFFORD Porsche? EA have an exclusive. Porsche can't break the deal no matter HOW much money PD offer. I have a sneaky suspicion this is closer to the truth. Contracts are entered into, and can't be broken.

I can live without Ferrari's. I can't live without Spa...

 

[Imari]

Not if an exclusive deal has already been struck. Think PD couldn't AFFORD Porsche? EA have an exclusive. Porsche can't break the deal no matter HOW much money PD offer. I have a sneaky suspicion this is closer to the truth. Contracts are entered into, and can't be broken.

I can live without Ferrari's. I can't live without Spa...

Porsche can't do anything if EA have an exclusive, but EA can.

If EA have an exclusive, they can sub to PD if they wish. They have the licence to make themselves money, and I doubt they care whether they make it through selling their own games or someone else's. Again, the question is how much. PD will have asked them how much for a Porsche sub, and EA will have returned with an astronomical number because that's how much they think it's worth. It could be bought, but wouldn't be economically viable for PD to do so.

It's a picky point, but these deals could be made on these things. It's a matter of finding something that the companies want. MS and EA have themselves in a good position in terms of bargaining chips. Sony and PD seem to have bugger all. There's not really anyone to blame for that but themselves, it sure wasn't the luck of the draw.

 

[Destinkeys]

I doubt any company is going to cut it's own throat like that, TBH. There's very little point in paying a fortune for an exclusive, then turning round and selling it off to your main competition and basically negating the entire POINT of the exclusive in the first place...

You lose any value in it whatsoever. Only way you then profit is to sell it for MORE than you paid for it, and no-one's that dumb, are they?

You think EA are going to license the Pagani to PD next week? Exclusives get people into the game.

 

[FLIGHT50]

I am personally sick to death of game publishers doing this.

Sure, have an exclusive car for your game is great for marketing, but it's bad in every other way.

Now EA can get a "Plus One" over Gran Turismo, simply because they have made it impossible for anyone else to use the Huayra. This isn't by any merit of the game. It's just marketing crap.

Instead of them making a game that is better by merit than the others, they just force the other games to be worse than they should be, so theirs looks better. So they're essentially making the entire genre worse for their own gain.

If this isn't evil then I don't know what is.

Yeah, ok, ok, it's just one car. But it's an AMAZING car. And I think this kind of thing should be illegal. Imagine if every racing game grabbed a bunch of manufacturers to be exclusive, and then you'd have a bunch of games with different cars, but no one game with all of the cars. That is what this is going to lead to.

Lol, you got it all wrong. First off, no company can force or dictate how bad another's company game will look. If PD wanted there game to stand out, they can do so. They didn't so be it. PD controls their own fate. I think they got too relaxed and assume that since its GT, everyone will love it. Guess again, it failed this go around. Fail to true GT fans that have owned every installment. You all know who you are. We all share the same pain. There are some pros to GT5 but its outnumbered by the cons.

Who cares if this game or that game has rights to one car. It would be different is EA could only get rights to the whole line of a manufacturer and no one else can. Even then, its not illegal. They paid for the right. All other company can do the same if they choose to.

 

[Destinkeys]

I think they got too relaxed and assume that since its GT, everyone will love it. Guess again, it failed this go around. Fail to true GT fans that have owned every installment.

I think they assumed that since it was GT, everybody would BUY it. But that's not going to happen with GT6. I would imagine most everybody will be checking it out as a rental or in store before they buy the NEXT GT game.

I know I will (if I give it the time of day at all).