Thoughts on missing "on the box" features?

[JetJaguar2000]

I'm not asking this as some kind of veiled attempt at trolling (in fact I really like the core of the game). I am 100% serious and curious:

What do people think of the fact that there are features listed on the back of the box for this game that are flat-out not included in the game itself? I'm thinking particularly about leaderboards and matchmaking. It states on the box that these are features, and yet they are clearly not, and the only word about them comes in vague Japanese tweets about updates with no clear schedule or urgency.

Personally, this completely blows my mind, and I can't say that I've ever bought another game where this has happened. I've often played games where features alluded to during development never made it in (inlcuding this one), but once the feature is written on the back of the box (and on the website?), that means it's in the game. Crossing that line is at best false advertising, and at worst completely unethical.

What I'm more curious about is why more people don't seem bothered by this. Do people really not care? In recent memory, the Codemasters forums were flooded with vitriol over a missing feature referenced in the game itself ("copy your teammate's setup"), but PD seems to be getting a pass on this one.

I realize that there are plenty of other features in the game to keep us busy, and that leaderboards and matchmaking are supposedly on the way, but I still just can't believe PD (or Sony, or whoever is responsible) has the gall to print features on the box that they know aren't in the game (I can only assume by the lack of a fast response on PD's end that they aren't even aware of the "on the box" feature list).

What do the rest of you think?

 

[Luminis]

What do the rest of you think?

1. There'll be a host of people here telling you to appreciate the game as is in no time, excusing the missing of those 'on the box' features.

2. This is going to turn into a fight between 'complainers' and 'defenders'.

3. People will start to flame each other.

4. Thread will get locked.


Anyways, on topic:
It's a shame the game released with features that are being promised on the box missing.
People butchered Blizzard when World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade released and the new dances that were advertised on the box weren'tt in the game. This is no different, it's just on more, you know, meaningful features, in my opnion.

 

[maxpontiac]

I realize that there are plenty of other features in the game to keep us busy

What do the rest of you think?

This

 

[blaaah]

I would give them 30 days from release to sort out advertised features.

 

[warpspeed2slow]

I think it should be addressed somehow. There is stuff missing that's in the manual and Apex books as well. Apex book clearly says that you can change gears individually, when you can't.

The fanboys of this series are cult-like much more than almost any other series or game. Not only giving PD a free pass but coming up with conjured and elaborate excuses for them.

It is disturbing to say the least.

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

I hate that the features are not there but so long as we get them I will be ok with it. I would rather have the game now with a few missing features to come later than still be wondering when or if the game would ever be in my PS3.

 

[warpspeed2slow]

I would give them 30 days from release to sort out advertised features.

And if they don't, then what?

 

[Earth]

Kaz needs to get his crew's act together

I dont doubt for a moment they're working hard, but I think they're not being directed properly.

Why do pit crews not fix visible damage??? Even after the update they still dont.

Its like they totally forgot about some key features.

Its like every day Kaz's crew showed up everyday , worked on something, then went home without ever being instructed to work on something specific. Its the "always adding to never finished" mentality that hurt the game

2 months to launch Kaz says who designed leaderboards? Who designed crews to fix damage?? Nobody raises hand.

It falls on Kaz's shoulders.

He needs to patch this game crazy for the next few months. unfortunately GT5 comes off sloppy at times

 

[JetJaguar2000]

Kaz needs to get his crew's act together

I dont doubt for a moment they're working hard, but I think they're not being directed properly.

Why do pit crews not fix visible damage??? Even after the update they still dont.

Its like they totally forgot about some key features.

Its like every day Kaz's crew showed up, worked on something, then went home

2 months to launch Kaz says who designed leaderboards? Who designed crews to fix damage?? Nobody raises hand.

It falls on Kaz's shoulders.

He needs to patch this game crazy for the next few months. unfortunately GT5 comes off sloppy at times

I agree with you, but I want to focus on advertised features that were not delivered, since that to me is a different category of issue than "things we wish were in the game but aren't."

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

And if they don't, then what?

Give them a little longer

Seriously though so long as they continue to make changes via update I am content to wait a while for more features. Right now I am just plugging away at earning xp and cash to buy the cars I want. I hope that we will see prize money and xp for online races very soon. Get's boring racing the same AI races over and over for XP and cash. Would be much more entertianing trading paint with my friends to get the cash.

 

[maxpontiac]

The fanboys of this series are cult-like much more than almost any other series or game.

It is disturbing to say the least.

As are the members on the opposite side of the fence.

I have never seen a game receive the level of critique as Gran Turismo 5 has.

It's disappointing and rather pathetic.

 

[sesselpupser]

with no clear schedule or urgency.

Does this not sound familiar?

 

[variable_chaos]

There was another online game that came out about 6 years ago that did something similar to this... There were several 'features' that weren't implemented at release. Some of the promised features never made it in, other's were put in very late. There have been countless improvements and setbacks throughout the years, and it's playerbase is still a respectable size. Hint: World of Warcraft

I wouldn't worry too much about GT5 getting it's features. I'm confident it will continue to get better.

 

[JetJaguar2000]

Does this not sound familiar?

In my experience most game developers are not super clear and frank about when any given patch will appear, but when in the case of missing "on the box features" (or more frequently game breaking bugs) I would expect a day zero patch to address it. Many developers do this.

 

[warpspeed2slow]

As are the members on the opposite of the fence.

I have never seen a game receive the level of critique as Gran Turismo 5 has.

It's disturbing to say the least.

It's because the fanboy's of the GT series are so extreme that they heckled other games and called them out on any issue even if very minor. It was if vaporware GT was a perfect game. However, once it was released and was seen to have more than a few weaknesses, it forced a backlash.

The extreme fanboyisim and Kaz's promises opened this game up to a backlash if it fell short. Too bad it did fall pretty short in areas.

 

[Demolisher_1]

This same thing happened when SOCOM: Confrontation came out. There were features in the manual and on the back of the box that never came to the game... even after 2 years.

Slant6 (developer) never addressed it or made it available.

I hope this wont be the case for PD.

 

[GT4.5]

Considering we waited through multiple promises on the games' release...over the course of six years, is it any type of surprise that we don't get what was promised to us?

 

[JetJaguar2000]

There was another online game that came out about 6 years ago that did something similar to this... There were several 'features' that weren't implemented at release. Some of the promised features never made it in, other's were put in very late. There have been countless improvements and setbacks throughout the years, and it's playerbase is still a respectable size. Hint: World of Warcraft

I wouldn't worry too much about GT5 getting it's features. I'm confident it will continue to get better.

There is a major difference between an MMO like World of Warcraft, and a boxed game like GT5. An MMO is subscription based, so the consumer continues to have leverage beyond the boxed sale. GT5 is not. PD are not obligated to put out ANY patches if they don't feel like it, since they made the sale based on the boxed content. That is what makes this particular issue so problematic for me.

For what it's worth, I think there are many other features that should be in the game and aren't. I hope they will be patched in. But most of them were not advertised as being in the game, on the back of the box. Leaderboards and matchmaking were, so there is an expectation that they are delivered quickly, or at least that their absence is justified in some way to the consumer, and taken seriously.

 

[Earth]

As are the members on the opposite of the fence.

I have never seen a game receive the level of critique as Gran Turismo 5 has.

It's disappointing and rather pathetic.

It gets all the critique because of the flawed assumption PD has been working on GT5 since the day after GT4's release in early 2005. Back in 07 Kaz laughed at the mention of a 2010 release date. GT5 took so long to come out because Kaz lacked a clear vision (remember GT HD @ E3 2006?) and GT5 posed numerous technical problems, like 1080p/60 fps and 3D modes

GT5 is NOT the product of 5+ years of work. More like 3-4 years of technical problems and delays

Its rediculous to see gaming sites give NFS Hot Pursuit, among other games higher scores.

 

[Tornado]

1. There'll be a host of people here telling you to appreciate the game as is in no time, excusing the missing of those 'on the box' features.

Don't forget the people who will probably jump in just to say that the features listed on the back of the box aren't actually for the game...

Its rediculous to see gaming sites give NFS Hot Pursuit, among other games higher scores.

Why? Because they aren't Gran Turismo?

 

[andrewz]

And if they don't, then what?

There will be no better evidence we were lied to.

 

[Chopes]

Guys....you realize that the leaderboards are going to go up on the 20th for the GT academy thing right? It even says so on their website.... why is everyone so confused?

 

[maxpontiac]

It's because the fanboy's of the GT series are so extreme that they heckled other games and called them out on any issue even if very minor. It was if vaporware GT was a perfect game. However, once it was released and was seen to have more than a few weaknesses, it forced a backlash.

The extreme fanboyisim and Kaz's promises opened this game up to a backlash if it fell short. Too bad it did fall pretty short in areas.

If it's not the GT fanboys....
..its the Forza fanboys..

If it's not the Forza fanboys..
..it's the crusading posters out to right the wrong or get even.

If that isn't it, it's the self righteous "Racing Sim Community".

If it's none of the above, it's Microsoft or Sony employees acting as posers.

It never stops.

 

[JetJaguar2000]

Guys....you realize that the leaderboards are going to go up on the 20th for the GT academy thing right? It even says so on their website.... why is everyone so confused?

We're confused because the website and the back of the box say a lot of things that aren't true (importing from GT5p comes to mind, as far as the website goes). Can you provide a link for that information?

 

[variable_chaos]

There is a major difference between an MMO like World of Warcraft, and a boxed game like GT5. An MMO is subscription based, so the consumer continues to have leverage beyond the boxed sale. GT5 is not. PD are not obligated to put out ANY patches if they don't feel like it, since they made the sale based on the boxed content. That is what makes this particular issue so problematic for me.

PD should be able to milk the downloadable content cow for a while with this game. There are a lot of 'free to play' MMOs out there that use the DLC model to maintain profitability (most of them are terrible to start with). I suspect PD will do that with this game.

I have no doubt they will continue to support GT5 for a long time.

 

[ken2903]

The core of the game is as good or better than it's ever been but all the little things are starting to add up. If I was a dinosaur i'd be a disappointasaurus rex.

And you're right, it's incredibly unethical to advertise features that aren't in the game without immediately patching them in or at least addressing the issue officially.

 

[Devedander]

Give them a little longer

Seriously though so long as they continue to make changes via update I am content to wait a while for more features. Right now I am just plugging away at earning xp and cash to buy the cars I want. I hope that we will see prize money and xp for online races very soon. Get's boring racing the same AI races over and over for XP and cash. Would be much more entertianing trading paint with my friends to get the cash.

And what about those without internet? Are they supposed to give a grace period? And to what end?

This is why it's not ok to put stuff on the box that's not in... some people will buy the box and not be able to get anything besides what's in the box.

There will be no better evidence we were lied to.

Um the fact it's on the box and no on the disc IS the evidence we were lied to.

If they don't patch it, that's just evidnece they lied AND didn't provide any kind of recourse.

It's because the fanboy's of the GT series are so extreme that they heckled other games and called them out on any issue even if very minor. It was if vaporware GT was a perfect game. However, once it was released and was seen to have more than a few weaknesses, it forced a backlash.

The extreme fanboyisim and Kaz's promises opened this game up to a backlash if it fell short. Too bad it did fall pretty short in areas.

👍

I said this almost verbatum shortly after GT5 came out... many GT fans have climbed on some pretty high horses and attacked pretty viciuosly while they had the benefit of not actulaly have anything to attack in return.

 

[sumbrownkid]

So Luminis's prediction is unfolding before us...

Anyway, I think GT5 is gonna be updated over time, just as they did for Prologue. Will it be bigger or smaller than Prologue's updates remains to be seen.

 

[CeeJay]

I couldn't really believe the Matchmaking and Leaderboards weren't a part of the game when I loaded it up. Like the OP stated, it's clearly marked on the back of the box. Total false advertising. I know there are some vague promises floating around about this stuff being implemented in the future but dang, I never would have thought PD would do something like that to mislead people. How can it be right to put features on a box that the product inside doesn't actually contain??

Right now I have a bit of hope with the couple of patches that have been released but again, I can't understand what PD is doing because they aren't even giving us straight info about the patches and what they do to the game! Crazy. It makes me sad because GT5 is great, I can't take it out of my PS3! Imagine if they'd actually delivered on what is on the back of the box! It would have been amazing!!

 

[GT4.5]

Don't worry, your garage from GT5 will have the ability to be imported into GT6....

Wait...